What's Elizabeth Reading? ...Daniel Handler

I did not enjoy this book.

Now that I've said that, I will add that it wasn't that the writing wasn't good.  It was beautifully written.  It was the story itself that I didn't enjoy; but I know that with how many books I find myself reading, I am bound to find a few that I just don't enjoy.  Memo to self: Don't read teenage drama stories.

It's not that I hated Why We Broke Up.  It just wasn't my cup of ... coffee with extra cream and three sugars.

Now that is one of the beauties of this book: the details.  The narrator and protagonist, Min, tells us she likes her coffee with extra cream and three sugars.  She references specific movies throughout the text and describes scenes from them in order to portray her emotions, reactions, or perception of events.  The book even includes a map of how Min and her now-ex-boyfriend, Ed, get from one Halloween party to the other.

I read somewhere that this story was based off the illustrations it has.  Daniel Handler worked with Maira Kalman on a children's book and they decided to do another story together; but this time, they were going to switch things up.  Kalman drew what she wanted to, and Handler used her artwork to piece together a story.  It reminds me of how Pirates of the Caribbean is based off a ride in Disneyland (which then renovated itself to be aligned with the movie, so they're based off each other, a paradox of Disney).  Cool concept, though, and I think it went well for them.  It's amazing how well Handler portrays a teenage girl.  He must have had a sister while he was growing up.  I looked it up and he doesn't have a daughter (unless she's hidden away somewhere like Ariana Dumbledore or Bertha Mason.  Maybe her name is Beatrice).

So the writing was excellent, the book was not.  I would only recommend this book to ... a girl with loose morals who is going through high school and who loves gossip and love story drama.  Yuck.