Tuesday 10 January 2012

Book Review - The Catastrophic History of You & Me

Title: The Catastrophic History of You & Me
Author: Jess Rothenberg
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 2 Feb 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0141334479

Synopsis
I was fifteen years old when I died of a broken heart. I'm talking100 percent Death by Heartbreak. 
No I didn't kill myself. No I didn't go on a hunger strike.
I didn't catch pneumonia wandering around in the rain in tears, Sense and Sensibility-style. Nope I did it the old fashioned way.
My heart literally BROKE IN HALF...



My Review 
I recieved a proof/ARC copy of this book about a month ago and after seeing some positive reviews about it I decided to give it a try.
This isn't the sort of book I would normally pick up, but the blurb sounded funny and I wondered what it would be like. 
Brie is the protagonist, she has just died from heartbreak and is getting ready to move on, but first she has to work out how. She takes you with her on her journey, from watching her own funeral, to meeting other spirits, to wanting revenge for her death etc. 
I quite liked Brie as a character to start with, she has a quick wit and easy personality and I felt sorry for her, but there were points in the book where she was acting like a spoilt brat and I really didn't like her. These moments are explained later and they do have a purpose but I wasn't sure I agreed with what she was doing. I really liked Patrick - he was a bit of a mystery throughout but he has a cheeky, confident demeanor and I found myself wanting to know more about him, I nearly cried when he disappeared for a while.
I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but in places I really enjoyed it and in others I wasn't sure. I did read it quite quickly (i had a day off today, I was on page 70 when I went to bed last night so had 310 pages to read today)
It is different from anything else I have read and I liked the narrative style. There were also some good twists and turns and overall I did enjoy it. It certainly makes you think.

My Rating
 

2 comments:

Julie said...

This is for me as well one of those that I might not necessarily pick up, but I've been seeing great reviews like yours, so .. hmmm ... I think it should go on my list.

barmybex said...

Glad you'll give it a go, I hope you enjoy it. I'm still not entirely sure about it.