2013 Reviewed Books (book titles)

Here is the corresponding list of last year's book reviews (I did the book covers last January!):

1. Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo (at iba pang technique kung paano makaka 

    move on sa wasak na puso) by Ramon Bautista

2. Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
3. The Pretty One by Cheryl Klam
4. Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
5. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
6. Reflected in You by Sylvia Day
7. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
8. Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
9. Because it is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin
10. Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman
11. It's Kind of A Funny Story Ned Vizzini
12. The Selection by Kiera Cass
13. The Prince by Kiera Cass
14. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
15. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
16. Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern
17. Black Painted Fingernails by Steven Herrick
18. The Elite by Kiera Cass
19. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
20. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
21. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
22. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
23. Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral
24. The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
25. The Boy Book by E. Lockhart
26. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
27. Lizzie Goes Wild
28. The Bermuda Triangle by Charles Berlitz
29. Suddenly Royal by Nichole Chase
30. Reasons I Fell for the Fat Funny Friend by Cassie Mae (A.K.A. Becca Ann)
31. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
32. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
33. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
34. She's Dating the Gangster by Bianca B. Bernardino
35. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
36. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
37. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
38. Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
39. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
40. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
41. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
42. Butter by Erin Jade Lange
43. Abandon Changes by John M. Cusick
44. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
45. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
46. Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
47. The Every Boy by Dana Adam Shapiro
48. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

I miss reviewing books! It's been 60 days (exactly two months!) since the last and it's a pity because I inhaled this one. I was engrossed.

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Greg S. Gaines is a seventeen-year-old boy who has successfully avoided associating himself with any of the groups of Benson High School's strata. His modus operandi in maintaining the seemingly "invisible" facade is to be good friends with everyone but not close enough that it obligates him the sit-with-me-at-lunchtime & let's-hang-out-after-school social norms.

Our lead character may look like a friendless fool on the surface but, really, he has a best friend. Earl Jackson, a boy Greg describes as his "coworker" (they make homemade movies together), is a spunky boy of African-American descent.

Drama in Greg's undoubtedly lighthearted life develops the moment he befriends a cancer-stricken girl named Rachel Kushner.

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As soon as I read Greg's take on how the story would go, I branded this book right away as the Anti-TFiOS (The Fault in Our Stars). The main character immediately denied that there would be any kind of romance between him and Rachel. In fact, he even chose to highlight his negative traits. Considering how selfish and cold he painted himself, I managed to feel sorry for him when Rachel died. Other than the entertaining narrative, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl pulled off some earnest and heartrending story.

I don't think this book is the kind you read chapter by chapter every night. It's the kind of book you want to see through immediately. And it is because of Earl, most of the time.