Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You

by Todd Hasak-Lowy

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/06/the-list-book-one-with-really-long-title.html
Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You is a storyline made entirely of lists, in which Darren seems to find solace as a coping mechanism. The ass has just fallen out of his world, he's depressed, latches onto girls hoping for a girlfriend and dreams of his own band, I suspect in the hope to find said girlfriend. His mother would rather throw herself into her work than spend time with her family, and his divorced father has just dropped a doozy of a secret in Darren's lap. Darren is a likable character, we're told he's intelligent but sadly never shown any proof. But he's creative and an incredible bassist, who misses playing with his brother's band. Darren reminded me of Charlie in The Perks of Being A Wallflower, naive and awkward, but has a strange appeal that is never quite fully explored. I loved Zoey, her character had the makings of a John Green novel. Quirky and flighty, but sadly just as she started to become interesting, she disappeared.

I loved Darren's father, so incredibly loving and tolerable of his son while he worked through his issues. He was a big part of Darren's life, whether Darren wanted him there or not and with his mother always on the road, he desperately needed a parental figure in his life.

But beyond the quirky format, it brings to light deep and thought provoking issues such as substance abuse, sexuality and loneliness. I felt incredibly sorry for Darren but once his father's secret was revealed, he became another angry and angst riddled teen that seemed withdraw from the only person who was genuinely there for him.

As much as I appreciated it's uniqueness, I didn't see the overall picture. I was waiting for the AH HA! moment that never arrived. It was entertaining, but the format left me feeling disconnected and unable to immerse myself within the storyline. I found the lists difficult to read with it's stop start format.

A quirky and unique coming of age, that in the right hands will indulge readers, immerse them and leave you on a high. I enjoyed it for the most part, but with a disconnection to the characters and storyline. Don't let it's length fool you, it's remarkably easy to breeze through.