Spring 2019, Wild Readers 5 discussion

For Book Review Nine I decided to read a book I heard about during the first round of book commercials called “Why We Broke Up” by Daniel Handler, and I was not disappointed. This story follows the lives of Mina and Ed as well as Mina’s best friend Al. As I am sure you can gather from the title a break up is going to happen at some point during the novel, but to my pleasant surprise only a small portion of this book was explicitly about why Mina and Ed broke up. The novel is written in the form of a long letter, explicitly Mina’s letter to Ed about their very short but very passionate relationship. Throughout the letter we are exposed to what ended their relationship like insecurity, outside influences and so much more. Throughout the story we also become cognizant of Al’s feelings for Mina. Mina has pushed Al aside as she fell hard and fast for Ed and didn’t make much time for her friends during this time. Al does not tell Mina how he feels for some time, but eventually does and it is much too late. Without spoiling a major part of the book and the main reason they broke up, Mina is forced to make the decision to leave Ed as this is her last straw. This breakup was difficult and confusing, giving Mina a need to wrap her head around what has happened, this time of processing is what sparked this long letter. The book does end on a pretty happy note as Mina is finally coming to terms with what has happened and thinks about the possibility of entertaining Al’s feelings for her. In a lot of ways I relate to Mina. I too have been in many terrible relationships built on insecurity, where outside factors and temptation played huge roles. I too, have pushed away my friends for people who were not worth it. All in all, I really enjoyed this novel and the artwork inside of it as well as the style of the writing. Handler does a beautiful job of describing this complicated, painful, yet romantic learning lesson.