VeganYANerds: The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Monday, 1 October 2012

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

7:00 am | Posted by Mandee | | Edit Post

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Published February 21, 2012 by Razorbill

Source: Penguin Australia

Rating: 3.5 paws

From the blurb: Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever.
BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally.
But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after.
With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is Jess Rothenberg’s debut novel and is set for the most part in Northern California. Aubrie Eagan, better known as Brie, dies at the age of fifteen from a broken heart. Yes, literally. On the night of October 4, 2010 her boyfriend Logan tells her that he doesn’t love her and the next thing she knows she’s watching her life from the outside, her family is grieving, they attend her funeral yet they cannot see her. Brie then ends up in an alternate world and it’s here she meets Patrick, a fellow lost soul, and he helps her navigate the afterlife.

Brie was a very funny and entertaining main character and I liked her from the start, often laughing out loud at her comments. I could understand her sadness at being told she was no longer loved and her frustration at being able to watch the developing events unfold without being able to do anything. My opinion of her changed slightly as the story unfolded. With the help of Patrick, Brie returns to check in on her family and to get revenge on Jacob for killing her. Brie does a lot of acting without thinking and she also makes incorrect assumptions about what is really going on. Still, I never really disliked her; she was just trying to make sense of her new life and come to terms with the fact that her old life was over at the young age of fifteen.

I liked Patrick and was happy he took Brie under his wing, showing her how to travel by zooming and helping her with her return to Earth but I also knew there was something he was hiding. I loved her three best friends, Emma, Sadie and Tessa, and her stories about their love of Disney and the day they all bought charm necklaces. I didn’t like Larkin but I did feel sorry for her.

The middle of the book started to lose me, the plot felt a bit choppy, one minute everything is fine, then Brie’s back in the afterlife, in this case a pizza shop, then she’s on Earth, then she’s with Larkin, and days, weeks and months go by with not a lot happening. There was also a major dramarama moment between Brie and Patrick and instead of doing something she just gets mad at him and pushes him away. And a lot of what was really happening seemed so obvious to me, but Brie just kept on making assumptions and making bad choices, ruining other peoples’ lives.

I also found it a bit confusing at the end; I wasn’t quite sure how it worked with past lives and the option of getting a second chance to do over your death. And while I am a fan of happy endings, this one felt a little forced to me.

I enjoyed the song titles/lyrics at the start of each chapter, I thought it was great that Brie had such a love for music and felt like her personality really shone throughout this book. For days after I had some of the songs stuck in my head and it was a nice reminder of this story.

And I have to mentioned the veg reference, Brie and her family were all vegetarians!

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a fun, entertaining, unique story, full of personality and I’d recommend this to fans of YA paranormal romance books.

Purchase: Angus & Robertson / Booktopia / Bookworld / Dymocks

Thank you to the lovely people at Penguin Australia for my review copy.

Labels: 3.5 stars, Jess Rothenberg, paranormal, review, veg/vegan reference, YA

31 comments:

Jennifer Messerschmidt said...: Wooo! I love when characters are vegetarians! Go Lola from Lola and the Boy Next Door. I can't think of anymore off the top of my head but I know there is more. This is on my not reading list because it sounds so sad. I actually read the ending in Walmart and started crying. It was a forced happy ending? It seemed sad to me! Did she get a do over? I thought she was moving on. Now I'm all curious!; 1 October 2012 7:50 am
Brandileigh2003 (Blkosiners Book Blog) said...: Brie sounds great, but sad about confusing ending.
I've been wanting to read this one.

Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog; 1 October 2012 9:32 am
Keertana said...: Mandee, I agree with you spot-on about this one. I loved the characters, but the plot seemed to lose me around the middle and that ending was a little too...I don't know. I wasn't a big fan of it. I'm still glad you enjoyed this one, dear! Wonderful review! :); 1 October 2012 10:06 am
Erin W. said...: I absolutely adored this book . . . one of the best books I've read in this sort of genre. I understand why some readers would have a problem with the ending but I loved it. Especially Patrick who was such a sweetheart. Glad you enjoyed it too. Great review!; 1 October 2012 11:42 am
Rebecca said...: I LOVED this book. If I start to really think about it and dig deep, I can see how it might have been choppy and maybe it was but I was just having to much fun to notice. I loved Brie, I loved Patrick, I loved the story, I loved the reference, I loved their love for Disney - as you can see, I have a lot of love for this book.

Don't worry, the ending was confusing for me too! I had to go back and re-read parts but once I went over it and got everything sorted out, I was a little less shocked and no longer confused. But yes, a lot to take in!

Lovely review, Mandee! Though you had some trouble, I'm glad you still enjoyed it :); 1 October 2012 8:13 pm
Lori said...: I didn't care much for this one. I really wanted to! I just didn't like Brie much. I adore the concept and I'll definitely read more from this author. Great review, Mandee.; 1 October 2012 8:24 pm
Jasprit said...: I love reading books with musical references! Especially when they seem to work well with the book and don't leave your head for days afterwards! Sorry that this didn't work out for you as you'd hoped, I think I would find the choppiness of the book confusing at times too! Great review Mandee! :); 1 October 2012 9:17 pm
Katja Weinert said...: Sounds pretty good, but I'd be so frustrated with all the bouncing about between Earth and the afterlife. Cool that the family are all vegetarians :); 1 October 2012 9:52 pm
Shooting Stars Mag said...: Not too interested in this one...but bummer it was a bit off for you. Glad there were still enjoyable parts. I really like the song lyric title idea. Always fun, since I love music.

-lauren; 1 October 2012 10:45 pm
Bailey said...: I really wanted to read this book when it first came out but I never ended up buying it. Sounds so good though after reading your review! I haven't thought to much about this book since its release. Awesome review! I definitely still want to read this one. :); 1 October 2012 11:00 pm
Adriana said...: Oh! Now I get the cover. Ah, you know it's almost Halloween time when ghost reviews and the like start popping up. The plot sounds a bit dramatic and so does the main character. Might check this out...
She’s Got Books on Her Mind; 1 October 2012 11:18 pm
Brodie said...: Mandeeeee! While it didn't 100% win you over, I'm so happy that you still enjoyed this! I really adored it and found Brie and Patrick so wonderfully entertaining <3 I am really eager to read more from Jess Rothenberg, I'm sure I remember adding a new upcoming novel of hers to my goodreads? I can't remember what it was.... Anyway, fabulous review!!; 1 October 2012 11:31 pm
Estelle @ Rather Be Readingh said...: I'm not much of a paranormal reader, but I've been tempted to try this one. I saw the author at a reading and I liked the way she outlined her story. I'm sorry you didn't love it completely but I get that and I think you explained your points well. I still am going to try it out because it feels a title I should branch out for. Thanks for the review! Great as always.; 2 October 2012 12:35 am
Jen said...: Ahh, I LOVE it when characters can make you laugh out loud. That whole ending, however, sounds like it would be a bit confusing. Still, a book about getting a do over? HOW many of us wish we had one? It's still fun to read about :) Great review!! I'll need to be picking this bad boy up.; 2 October 2012 1:56 am
Sam said...: Despite the few problems you had with this, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I don't think I've read a single negative review for this book. I really need to get around to my copy one day. It's collecting dust on my shelf at the moment. :P; 2 October 2012 2:28 am
Jac (For Love and Books) said...: I absolutely adored this book, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I do agree, the end felt rushed and a bit forced, but I was still content...

-Jac @ For Love and Books; 2 October 2012 4:12 am
Jenn said...: The synopsis for this sounds absolutely fantastic. You always find the most interesting books. Whenever I need a YA fix, I know I'm going to recheck your review list.; 2 October 2012 4:29 am
bookworm105 said...: I loved, loved, loved this book! It's sad to hear you didn't like it but i'm still happy that you enjoyed it.

Sangita @ Whisper of Reads.; 2 October 2012 6:45 am
Alexa said...: This sounds pretty cute! I got the opportunity to hear Jess talk a little about this book, and I'm definitely hoping I get the chance to read it soon.; 2 October 2012 7:55 am
Candace said...: I have read quite a few reviews for this book and I just can't decide if it's for me or not! I guess I have some mixed feelings. Maybe I need to watch for it at the library and give it a shot.; 2 October 2012 9:13 am
Andrea @The Bookish Babes said...: I liked Catastrophic History a lot. It was funny and sad at the same time and I loved the characters. But I definitely agree w/you about the plot. I still don't understand how that worked.
Lovely review!; 2 October 2012 11:40 am
Alex (A Girl, Books, OtherThings) said...: From what you describe, it reminds me a little of Elsewhere but just a little, I l'm glad you liked Brie from the start but she sounds like a frustrating character in some ways.

I think I got this somewhere in my TBR pile so I'll try to check it out.

Thanks for the review.; 2 October 2012 2:54 pm
Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...: This was somewhere between 3.5 and 4 for me too! I agree with you about it being overly predictable and a bit forced in the end, but overall, I was surprised by depth in places because I originally assumed it would be pure fluff based on the cover and the title.
Great review, love!; 2 October 2012 9:56 pm
Leanne said...: I'm in love with that title... *sigh* I'm glad you were of this one Mandee, inspite of your minor quibbles. :) I'm not totally sold on the premise but the characters sound wonderful. Good review!; 3 October 2012 12:34 am
Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...: I am reading this now and so far it is good. I like the song title chapters and the afterlife being in a pizza shop is different for sure. I have Jess visiting as part of Something Wicked so I willl have a post on this one soon! Glad over all it was a good read despite a few flaws.; 3 October 2012 3:32 am
Heidi said...: Hmm, despite seeing mostly positive reviews of this one, I do think that I'd find Brie and the choppiness frustrating. I really like the concept, but it does kind of seem like a good concept without much of a story to go with it.; 3 October 2012 7:33 am
elena said...: I thought this was an adorable book! I think Brie was a really fun character. I do agree with you about it being choppy, it seemed to falter near the end and the ending was...something but I would still recommend this book. Great review, Mandee!; 3 October 2012 10:24 am
Novels On The Run said...: I have skimmed your review. I started reading this when I first got it, but I wasn't in a girl dying mood, so I popped it away and now you have reminded me to unpop it:D

I'm glad you liked it:D

Mich; 3 October 2012 6:23 pm
Alison Can Read said...: Yay for vegetarians! (I usually eat veg, but unfortunately not always, but I support any veg people).

I met Jess at a book signing and got her book signed. I still haven't read it but it sounds super cute and I want to.; 4 October 2012 3:26 am
Sharon ObsessionwithBooks said...: I'm glad you enjoyed this despite the few things you mention. I was curious about this one when it first came out, the characters sound like fun but stories about the afterlife don't really capture my interest.

A great review :) thank you for sharing.; 4 October 2012 10:04 pm
Sarah (saz101) said...: I'm sorry you didn't LOVE love this, Mandee! It's actually one of my favorite books, but... I GET what you mean. I also thought the start of the book was a little confusing, and the jumps through the stages of grief and whatnot... but it just RESONATED with me.

Anyway, AWESOME review and YES! EEEEE! I kind of LOVED that Brie's entire famility were vegetarian :D; 8 October 2012 12:29 pm