Reviewed by Joséphine on
Initial thoughts: When I picked up this book, I didn't realize how young the protagonist would be. Generally I have little interest for books involving 15-year-olds but despite that, I thought The Catastrophic History of You and Me was entertaining, if a little sad. Aubrie, better known as Brie had a hilarious voice that overshadowed the fact that she was a dead person watching the living, unable to move on from this afterlife. She witnessed her family unravel in the wake of her death and that was heartbreaking. At the same time, the style of writing was light and funny, which lessened the impact of the sadness.
One thing that I didn't care for were all the references to cheese and the myriad of cheese-related nicknames that Brie received. Also, Brie was extremely self-absorbed in a way that made me want to slap her. Then again, even the best of us were self-absorbed at that age, so here's to a good dose of a realistic portrayal of a teenager on her path to a slight bit more maturity. (For she did develop more empathy in the end.)
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 18 February, 2015: Finished reading
- 18 February, 2015: Reviewed