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.