Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman

No matter how soft the let-down, breakups are always hard. Some end on "mutual" terms, but everyone knows feelings were stomped on, "mutually." Others conclude with life-shattering lies that take years, maybe a lifetime to clear out of your mind. Daniel Handler has written a breakup story with Min and Ed at the center of their own infatuated world, that, of course, spins off it's access into oblivion. Illustrations are given throughout the book of the contents of the box that Min is giving back to Ed, along with the long explanation (that is the book) of what exactly led to end. 

However, it is no the eminent breakup that make this story wonderful, though it will leave your mouth agape. Rather, it is the development of the characters; so typical with their High School cliques and basketball stars. Yet, so beautifully unique with Min being enthralled with old movies that help her to make sense of her own life and the fact that her jock boyfriend, Ed, is a math whiz. The two find middle ground over coffee, basketball practice, friends, and parties. Each giving a little, and with each give, getting a bit more from the other. 

Caught as the third wheel in the relationship is Min's best friend, Al. While Ed is convinced he must be gay since he never has a girl friend, he still doesn't like the idea of HIS girlfriend spending so much time with another boy. It is hard to not want Min to see Al the way she sees Ed, but that is often the precarious situation of many relationships. 

Handler does not disappoint in the relaying the intense disappointed of breaking up with the first person that you gave everything to...your love. While this relationship, obviously, ends, your own breakup story can live on, along with others, by posting to The Why We Broke Up Project. If you don't yet have a story, don't fret, there is plenty of life to live and plenty of love to lose.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Thomas. A single name. A single thought. This is all that he knows when he wakes up in a portal in the midst of a settlement surrounded by a massive moving maze. Thomas has no memory of his family, where he came from or who he was, but he doesn't have much time to dwell on this memory loss when he is thrust into the night-mare that is the Glade.


He is quickly informed by all of the other occupants that he is nothing special and will be starting low on the totem poll. As a Greenie he begins to move his way around to the various lowly jobs, which seems hum drum enough, except for the fact that Thomas' arrival seems to have triggered a series of unexplained events in the Glade. 


A new boy has arrived in the Glade every month like clockwork, but when a girl shows up the day after Thomas' arrival everyone is on edge and looking to Thomas for an explanation he doesn't have. Nor does he know why he can hear Theresa's voice in his mind. 


Thomas disregards the sly looks as he breaks the number one rule and sprints into the maze to rescue Alby and Minho from certain death and as the gates close, it seems  that they will all have the same fate since no one has made it through a night in the maze. When the three walk out the next day, there is a mixture of disbelief and confusion as to whether or not punishment should be dealt. While Tom is to be locked up for a day, there is not a moment that he regrets his decision and while he doesn't win everyone over, Minho, the leader of the runners, is on his side, which instantly promotes him from tilling the ground to running through the maze. 


While this seems like simply a task of endurance it is much more. There are massive, long clawed, squishy, ferocious creatures throughout the maze and the maze itself is a puzzle that has yet to be solved, even after two years of tracking the various layouts of the ever-changing maze. Two years of the same sun rising, the same plants growing, the same maze changing, and the same maze gates closing each night. 


One day, the sun never rises and the gates never close and Thomas is leading the pack in desperately searching for a way out, an answer, an end. Dashner will having you dashing from one page to the next in this fast paced tale with incredible character development and a twist that will have you rethinking all that you've read. Get ready, set, go!

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, is a reminder of what it is to be a child, wonderment, hope,  unquestioning love and trust, and why we all need more reminders, like this lovely book, to look at the world in a more playful way. 

The tale spins around the lives of two upcoming magicians, Celia and Marco, who, unknowingly, are at the center of a ruthless game between the two men that are training them, Prospero the Enchanter, Celia's father, and Mr. A.H. Prospero, who adopted Marco. Neither have much of a childhood, as they are both made to be slaves to their art in preparation for the eminent face off that will only leave on standing. 

Le Circue des Rêves appears one day in fields in North American and European towns where there was nothing more than grass the day before. The gates remain closed until midnight. Then, when most are fast asleep, it rages to life as the bonfire explodes with all the colors of a rainbow and the people begin to make their way from one mysterious tent to another. 

Though, the circus seems to form out of thin air, many months and man hours went behind finding the perfect set of performers, acts and layouts. Chandresh Christophe Lefevre put up the money for the theatrical masterpiece, but Mme. Anna Padva, a costume designer and former ballerina, Ethan W. Barris, an architect and engineer, and the Burgess sisters, atmosphere aficionados, made the magic happen that is the night circus.

More colorful  characters are added throughout to the black and white background as the enchantment of the circus takes on a life of its own and the love of sworn enemies, Celia and Marco flourishes until it is brought to an abrupt halt when the warnings of the magicians that trained them come to fruition and they are made to choose war over love.  

As the circus falls to pieces in accordance with the magicians' relationship, there is a rush to save one another and the legendary circus. You will find yourself devouring the last pages to find out the fate of the characters and circus that will surely entrance your mind and leave you licking your lips remembering the tasty delight that is The Night Circus.