Review: The Catastrophic History of You & Me by Jess Rothenberg

Title:

Author: Jess Rothenberg

Publisher: Dial Books (Penguin Young Readers)

Release: February 21, 2012

Age Group: Young Adult

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by publisher for an honest review in conjunction with a Teen Book Scene book tour.

Recommend: Julie says, “I really enjoyed this book once I got past the first few chapters.”

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 by Julie

This story starts right off in the head of the main character Brie. It’s a bit like working backwards at first, then the reader catches up to where Brie is in her own story and we ride it out with her. Since I wasn’t invested in the character yet, the first few chapters were not that interesting to me. Once the reader catches up to Brie and Patrick enters the picture, the book gets on a roll.

The concept of the main character being dead and working her way through the stages of grief sounds depressing. However, this book is anything but. Each stage of grief brings about new revelations for Brie. Even though this is a fiction book, the events that unfold reminded me people’s lives are not always what we think they are. Everyone has secrets or things they didn’t know. Brie gets to see these hidden things from her life in the afterlife. All these things you think lead her to accept she’s dead. But that’s not the end goal. The book takes a twist that makes this book a much more romantic read than I originally expected.

The two main characters, Brie and Patrick, end up quite likable. At first, Brie acts like the teenager she is, but by the end of the book I quite liked her. Patrick is a great guide in the afterlife and helps Brie through her stages of grief. There are complications in the story that add to the intrigue of what is really going on in Brie’s former life and current afterlife. Rothenberg does a nice job of interweaving these two aspects carrying the reader to the same conclusion Brie eventually comes to.

The ending wraps up well except I do have one nagging thought. Brie does something in the end that leaves me to question her and Patrick’s ‘status’. This is a stand alone novel, so my main complaint is that not all was firmly explained to my satisfaction. In a stand alone I don’t like being left with any questions. Other than that, I enjoyed the book.

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