Review : The Catastrophic History Of You And Me by Jess Rothenberg

Summary (from Goodreads)

 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?

Personal Thoughts

The Catastrophic History Of You And Me is a contemporary novel with a streak of paranormal to it. When I first saw the cover and read the summary, I was intrigued and I couldn't wait to read this book.

The book's main character, Brie, is dead. She dies of a heart break (her heart literally breaks into half) when her boyfriend Jacob, whom she really loves, announces that he doesn't love her. But Brie isn't gone from Earth yet. In fact, she's back as a ghost and is seeing the actions of every person in her life. She, thus, begins to spy on them.
Brie was a character who was stubborn, sometimes very annoying and immature. There were certain moments when I strongly disliked her. Her actions or thoughts bothered me a lot considering she was dead and all. However, at times, I found her to be caring, sweet and passionate. When I finished the book, I sat down at thought about her character because while reading, I couldn't make up my mind on whether I liked her or not. After much thinking, I came to the conclusion that I understood her personality changes. The girl had been betrayed and she had passed away at such a young age. She was struggling with the fact that she would no longer be able to talk to the people she loves and this made her feel very insecure. She did some very harsh things in the book, but she pretty much evolved into someone better and underwent tremendous growth when she came to realize her mistake. Overall, although Brie had some bratty moments, I liked her as a main character. I thought she was easy to relate to. 

Patrick is another ghost who helps Brie move on from the Earth. Now, he was the complete opposite of Brie. While she was moody and acted slightly bratty, he was always joyful bringing a smile to my face whenever he was present in a scene. He was the epitome of sweetness. He was so fun loving and always trying to make Brie laugh. I really liked his character, because although he was dead, he didn't act like it was the worst thing that could have happened to him. Instead, he seemed so cheerful. I loved how he helped Brie over and over again and I loved how he made fun of her sometimes.

Patrick and Brie don't fall in love very fast. If you're expecting a book heavy on the romance, then this isn't the book for you. In fact, the romantic aspect of the story stays very gradually and becomes important only towards the end of the novel. I loved that Jess Rothenberg didn't concentrate too much on the romance because I'm sure that it would have ruined the beauty of the story.

The secondary characters in the book consisted of Brie's loved ones from Earth and one other ghost. After Brie's death, each and every person who were part of Brie's life and loved her, goes through troubles and problems of their own and they all had to deal with them. Reading about them broke my heart sometimes, but I enjoyed them so much that I couldn't wait to see how things would end.

The story is about Brie trying to move one. It's not realistic at all, so if you're bothered by things that are beyond your imagination, then I don't suggest you read this book. I admit that there were some aspects of the book that I found were a bit far-fetched. (I won't mention them because it will spoil things for you readers)

Jess Rothenberg writes beautifully. The writing was simple and easy to follow. I loved following Brie and her adventures. For a debut novel, I thought it was excellent. It might seem like a light novel, but it's a lot more deeper than that.
It's a story about love, loss, friendship, betrayal, misunderstandings and family all blended together.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Catastrophic History Of You And Me. It was an emotional but fun book.

Rating

Cover : 5/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5