Books › Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
336 pages
A fiercely unsentimental, laugh-out-loud exploration of grief that hides its breaking heart behind a barrage of terrible jokes and cinematic obsessions.
What it feels like
This is the anti-tragedy tragedy, a book that actively fights against the sentimental tropes of its genre. Reading it feels like being trapped in the mind of a hyper-articulate, deeply insecure teenager who uses humor as a shield against the unbearable weight of reality. The pace is incredibly brisk, propelled by a fragmented structure that constantly shifts into screenplay formats, lists, and direct, self-deprecating addresses to the reader. It is chaotic and crude, yet beneath the relentless barrage of jokes and emotional avoidance lies a surprisingly tender core. It perfectly captures the awkward, messy inadequacy of trying to be a good friend when you have no idea what you are doing. It will delight readers who want to laugh out loud while their heart is quietly being broken.
- Mood
- emotionally avoidant
- chaotic
- bittersweet
- Tone
- irreverent
- self-deprecating
- cynical
- darkly comedic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- performative detachment · the awkwardness of grief · messy teenage friendships · confronting mortality
- The writing
- Highly conversational and fragmented, the text frequently breaks into screenplay formats, bulleted lists, and self-conscious, fourth-wall-breaking rants.
- The arc
- The narrative begins behind a thick wall of cynical detachment and crude humor, slowly crumbling into a messy, uncomfortable, and genuine confrontation with loss.
- Who it's for
- Perfect for readers who despise saccharine tragedy tropes and prefer their emotional devastation delivered through a filter of awkward, dark humor.
Content notes
- terminal illness
- death of a teenager
- grief
- crude humor
- profanity
About the book
Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia.
Description from Open Library.
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