why we broke up

Available from amazon

I read this novel a few weeks ago, and I can't get it out of my head. Written by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and with illustrations by New Yorker artist and frequent childrens-book author Maira Kalman, it's a breakup letter from 16-year-old Min to her first real boyfriend, Ed. Min's smart, self-aware, and just a little pretentious in a dead-on artsy-girl way. If I were a teenage girl, I'd like it even more than I already do. Or maybe it would hit home too much? Maybe I like Min precisely because I haven't been her in a long time. Either way, Kalman's illustrations make me smile.

Min leaves Ed with this box

Bottle caps from their first conversation

(Handler has also put together a site where you can add your own breakup stories.)