Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

For once I'm not going to summarise the book myself as the thing that made me really want to read this book (aside from the awesome author) was the blurb itself and I don't think I can top it.

"This is the box, Ed. 


Inside is everything. 


Two bottle caps,
a movie ticket from Greta in the Wild,
a note from you,
a box of matches, 
your protractor, 
Joan's book,
the stolen sugar, 
a toy truck, 
those ugly earrings,
a comb from the motel, 
and the rest of it.


This is it, Ed.


The whole story of why we broke up."
(Taken from the back cover of Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler)

I've already mentioned that Daniel Handler is an awesome author. If I'm to be honest, I had never heard of the name Daniel Handler before this book was brought to my attention. That's because his other books that I've read are written under the name Lemony Snicket (who I'm excited to announce is releasing the first of his new series in October!). I really enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events but as they were written for a younger audience I wasn't really sure what to expect when it came to Why We Broke Up, especially as it's clear from the use of a different name that this was to be something separate.

The first thing that struck me when my copy arrived was the brilliant artwork. Maira Kalman has done a fantastic job and it really adds a striking and superb finishing touch to the book. Each item that Min (who is writing this letter) is returning to Ed is accompanied by a gorgeous illustration that really brings it to life for the reader as well as helping in the story-telling process. It almost makes it like a picture book for teens but this book is so much better than that phrase makes it sound and so don't let it put you off.

The idea of using the items to tell the story of Ed and Min's relationship is brilliant and effective. When I've come across items left over from a relationship it's always amazing how the memories come flooding back and how much something so simple can mean so much. Their use helps to bring a sense of reality to the story and makes it easy to relate to Min as well as helping to make this book something different. Handler's writing style also works brilliantly as it's exactly the sort of way a real person thinks instead of the grammatically correct text you would normally find in a novel and this intensifies the experience. At first this did take a little bit of getting used to but once I got into the flow of the text it wasn't an issue. The plot unfolds one item at a time like putting together the pieces of a puzzle with each illustration acting as a clue before it's place in this tale is fully revealed. Handler is such a creative individual who weaves his fictional details together so thoroughly and completely that his created worlds contain a depth which makes it very easy for the reader to become immersed in them. Min is also a character who is easy to identify with. She's not cool (in a mainstream sense) or perfect or damaged or suffering from major self-esteem issues or anything like that. She's a normal teenager who has her group of friends and her own defining thing that all teenagers have to some degree (in her case it's a film obsession). This makes her very likeable and easy to picture.

Overall I loved this book! It really resounds with anyone who has experienced any level of heartbreak as well as being a fantastic book that is incredibly well thought out with a story that is wonderfully told.

I give it 9/10! :D

Title: Why We Broke Up
Author: Daniel Handler
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Teenage Fiction