#161. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews

By this point, there's little reason to believe that there's a new way to write a coming of age novel. While every experience is unique, there are certain formative moments that they generally share. The teen years are a magical time where people discover who they want to be. While the story may feel familiar, Jesse Andrews has found a new and ingenious angle to explore those wayward days with humor and an unexpected emotional depth. The title "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" evokes a lot of complicated emotions, ranging from quirkiness to dread. It leaves the audience wondering who these people are and why they matter. It's not even clear that this is a coming of age novel. With all that said, the mixed approach is reflective of the larger text which features traditional text alongside screenwriting technique and various dialogue pieces. This is a story about learning to overcoming your own selfishness. It's at times unpleasant, but overall it's an entertaining read that plays well, especially to young cinephiles. 

Like most teens, Andrews' characters are messy and irreverent without strong social skills. The central two are especially driven by the testosterone of nerds making jokes about films alongside the familiar lowbrow sex jokes. Everything feels organic and there is an understanding of why they like each other. More importantly, they're aspirational filmmakers who make parodies of films they love, such as the work of Werner Herzog. Even compared to authors like "Ready Player One," Andrews' use of pop culture references feel like thematic character development that means more than empty recognition points. It all helps to build a sense of growth as the stories they tell become more complicated and present emotional growth as they find their own voices within the artifice.

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One of the major catalysts comes when he befriends a girl who has cancer. As they talk to each other, Andrews creates a character that is nuanced. She may be sick, but she is more than an archetype. There are moments where she is at odds with the protagonist and present harsh truths about his need to learn to empathize with others. It's all in the name of teens learning boundaries, so nothing is out of place. By the end, there is this understanding that arrives that manages to find somewhere in the crass humor and bad decisions a heart forming that makes the readers understand the beauty of friendship. It's not convenient or even always positive, but it's one of those early examples of learning what it means to love. 

With that, the larger point of the novel unfolds. This is as much a novel based on the goofy idea of making home movies as it is trying to understand self-expression through craft. Even if the larger story seems more flawed than the page, there is still this realization of how one's messiness is still important to work through because something major could shine through. If done right, one could hope to preserve complicated emotions in a way that resonates for the rest of their life. While Andrews' text may be most appealing to young adult readers, those willing to give into youthful naivety will find something profound and charming in this unique take on a familiar tale.