Why We Broke Up

Starred review from November 14, 2011
Handler and Kalman (13 Words) craft a book-length breakup letter from Min (short for Minerva) to her ex-boyfriend, Ed. Accusatory yet affectionate—directed at “you, Ed”—it accompanies a hefty box of souvenirs Min accumulated during the two-month romance. Between chapters, readers gaze at Kalman’s almost totemic still lifes of each nostalgic item, which range from handwritten notes (“I can’t stop thinking about you”) to secondhand-store finds and movie tickets. Min loves classic cinema, and Handler invents false film titles like “Greta of the Wild” that Min and her platonic pal Al name-drop like an “old married couple.” Proceeding chronologically, Min recounts her doomed affair with Ed, a basketball star who shrugs at movies and commits gaffe after embarrassing gaffe in front of Min’s friends. They can’t understand what she’s doing with him, but readers won’t have that problem—Handler shows exceptional skill at getting inside Min’s head and heart. Halfway through Min’s impassioned epistle, readers may
realize that Ed, even if he cares, lacks the wherewithal to read it—lending real pathos to Min’s memorabilia and making her sorrow all the more palpable. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. Ages 15–up. (Dec.)■

April 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Min, short for Minerva, met Ed at her best friend Al's bitter 16 party. They dated, fell in love, and eventually broke up. To get on with her life, Min must dispose of her box of treasures-mementos of their relationship that she has kept since the night of that party. She writes Ed a letter, inspired by every token in the box and the memories surrounding their acquisition, detailing why they broke up so she can leave it all on his doorstep. A classic movie buff, Min compares the events of her life to scenes from her favorite movies and weaves these into her letter. The final CD includes each lovely full-page painting of a memento that introduces each chapter-movie tickets, bottle caps, rose petals, and more. Khristine Hvam's narration has a pleasant cadence and she provides subtle voice changes for the different characters in the novel (Little, Brown, 2011) by Daniel Handler. Her pauses and emphases are a perfect fit for Min's character. There are some f-bombs lightly sprinkled throughout and some mild sexual descriptions. This pleasant story will resonate with anyone who has ever been jilted by the one they thought was the one.-Cynthia Ortiz, Hackensack High School, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2011
A toy truck, bottle caps, rose petals, a cookbook and a box full of other seemingly unobtrusive mementos are dumped on the doorstep of Ed Slaterton by his ex-girlfriend, Min. Their unlikely romance lasted just over a month. On the exterior he's a gorgeous basketball-jock douchebag; she's an outspoken, outsider, romantic-movie buff with frizzy hair. They're opposites, and no one else in the novel sees why they're together. But as objects from the box are revealed in Kalman's vividly rendered paintings, readers are taken beneath the surface of what will no doubt be one of the most talked-about romances in teen literature. Handler frames their lives together with a sharp, cinematic virtuosity that leaps off the pages. Their relationship sparks and burns with so much passion, honesty, enlightenment and wonder that readers will feel relieved when they finish those chapters that don't end with "…and that's why we broke up." The ordinary becomes extraordinary: A thrift-store cookbook explodes into a madcap dinner party for an aging imaginary film star. A rubber band causes readers to wince in pain when it's ripped from Min's hair. Torn condom wrappers induce smiles of knowing amusement as Min jokingly describes her first time. All is lovingly connected via a roster of fantastically drawn films and stars that readers will wish actually existed. The novel's only fault lies in its inevitable conclusion, which can't help but be a letdown after 300+ pages of blazing romance. A poignant, exhilarating tale of a love affair gone to the dogs. (Romance. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from November 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* This novel may sound like another tale of boy meets girl, but, folks, it's all in the delivery. In faltering pitter-patter dialogue and thick, gushy, grasping-for-words paragraphs, Handler takes a tired old saw, the romance between senior basketball cocaptain Ed Slaterton and junior cinephile Min Green, and injects us into the halting, breathless, disbelieving, horny, and nervous minds of two teens who feel different only in how they define themselves in contrast to each otherthat dumbstruck, anthropological joy of introducing foreign films to a dude schooled only in layups, and vice versa. The story is told from Min's perspective, a bittersweet diatribe of their breakup arranged around objects (a matchbox, a bottle cap, a dish towel, anahemcondom wrapper) of varying importance that she intends on returning to him. (Kalman's full-color drawings of these objects were not available for review.) It is fitting that the chapters center upon these items; the story itself feels like blurry photos, snippets of stray recordingsall the more powerful because of how they evoke truth more than any mere relaying of facts. Yes, the relationship breaks apart like a predictable song, but Handler's genius is to make us hear those minor-key notes as if they were playing on our firstand lastdates, too. In the mood to break additional hearts? Pair this with Pete Hautman's The Big Crunch (2011). HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Yes, Handler is mostly known to the younger set as Mr. Snicket, but this effort finds the perfect spot between his youth and adult novels, a fact born out by the high-caliber promotional plans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

Starred review from January 1, 2012
Min and Ed's differences are profound -- most obviously, she's a quirky aspiring filmmaker and he's a popular jock. Readers see immediately, though, that it's not simply these practical differences that caused their breakup, the event on which this unique novel, posed as a letter Min is writing to Ed, is centered. In addition to this letter, Min is planning to drop off on Ed's doorstep a box of items, tiny tokens of their relationship (some with obvious sentimentality, others seemingly random, like a protractor). Though tightly focused and always tethered to its format as a denunciative breakup note explaining the physical memorabilia, Handler's text continually makes the reader forget this narrow structure: the imagistic, affecting stories that Min tells about each object are completely engrossing and provide insight into their young and flawed love. Min's thoughts on the significance of each item (and the moment or memory it's tied to) are mature beyond her age but authentically fit her introspective and intelligent character. The poetic eloquence and honesty of Min's narration; the clarity with which each idiosyncratic character is drawn; the distinctive premise that gives direction to but does not limit plot: these factors combine to help us comprehend both why they broke up, and why that outcome is not what matters most in this story. A stylish book design, thick glossy pages that make the book satisfyingly hefty, and Kalman's spare illustrations of the objects heighten the overall enjoyment and perfectly complement Handler's accomplished prose. katrina hedeen

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2012
Min is a quirky aspiring filmmaker; Eds a popular jock. Their breakup centers this unique novel, posed as a letter Min is writing to Ed. Shes also planning to leave a box of items--tiny tokens of their relationship--on his doorstep. Min's narration is poetic, eloquent, and honest. Kalmans spare illustrations perfectly complement Handler's accomplished prose, and thick glossy pages make the book satisfyingly hefty.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-After classic movie aficionado Min Green breaks up with good-looking, popular athlete Ed Slaterton, she dumps a box full of mementos at his doorstep along with a very long "letter." The letter-the text of this book-explains step by painful step the reasons for the breakup and why their relationship was doomed from the start. Each chapter is introduced with a complementary, full-color painting of a memento, ranging from bottle caps to movie tickets to condom wrappers to rose petals, each representing an important element in the progression of and subsequent decline in their romance. Min's expose begins at the end and flashes forward through meeting and falling for Ed, losing her virginity, and realizing that the course of true love rarely follows a Hollywood script. Characters are vivid, and their portrayal is enriched by realistic dialogue. Despite Min's somewhat distracting tendency to expound on feelings, experiences, and images in a run-on fashion, and that her unusual perceptiveness stretches belief in her voice as that of a high school girl, the story ultimately comes together. Handler offers a heartbreaking, bittersweet, and compelling romance with a unique angle and flare that will satisfy those who immersed themselves in Jandy Nelson's The Sky Is Everywhere (Dial, 2010).-Diane P. Tuccillo, Poudre River Public Library District, Fort Collins, CO

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.