New York : Little, Brown, 2011.
354 p. : col. ill. ; 22 cm.
A really lovely book, that offers several creatively fresh angles on the romance that falls apart between two unlikely teens.
The first nice hook of this book is the premise. The book is the supposed text accompanying the box of returned "artifacts" of this couple's brief love affair which is being ended by the girl after she learns of her boyfriend's secret second girlfriend.
The next appealing aspect of the book are the lovely full color paintings by Maira Kalman which begin each chapter of the book - usually being a chapter describing one item in the box and how it relates to the couple's romance and break-up. These illustrations (like the one at the top of this entry) are simple - but wonderfully colorful and evocative. They also serve to stoke the reader's curiosity and add texture to the novel. I often found myself gazing at them before beginning a chapter, and then looking back at them after reading the chapter.
Another strength of this book are the characters, who are richly developed and complicated. Min Green, the girl who tells the story, is smart, irreverent, artsy and - unfortunately - naive. Her boyfriend the popular, good looking Ed Slaterton is a jock and a bit of a cad, but is also very smart in math and clever and funny.
If I had a complaint for this book, it would be that it was a bit too long. I felt like it lost its pace about 2/3 of the way through, and like other critics of the book I found myself being a bit annoyed with the narrator - her obsession with films and inability to see the flaws of her boyfriend get tiresome toward the end. However, I felt like the book found its footing toward the end and I would definitely recommend it to any student looking for a book about dating, romance, first love, and break-ups.
For me this book called to mind Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower and Cohn's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
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