Why We Broke Up
Daniel Handler
Read by Khristine Hvam

Hachette Audio
December 2011 / ISBN: 978-1611132960
Teen / YA Fiction / Audiobook (Unabridged) / 6 hours and 33 minutes
Amazon

Reviewed by Willie Elliott

Min (Minerva) and Ed Slateron have broken up and Min has a box of items that she plans to return to Ed along with a letter explaining why they broke up.

Each item is given its full story, which takes us down some side roads that may lead readers to ask, "Why should we bother to hear all these stories?" There comes a time when the reader (listener) wishes there were fewer items in the box. Min, in the typical fashion of a teenager, keeps insisting that she doesn't care and doesn't love Ed. A few items in and we know Min is wrong on both accounts and the items and their stories become more relevant and engrossing.

The digressions into arcane movies which may be necessary for Min to tell her story leaves the reader with doubts about how successfully they move the plot forward. Once the reader keeps in mind that he/she is dealing with a teenager, the story becomes more touching and realistic.

In the climax Min unleashes all those feelings that readers expected all along. Even those elements that adult readers find boring or unnecessary will resonate with the younger reader group.