Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up

by Daniel Handler

A great book written by Daniel Handler for young adults encountering love for the first time: Why We Broke Up.  Min, a sixteen-year-old junior in high school, decides to write a letter to her first love, Ed, the co-captain of the basketball team, after being with him for 4 weeks.  She drops off the letter with a box of trinkets she collected during their brief but intense relationship.  Min writes this tell-all story of how they met, when Ed shows up uninvited to her best friend Al’s bittersweet birthday party at his home with the artsy kids.  Ed and his friends are a year older (seniors) and a bit drunk.  Min is attracted to Ed and hence the budding relationship begins.  But the two are so different: Min wants to be a movie director, and Ed thinks only about high school sports, girls and friends. As each chapter unfolds, Min shares a new object that she has included in the box for Ed.  Ed has a list of former girlfriends, many of whom Min meets during the relationship, including one who befriends her. This girl, Annette, makes an effort to show her that Ed really does love her.  This is Min’s first relationship, and over the next few weeks, she contemplates having sex with Ed, as she believes she loves him.  Min turns to her friend Al for guidance – he remains supportive but is unwilling to encourage her relationship with Ed.  After much discussion and contemplation, Min decides to give up her virginity to Ed, who continues to profess that she is different from the other girls given her artistic/non-cheerleader style.  The day after they have sex, Min and Ed work on planning a birthday party for a former movie star the two think they saw when they went to their first date at an old-time movie.  When they go to get flowers for the honoree of the party, the florist thinks Min is Annette, the former girlfriend, for whom Ed has just ordered flowers. The florist has a note for her.  Min grabs the note and reads that Ed misses Annette, and all hell breaks loose as Min realizes Ed is just a sex-crazed high school athlete who has used her…hence Min’s letter explaining “Ed, let me tell you why we broke up”.  A sad reality that I think happens way too often in this generation of high school students.  A pretty compelling book for the 13-15 year olds to read to better understand the realities of today’s life for the young.  It’s a quick read, has good pictures and details a girl’s hard lesson in “love”.