Young Adult
Pages: 400Publisher: Dial
Release Date: February 21, 2012
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?
I'm not quite sure what to say about this book without making it sound completely vague. I had a lot of trouble with the tone of the narration. I did not know whether to take things seriously or if there would be a "just kidding!" at some point. The story has hilarious parts and very sad, depressing parts, and I just had a hard time facing both of them so closely intertwined together.
The premise is quite something. A girl dying of heartbreak? Really? Then, there's the characters. Brie was not easy to digest because she was extremely childish and self-centered. And Patrick never quite felt right either. It might be just me, since I've been seeing nothing but glowing reviews for this one, but Patrick's character was flat and unrealistic.
The writing was pretty good and I liked the uniqueness of the names of the chapters and Brie's love of 80's music and how that fit in with the plot, but everything else, including the overdone drama during the climax and ending, was hard to deal with for me. Its quite a shame that an author with such potential for wittiness and sass tackles such depressing and cheesy issues in an otherwise fun fresh read. They don't fit together...
I hadn't heard of this one. Definitely sounds like an interesting premise. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...Now I'm anxious to see what I think of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm chugging my way through this book and I totally get what you mean by Brie's self-centerness and childish behavior. Hopefully I might find some of those redemning elements you read.
ReplyDelete