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Book: The Catastrophic History of You and Me
Author: Jess Rothenberg
Rating:
Synopsis: 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?
Review: Awh, this book is so completely, adorably, awesomely.. cute. (not the word you were expecting, huh?)
The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a lovestory. It's a lovestory mixed with so many feelings and so many events that you don't exactly perceive it as that at first. You only see it when you look at the big scheme of things once the book is over.
TCHOYAM is the story of a girl, Aubrie "Brie" (like the cheese) Eagan, who dies of heartbreak.
Literally.
When her boyfriend Jacob, whom she completely was in love with, tells her he doesn't love her, the whole world stops, she feels a pain so deep in her chest that she can't even breath..e and then nothing.
She's gone.
Her little heart unexplicably divided in two perfect halves.
The book tells us how she deals with the knowledge of her death, following the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. These are also the parts in which the book is divided, so that the whole story is about Brie's feelings and her slow coming to terms with reality.
Brie was a very interesting character and somehow at the end of the book I still wasn't sure whether I liked her or not.
She was really angry for about half of the book, if not a little more. And that was completely understandable. She hated her boyfriend for having treated her like that and, basically, for killing her. Even if he hadn't meant to.
Then another occurence adds up to her already raw feelings and she really can't take it anymore. She starts venting her anger on the ex, Jacob, and even though she feels a bit guilty about it she just can't stop feeling so much anger. I was so sad for her and what she'd been through. Dying at fifteen, such a young age, and just because first love didn't work out. She had lost so much.
Then there was Patrick. Patrick is the guy she meets in the "afterlife", in a place similar to the real world but not quite like it.
I knew something was up to him from about 20% of the book, and I think most of the people who read this book did, too.
On that point, a lot of things were easily understandable from some little detail that the author let slip throughout the book, therefore there wasn't muchsurprise at the end of TCHOYAM. At least not for me.
However, there was Jacob's secret. That I did not expect at all. And even though we found out in a bad occasion, when Brie read the letter I honestly burst out laughing. I know, I know, I'm heartless. But it just.. made me laugh. All she'd done to make him suffer and in the end that was the sole reason.
Poor darlings. Both of them.
I liked the way the story was written. Brie's POV was funny to read and she actually spoke like a teenager (most of the time).
I really liked the ending and it kind of made me swoon. Okay, it did make me swoon.
In short, I liked every single thing about The Catastrophic History of You and Me.
I liked how Brie came through every stage of grief that was expected from her, and we had the possibility to witness that. I felt her grief and I felt really close to her. At the beginning I even wanted to cry. (though I didn't 'cause that would have slowed me down with the reading + there were people in the house)
Also, it was not only a story about love and grief but about forgiving and moving on. About coming to terms with reality and starting over.
So yeah, I was honestly braced not to like this book very much, but the contrary happened.
I am really glad I decided to buy it (after staring at it for about fiteen minutes, weighting my options, deciding not to buy it, leaving the bookstore and then coming back a few minutes later, then changing my mind again and then being forced by my exasperated friend to make a damn choice) and I'm looking forward to more books by this author.
The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a lovestory. It's a lovestory mixed with so many feelings and so many events that you don't exactly perceive it as that at first. You only see it when you look at the big scheme of things once the book is over.
TCHOYAM is the story of a girl, Aubrie "Brie" (like the cheese) Eagan, who dies of heartbreak.
Literally.
When her boyfriend Jacob, whom she completely was in love with, tells her he doesn't love her, the whole world stops, she feels a pain so deep in her chest that she can't even breath..e and then nothing.
She's gone.
Her little heart unexplicably divided in two perfect halves.
The book tells us how she deals with the knowledge of her death, following the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. These are also the parts in which the book is divided, so that the whole story is about Brie's feelings and her slow coming to terms with reality.
Brie was a very interesting character and somehow at the end of the book I still wasn't sure whether I liked her or not.
She was really angry for about half of the book, if not a little more. And that was completely understandable. She hated her boyfriend for having treated her like that and, basically, for killing her. Even if he hadn't meant to.
Then another occurence adds up to her already raw feelings and she really can't take it anymore. She starts venting her anger on the ex, Jacob, and even though she feels a bit guilty about it she just can't stop feeling so much anger. I was so sad for her and what she'd been through. Dying at fifteen, such a young age, and just because first love didn't work out. She had lost so much.
Then there was Patrick. Patrick is the guy she meets in the "afterlife", in a place similar to the real world but not quite like it.
I knew something was up to him from about 20% of the book, and I think most of the people who read this book did, too.
On that point, a lot of things were easily understandable from some little detail that the author let slip throughout the book, therefore there wasn't muchsurprise at the end of TCHOYAM. At least not for me.
However, there was Jacob's secret. That I did not expect at all. And even though we found out in a bad occasion, when Brie read the letter I honestly burst out laughing. I know, I know, I'm heartless. But it just.. made me laugh. All she'd done to make him suffer and in the end that was the sole reason.
Poor darlings. Both of them.
I liked the way the story was written. Brie's POV was funny to read and she actually spoke like a teenager (most of the time).
I really liked the ending and it kind of made me swoon. Okay, it did make me swoon.
In short, I liked every single thing about The Catastrophic History of You and Me.
I liked how Brie came through every stage of grief that was expected from her, and we had the possibility to witness that. I felt her grief and I felt really close to her. At the beginning I even wanted to cry. (though I didn't 'cause that would have slowed me down with the reading + there were people in the house)
Also, it was not only a story about love and grief but about forgiving and moving on. About coming to terms with reality and starting over.
So yeah, I was honestly braced not to like this book very much, but the contrary happened.
I am really glad I decided to buy it (after staring at it for about fiteen minutes, weighting my options, deciding not to buy it, leaving the bookstore and then coming back a few minutes later, then changing my mind again and then being forced by my exasperated friend to make a damn choice) and I'm looking forward to more books by this author.
It's not one of those books that you're sure most of the people will like, gotta admit that. But I definitely liked it, in my own way.
Four stars. :D
P.S.: I really liked Brie's musical tastes, too! And the way each chapter was named after a really good song. ;)
Four stars. :D
P.S.: I really liked Brie's musical tastes, too! And the way each chapter was named after a really good song. ;)
My review on goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/355942202
Thanks for reading! ;)
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