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Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You Hardcover – March 24, 2015
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Darren hasn’t had an easy year.
There was his parents’ divorce, which just so happened to come at the same time his older brother Nate left for college and his longtime best friend moved away. And of course there’s the whole not having a girlfriend thing.
Then one Thursday morning Darren’s dad shows up at his house at 6 a.m. with a glazed chocolate doughnut and a revelation that turns Darren’s world inside out. In full freakout mode, Darren, in a totally un-Darren move, ditches school to go visit Nate. Barely twenty-four hours at Nate’s school makes everything much better or much worse—Darren has no idea. It might somehow be both. All he knows for sure is that in addition to trying to figure out why none of his family members are who they used to be, he’s now obsessed with a strangely amazing girl who showed up out of nowhere but then totally disappeared.
Told entirely in lists, Todd Hasak-Lowy’s debut YA novel perfectly captures why having anything to do with anyone, including yourself, is:
1. painful
2. unavoidable
3. ridiculously complicated
4. possibly, hopefully the right thing after all.
- Print length656 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateMarch 24, 2015
- Grade level9 and up
- Reading age14 years and up
- Dimensions5.5 x 2 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-109781442495739
- ISBN-13978-1442495739
- Lexile measure1010L
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Product details
- ASIN : 1442495731
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; First Edition (March 24, 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 656 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781442495739
- ISBN-13 : 978-1442495739
- Reading age : 14 years and up
- Lexile measure : 1010L
- Grade level : 9 and up
- Item Weight : 1.5 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 2 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,354,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Spanning several days in Darren's life, "Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You" is written in the third person. However, the tone feels as if Darren himself was writing the lists but was referring to himself in the third person. This technique provides perspective and allows Darren to distance himself from his emotions and the events with which he is dealing. Todd Hasak-Lowy realistically captures the angst Darren is experiencing with respect to his parents' divorce, his reaction to girls, and his perspective on the future. The author clearly understands and empathizes with the emotions of teens; the conflicts and physical reactions, the actions Darren takes are all true-to-life.
The use of lists as the vehicle by which Darren's story is told reflects the reality of communication with teens - either their responses are short and pithy or they become quite long and detailed. The use of these longer and more detailed narrative lists and shorter, succinct lists help keep the novel moving. The shorter lists provide relief from some of the less compelling, longer lists of the novel; the longer lists create the background for the novel's action.
Parents may want to read "Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You" to determine whether it is appropriate for younger members of the target age group. Situations and relationship issues may not comport with conservative values. Nevertheless, this novel is the reality for many teens and is one that will appeal to the target audience.
There were two reasons I rated this book as a 4-star read - the unique format and the author's understanding of the adolescent experience and psyche. Had those attributes been absent and had it been possible, "Me Being Me Is Exactly As Insane As You Being You" would have received 3.5 stars.
By
Todd Hasak-Lowy
What it's all about...
This is a book of lists. Seriously! The entire book is written in numbered list form. This is Darren's book of lists...I get the image of him as cute, a bit awkward and geeky, not totally self assured and perhaps just a touch chubby? His dad shares a very heavy part of his life with Darren...and Darren sort of loses it.
Why I wanted to read it...
I did not realize that it would be written this way...in this weird list form but the lists really did tell the story and most of the time it was enjoyable. There were sections with one word lists and then there were sections with lengthier lists...that read like a normal book. Plus...the paragraphs written before I read the lists told the story also. So...it's a book written in list form that reads almost like a book written in book form.
One of my fave sections is entitled...DRUGS AND THE PEOPLE DARREN ASSOCIATES THEM WITH...one of the drugs is Pinot Noir.
What made me truly enjoy this book...
I enjoyed this book because of Darren...and his "situation" which I won't reveal because you should discover it on your own but it's really not hard to guess. Darren's parents seem a tad
"messed up" and Darren at times is a sad boy who has lots of questions for both his mom and dad...now divorced. The lists are always funny...not laugh out loud funny but a sort of sweetly/sad funny. Sometimes I just wanted to hug Darren...pat him on the back...and tell him everything will be alright. Reading this book is reading Darren's thought processes...which are all over the place...seriously.
Why you should read it, too...
This is a really insightful book that is told in a unique way. It's told from a teenage boy's viewpoint which isn't a viewpoint I usually appreciate...but it was fascinating. There are some bits of crude bathroom remarks...teenage boy humor...which held a total ick factor for me but that other readers might love...lol!
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