3 of 10
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
330 pages; Harry N. Abrams
This June-release adaptation of Jesse Andrews’ YA novel was a Sundance Film Festival favorite this year due its poignant story of two obsessive movie fans who reach out to Rachel, a classmate with leukemia. A movie about movies is a slam-dunk for film geeks who’ll love the spoofs of cult classics like Midnight Cowboy, A Clockwork Orange and Peeping Tom. But the fun—and pathos—of the original novel is Greg’s candid, freewheeling voice, which snaps off lines like, “Let’s just say that it would explain a lot of things if there were a fungus eating my brain.” 
— Mark Athitakis