Why We Broke Up

{{Short description|2011 novel by Daniel Handler}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox book|  | name = Why We Broke Up | image = Why We Broke Up.jpg| author = [[Daniel Handler]] | illustrator = [[Maira Kalman]] | country = United States | language = English | series = | genre = Contemporary fiction, [[Romance novel|Romance]], [[young adult fiction]] | publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]] | release_date = December 2011 | media_type = Print ([[Hardcover]]) | pages = 368 | isbn = 978-0-316-12725-7

}}

'''''Why We Broke Up''''' is a [[novel]] written by [[Daniel Handler]] and illustrated by artist and designer [[Maira Kalman]]. It received a [[Michael L. Printz Award#Recipients|Michael L. Printz Honor]] and a feature film starring [[Hailee Steinfeld]] was in the works, and was meant to be released in early 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hailee Steinfeld to Explain WHY WE BROKE UP |url=https://www.movies.ie/hailee-steinfeld-to-explain-why-we-broke-up/ |website=Movies.ie |access-date=August 12, 2025}}</ref>

==Plot summary== Min Green and Ed Slaterton, a high school junior and senior [[basketball]] [[Jock (athlete)|jock]], respectively, ended their relationship, which lasted from October 5 to November 12. The story [[epistolary novel|takes the form of a letter]], with Min writing to Ed explaining why they had broken up. The letter accompanies a box full of minor objects that narrates the progress of their relationship, and is returned to Ed at the end of the letter. The box includes two [[bottle cap]]s, a movie ticket, a [[Film poster#Lobby ticket|lobby ticket]], a box of matches, a [[pinhole camera]], a folded note, a [[rubber band]], a high school [[pennon|pennant]], a toy truck, a [[recipe book]] (''Real Recipes from Tinseltown''), Pensieri, a fictional liquor (and [[Italian language|Italian]] for "thoughts"), a [[protractor]], a [[File (tool)|file]], a concert ticket, an egg cuber ("makes a square egg"), a [[Instant film|polaroid]], a comb from a motel room, a pair of ugly earrings, and several other items collected over the course of their relationship. Item after item is illustrated, accounted for, and placed in the box to be dumped—like an ex-girlfriend—on his front porch.

==Promotion== This book was promoted on [[Tumblr]] at the [http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/ "Why We Broke Up Project"], where people can submit their own break-up stories. Handler interviewed people at [[Grand Central Terminal|Grand Central Station]] in New York City about their experiences with break-ups.<ref name=ypm>{{cite news|last=McEnroe|first=Colin|title=Daniel Handler Explains 'Why We Broke Up'|url=http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/daniel-handler-explains-why-we-broke|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217173543/http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/daniel-handler-explains-why-we-broke|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 17, 2013|access-date=2 March 2013|newspaper=Your Public Media|date=4 February 2013}}</ref>

==Reception== Monica Edinger, a fourth-grade teacher at [[The Dalton School]], praises the book, a "silken, bittersweet tale of adolescent heartache", in ''[[The New York Times]]'', noting his "remarkable presentation of an adolescent girl's point of view". She also describes the effect of the many "superbly" made-up films that Min references, which leads readers to "feel certain they must really exist".<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|last=Edinger|first=Monica|title=Daniel Handler's Teenagers Out of Love|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/books/review/why-we-broke-up-by-daniel-handler-illustrated-by-maira-kalman-book-review.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 December 2011}}</ref> Brian Truitt of ''[[USA Today]]'' claims that the book should not have the "[[young adult fiction|young adult]]" label because "writer Daniel Handler and illustrator Maira Kalman will connect with anyone who has ever had an ex. And really, that's a whole lot of us".<ref name=truitt>{{cite news|last=Truitt|first=Brian|title=Daniel Handler's 'Why We Broke Up' Explores Young Love|url=http://books.usatoday.com/book/daniel-handler-and-maira-kalman-why-we-broke-up/r616604|newspaper=USA Today|date=30 January 2012}}</ref> Amy Benfer, writing for barnesandnoblereview.com, commends Maira Kalman's "sly, beautifully produced illustrations", which are found throughout the novel.<ref name=benfer>{{cite news|last=Benfer|first=Amy|title=In Brief: Why We Broke Up|url=http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/In-Brief/Why-We-Broke-Up/ba-p/6869|newspaper=Barnes and Noble Review|date=6 February 2012}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}} * {{Tumblr|whywebrokeupproject|Official page}} * [http://www.danielhandler.com/ Daniel Handler's official website]

[[Category:2011 American novels]] [[Category:2011 English-language novels]] [[Category:American young adult novels]] [[Category:Novels by Daniel Handler]] [[Category:Little, Brown and Company books]]