The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

"The story I am about to share with you takes place in 1931, under the roofs of Paris. Here you will meet a boy named Hugo Cabret, who once, long ago, discovered a mysterious drawing that changed his life forever."

So begins The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. In the author's own words, it is "a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don't just illustrate the story; they help tell it." He goes on to say that he has created "something that is not exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things."

I've known about this book for a few years and was reminded of it again when I saw that my library owned the movie. I rented the movie and book on the same day and put both away. The book is a bit daunting looking and I was sure I would end up seeing the movie before reading the book. Yesterday I was talking to my friend Rachel about our Goodreads book challenge and mentioned that it was on my "to-read" list still. Having just finished Phantom on the Bookshelves, I was suffering a little bit of a book-hangover and wasn't quite sure what I wanted to read next. Nothing too emotionally demanding, nothing too scholarly. Young Adult book? Perfection. 
I took it to dinner with me and started it while I was waiting for my food to heat up in the microwave. I read the first page, where the quote above is from, while standing up. As soon as I got through the first page, it turned into about 40 pages of illustration that not only followed what was on that first page of text (the introduction of Hugo Cabret) but continued telling the story wordlessly. There's only so much you can take in when you are standing, waiting by the microwave as I was. So as soon as my timer beeped I was sitting at the table, warmed food mostly ignored, engrossed in the drawings that were telling me a story. I think I finally took a breath when I got to the next installment of text. 
I worked my way through over 300 pages in one sitting. I hazard a guess that at least 50% of those pages were illustrations, but that didn't matter. Black and white though they were, they were riveting and thought provoking. As I read it I thought, "I would love to buy this for my niece (who is just 13 weeks old) and my girls (that I babysit, 8 & 6) and their brother (2) and..." Seriously, this is a book that all ages can enjoy. 
I love that it does incorporate illustrations and pictures into the story. They aren't just to help the story (as in the case of "Why We Broke Up); rather, they are part OF the story. And I love that. 

And the movie? I can't WAIT to see it now!

Why We Broke Up

No, this isn't a personal break-up post.

I just finished a brilliant book called Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler. Most people know him from his fame as Lemony Snicket, the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The moment I made that connection, I knew this book was the next thing I NEEDED to read. 

It is a young adult read, but (as I said in my Goodreads review) if you have ever been, almost been, or wanted to be in a relationship, you will understand this book. All of the emotions of relationships (any relationships really) --heartache, love, comfort and confusion -- are represented in this story. 

Min Green is a high school student (sorry, I can't remember how old she is meant to be) in love with movies. From the very first pages she talks in scenes from old movies ("Lately, I've been like Aimee Rondele in The Sky Cries Too, a movie, French, you haven't seen it. She plays an assassin and dress designer, and she only smiles twice in the whole film.") She is sending her ex-boyfriend, Ed, the co-captain of the basketball team, a box of treasures from their relationship along with a letter that lists every single item, why it was important to her and why they are breaking up. 

This story feels so unique. There is artwork littered throughout the book. Not unusual, exactly, but the way the art is used feels so easy, effortless maybe, and so right. Sometimes its a drawing of whatever item she is describing to Ed. Sometimes it is a simple pale blue page to punctuate the end of the story. It's subtle and I like it. 

The writing style is interesting as well. In A Series of Unfortunate Events, Snicket was always hilariously morbid to me. I loved laughing as his melancholy turn of phrase for something so incredibly simple. That style is missing from this book. You have the same melancholy feel (in fact, if there is one word I would use to sum up the beauty in this book, I think that word would be "melancholy") in the style, but the sentences are run-ons, but not in the annoying, ungrammatically correct way. The sentences, they are a girl talking, trying to explain exactly what she is feeling without giving too much of herself away, trying to be strong and show Ed he doesn't matter, but man, how do you hide how much you really loved someone? (Actually they are rather like that last sentence I wrote.) And I loved it. I love that Min writes in a way that makes sense to me.  It is hard to understand at first. I wasn't really expecting it. But once I saw what Handler was doing, I relished every long sentence, even the ones that I needed to go back and read twice. 

I could really go on and on about this book. I finished it in what, just a few days? That ought to tell you something about how much I loved this book. 

And, like with Kill Order, I am still mulling it all over. What does it mean to love someone? Can you love someone and never want to see them again? Can two people so different ever make a relationship work? What makes people stop loving each other? 
Before you start saying, "Come on, they were in high school! It wasn't going to be forever!" I know. I know that. But still. Saying they were "just in high school" says to me "Their relationship didn't count." And I don't believe that it didn't count. It was real and it happened.
Yes, I know. They are fictional. 
Stop raining on my book. 

Why We Broke Up. Go read it. Seriously. This book is for everyone.