Friday 16 March 2012

Review: The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg


                                  The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

                           Pages: 400 Publisher: Penguin Release Date: February 21st 2012
                                                  Source: ARC (Review) Cover: 9/10 


Goodreads:

Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. 

BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. 

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after. 

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?


My Review:

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is the perfect Young Adult novel. It was so enjoyable and sad -at times!- to read. I really felt like I was on a journey with Brie. 

The characters are so well developed and are each on their own little journeys. I loved all the twists and turns, I seriously did not expect some of the things to happen and there were definitely some shockers! Especially with her friends, I thought that the story involving Jacob was so sad! 

I could definitely emphasise with Brie, what she was going through was very very tough! She dealt with things the way any other normal teenage girl would do. She was stubborn at times, selfish too but this gave her a lot more depth. Some of the scenes with Brie were so upsetting, I may have shed a tear or two… but shh! :) She replays clips of her old life and goes over and over them, especially the moment when Jacob tells her that he doesn’t love her anymore -sob! 

It was good to see how she evolved during the rest of the book, particularly towards the end. The ending is a happy ending and everything is tied up nicely! Brie is feeling a lot better she has moved onto the acceptance stage and has discovered something new about her life that she didn’t know before -which involves Patrick! Patrick is as important as Brie in this story as he has his own secrets and emotions and is a very mysterious character, we don’t really find out much about him until nearer the end. I loved the banter between the two of them, the book needed that to make the story a bit lighter. 

The book dealt with the whole range of emotions, the D&G book (Dead and Gone) was quite clever! The five stages of grief are the main ideas in this book and they were dealt with in such a good way! I loved how all the chapter names were song titles, would be a great idea for a play list to accompany the book! 

Overall, The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a great read which deals with difficult emotions in a very clever way! This book will leave you laughing and crying - all on the same page! 

4 out of 5 stars.


* Thank you to Puffin for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.




No comments :

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...