Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Bibliography: Andrews, J. (n.d.). Me and Earl and the dying girl: A novel. New York, NY 2015: Amulet.

ISBN: 978-1419719608

Genre: realistic fiction

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+/14+

Plot Summary: Greg doesn’t have a lot going for him. He’s overweight, has bad skin and has zero girl skills. He has one friend and that is plenty for him since he survives high school by staying under the social radar. Earl is a very short, very bad tempered high school kid, but he and Greg have created a friendship based on video games, movies and attempts at making their own flicks. Greg has plenty of other things to do instead of giving into his mother and calling his ex-girlfriend. Newly diagnosed with cancer, Rachel apparently needs support. Greg doesn’t think he’s the one to do that, but his random and inappropriate humor makes her laugh. And she actually enjoys the really bad movies that he and Earl produce. When it becomes apparent that Rachel is not going to get better, Greg and Earl decide to create a movie just for her. Producing a movie with a purpose is a lot harder than just fooling around with a video camera, so they struggle to make something worthy enough to give a dying girl. Will their efforts make a difference in the last weeks of Rachel’s life? And will it make a difference in their own lives?

Critical Evaluation: Author Jesse Andrews puts his screenwriting talents to good use in the development of voice and character in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The book is first-person and Greg, our main character, is self-deprecating. Readers always want to root for the underdog and Greg positions himself as exactly that. In fact, he spends all of chapter three telling the reader just how much he sucks. (His word, not mine.) His blatant, and oftentimes painful, honesty with the reader creates a level of humor that, at times, is so uncomfortable that the reader is left questioning their choice in reading material. As Greg writes the dialogue he exchanges with his friends, he occasionally specifies exactly how they sound in addition to what they say. ‘“Everybody dies,” [Earl] said. Actually, he said, ‘Irrybody dies”... (134). Greg acknowledges the awkwardness of writing things out the way people actually say them, thus giving himself an excuse to not write phonetically all the time. But by doing it sporadically and with reason, he underscores the personality and character and history of the character in question.

Greg, being a typical teenage boy, breaks the narrative into bite-sized chunks. He uses a combination of screenplay script (basic dialogue with infrequent direction), bullet points, lists and at least one outline. The fluidity of the story is strong, though, because Greg always offers explanation of why he’s using a given technique. This is a skillful move on the part of the author since it creates a fast-paced story perfect for reluctant readers.

Reader’s Annotation: Greg’s master plan for senior year goes up in flames on the first day of school when his mom insists he contact his one and only ex-girlfriend. Who just happens to have cancer. He’s shocked when she actually thinks he’s funny, so he decides to pull out all the stops in order to lighten her last months.

Author Information: Jesse Andrews is the author of the New York Times best-selling novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Abrams Books, 2012). He is also the writer of the feature-film adaptation of his own book, also entitled Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, the winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It will be released in theaters in June 2015.

He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and is a graduate of Schenley High School and Harvard University. He currently makes his home in Boston, MA.¹  

Curriculum ties: none

Booktalks: film making, mixed gender friendships

Challenge issues: profanity, drug use; death; abuse; truancy; parental disrespect

Challenge Issue Resources (in the event of a challenge):

• Library Selection Policy
• Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
• Active listening skills
• Awards
• Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
• Illinois Library Association (Banned Books Listings)
• National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
• Positive and negative reviews: expert, parent, student
• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
• Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
• Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Reasoning: Immensely popular due to its similarity to The Fault in Our Stars, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl picked up even more interest when the movie was released to great acclaim. Teens and adults alike want to read the book that started it all.

References

¹Jesse Andrews. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/Jesse-Andrews/e/B005VKKMNY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0