Review of "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"

"I don't know how to live a normal human life."

     In Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, author Jesse Andrews takes a new perspective on cancer. Seventeen-year-old Greg Gaines, a high school senior in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has figured out the perfect tactic to avoid being picked on. All he has to do is "get in" with every social group at Benson High. If he's on good terms with everyone, they won't flick ketchup at his head--right? But this plan is shattered when his well-meaning mom tells him that Rachel Kushner, a girl he hasn't talked to since Hebrew school, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Suddenly, Greg is expected to spend time with a girl he barely knows, who is fighting a war he can never understand. And when his grades start dropping, Greg's entire future is threatened. In the end, Rachel and Earl, Greg's best friend, are the only ones who can help him through this mess--and they have problems of their own.

     Greg introduces his fictional biography with a classic warning: put down this novel. According to him, nothing good can come from reading the story of his time with Rachel Kushner. She certainly didn't make his life any better or more meaningful--if anything, he's worse off now that she's gone. And with that, the hook is planted. Though he tries to hide it, it is obvious from the start that Greg is deeply affected by Rachel's passing, and we are given the impression that, despite his insistence to the contrary, his tale will be dedicated to telling readers why. The setup is so clear and heartfelt that it is almost natural for the illusion to be immediately shattered.

     The shift is subtle at first: a continuous shift in narration styles, a tendency to focus on what Greg wants or feels instead of how it affects others. Then, when he meets Rachel, everything becomes crystal-clear. However noble his mom thinks this quest to befriend a dying girl, Greg considers himself a martyr for the act. There are so many better things he could do with his time, like make another terrible movie with Earl or fantasize about the hottest girls at school. It doesn't help that he and Rachel don't have a lot in common. In fact, once he thinks to bring Earl along, he doesn't even have to add to the conversation.

     As far as pacing goes, there is quite a bit of balance here. Highs and lows take turns swinging at the characters, giving them a chance to experience life from a thousand different angles. From a fight to accidental drug use and public humiliation, Greg and Earl get the full high school treatment over the course of the novel. When they eat out, the food is terrible; when they hang out with Rachel, they don't know how to act. How is a boy supposed to treat a near-stranger who could fall dead at any minute? While there isn't a whole lot of character development, Andrews does a good job exposing his cast to a wide variety of eye-opening situations.

     The author of this piece seems dedicated to making it true to life. People cuss. Teens look up inappropriate images and think about romance at every turn. When something goes wrong, no matter how infinitesimal, it's a world-changing catastrophe. Greg is very honest about his life and the world in which he lives, and makes a few startling and funny observations as a result. On the other hand, he and Earl can't seem to go a minute without cursing repeatedly or using crude language. While a swear here and there could be overlooked, this is so constant and so vulgar it is distracting. There is no actual romance, and the only reference to religion is Greg's irreverent descriptions of his brief time in Hebrew school as a child.

     I would recommend this book to teens looking for an insightful book written from the point of view of a boy for whom life has no purpose. Greg Gaines may think he's all that, but really he's a boy who is extremely insensitive to the lives of those around him. His unpleasantness provides a unique, thought-provoking lens through which to watch a girl live out her final days. Add in a fairly static cast and an off-putting amount of vulgarity, and the amount of potential reached is lowered considerably. When all is said and done, Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a fairly good novel with a perspective on high school life that is almost too honest. It deserves three stars.