Why We Broke Up

Starred review from November 14, 2011
Handler and Kalman (13 Words) craft a book-length breakup letter from Min (short for Minerva) to her ex-boyfriend, Ed. Accusatory yet affectionate—directed at “you, Ed”—it accompanies a hefty box of souvenirs Min accumulated during the two-month romance. Between chapters, readers gaze at Kalman’s almost totemic still lifes of each nostalgic item, which range from handwritten notes (“I can’t stop thinking about you”) to secondhand-store finds and movie tickets. Min loves classic cinema, and Handler invents false film titles like “Greta of the Wild” that Min and her platonic pal Al name-drop like an “old married couple.” Proceeding chronologically, Min recounts her doomed affair with Ed, a basketball star who shrugs at movies and commits gaffe after embarrassing gaffe in front of Min’s friends. They can’t understand what she’s doing with him, but readers won’t have that problem—Handler shows exceptional skill at getting inside Min’s head and heart. Halfway through Min’s impassioned epistle, readers may
realize that Ed, even if he cares, lacks the wherewithal to read it—lending real pathos to Min’s memorabilia and making her sorrow all the more palpable. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. Ages 15–up. (Dec.)■

Min is writing the mother of all break-up letters to Ed, which she will add to a box of mementos of their doomed relationship and dump at his door. Khristine Hvam, surprisingly, never lets bitterness or regret take over her first-person narration as the jilted girl. Hvam particularly shines in the voicing of Min, Min's friends, and Ed's friends. The story is well trod, but what sets this tale of heartbreak apart is the collaboration between Handler's bittersweet prose and Maria Kalman's quirky illustrations. For the audiobook, the artwork comes in PDF, but nothing cues the listener to view the images. Instead, seemingly random sound effects vary in clarity, quality, and effectiveness. This is why the printed version of this book is the better choice. M.M.O. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

April 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Min, short for Minerva, met Ed at her best friend Al's bitter 16 party. They dated, fell in love, and eventually broke up. To get on with her life, Min must dispose of her box of treasures-mementos of their relationship that she has kept since the night of that party. She writes Ed a letter, inspired by every token in the box and the memories surrounding their acquisition, detailing why they broke up so she can leave it all on his doorstep. A classic movie buff, Min compares the events of her life to scenes from her favorite movies and weaves these into her letter. The final CD includes each lovely full-page painting of a memento that introduces each chapter-movie tickets, bottle caps, rose petals, and more. Khristine Hvam's narration has a pleasant cadence and she provides subtle voice changes for the different characters in the novel (Little, Brown, 2011) by Daniel Handler. Her pauses and emphases are a perfect fit for Min's character. There are some f-bombs lightly sprinkled throughout and some mild sexual descriptions. This pleasant story will resonate with anyone who has ever been jilted by the one they thought was the one.-Cynthia Ortiz, Hackensack High School, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.