Why We Broke Up

Gr 9 Up—Min, short for Minerva, met Ed at her best friend Al's bitter 16 party. They dated, fell in love, and eventually broke up. To get on with her life, Min must dispose of her box of treasures—mementos of their relationship that she has kept since the night of that party. She writes Ed a letter, inspired by every token in the box and the memories surrounding their acquisition, detailing why they broke up so she can leave it all on his doorstep. A classic movie buff, Min compares the events of her life to scenes from her favorite movies and weaves these into her letter. The final CD includes each lovely full-page painting of a memento that introduces each chapter—movie tickets, bottle caps, rose petals, and more. Khristine Hvam's narration has a pleasant cadence and she provides subtle voice changes for the different characters in the novel (Little, Brown, 2011) by Daniel Handler. Her pauses and emphases are a perfect fit for Min's character. There are some f-bombs lightly sprinkled throughout and some mild sexual descriptions. This pleasant story will resonate with anyone who has ever been jilted by the one they thought was the one.—Cynthia Ortiz, Hackensack High School, NJ