Review: Why We Broke Up
Why We Broke Up by Daniel HandlerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Like young love, it's hard to say how much lasting power Why We Broke Up will have, but for the this time in my life, it is one of my darlings. Minerva "Min" Green's voice is so much fun, and the details about the signs we all choose to ignore when we are interested in someone because they're hot and nothing else are spot on.
Why We Broke Up is a letter Min writes to Ed about the tattered remains of their relationship packed in a box with the phrase "You either have the feeling or you don't" on the lid. The items in the box are not extraordinary on their own: bottle caps, a used and kitsch recipe book, a seed pod, a tin and pistachio shells, rose petals, etc. Min's letter provides all the painstaking details that fill in the blanks between these otherwise unrelated items, and how they tie into her brief relationship with Ed.
Reading this book now, years after the sting of that first relationship where I wanted to just make-out with my boyfriend all day every day and never stop even if he was a total creep, all of it seems funny, but I can see how it might hit too close to home for some of us. Wherever you are on the relationship experience spectrum, you'll probably be able to relate to something in Why We Broke Up. Sadly, it didn't have a surprise ending, but the interesting part is finding out why not.