Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You
    Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You
    Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You
    Ebook589 pages6 hours

    Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You

    By Todd Hasak-Lowy

    3/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A heartfelt, humorous story of a teen boy’s impulsive road trip after the shock of his lifetime—told entirely in lists!

    Darren hasn’t had an easy year.

    There was his parents’ divorce, which just so happened to come at the same time his older brother Nate left for college and his longtime best friend moved away. And of course there’s the whole not having a girlfriend thing.

    Then one Thursday morning Darren’s dad shows up at his house at 6 a.m. with a glazed chocolate doughnut and a revelation that turns Darren’s world inside out. In full freakout mode, Darren, in a totally un-Darren move, ditches school to go visit Nate. Barely twenty-four hours at Nate’s school makes everything much better or much worse—Darren has no idea. It might somehow be both. All he knows for sure is that in addition to trying to figure out why none of his family members are who they used to be, he’s now obsessed with a strangely amazing girl who showed up out of nowhere but then totally disappeared.

    Told entirely in lists, Todd Hasak-Lowy’s debut YA novel perfectly captures why having anything to do with anyone, including yourself, is:

    1. painful
    2. unavoidable
    3. ridiculously complicated
    4. possibly, hopefully the right thing after all.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Release dateMar 24, 2015
    ISBN9781442495692
    Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You
    Author

    Todd Hasak-Lowy

    Todd Hasak-Lowy has published several books for adults. 33 Minutes was his first book for young readers and he made his YA debut with Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Evanston, Illinois.

    Read more from Todd Hasak Lowy

    Related to Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You

    Related ebooks

    YA Religious For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Other Child

      Dec 1, 2018

      The Other Child
      9 min read

    • Article

      Managing Muscle Dysmorphia

      Nov 12, 2020

      “One of the biggest things I learned to work on – which massively improved the broken relationship I had with my body – was to talk to myself in a nicer way. When I stopped asking myself questions like, what’s wrong with me? Why aren’t I as lean as h

      1 min read

    • Article

      Paul Tremblay

      Jun 17, 2020

      IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY BIGGEST FEARS that I would live to see the end of everything,” says Paul Tremblay, speaking to SFX from his Massachusetts home in the middle of lockdown. It’s a singularly peculiar time, and a peculiar interview for him to

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Chaotic Elegance of Flea

      Oct 30, 2019

      The Chaotic Elegance of Flea
      4 min read

    • Article

      Love Comes In All Sizes

      Oct 16, 2020

      WHEN he was a little kid all he wanted was to look like the rest of his family. Normal sized in a home full of people with dwarfism, he stood out like a sore thumb – and his school mates let him know it. When they came to play they’d ask him why he l

      4 min read

    • Article

      4 Wisdom

      Mar 23, 2021

      INTERBEING IS A TERM INVENTED by Thich Nhat Hanh to describe the profound interconnectedness of all things: that nothing can exist by itself alone; it can only ever inter-be with everything else. So when in Buddhism we speak of “no self” or “emptines

      2 min read

    • Article

      Green Planet

      Jan 13, 2022

      Green Planet
      8 min read

    • Article

      101 Dumb Facts

      Nov 7, 2019

      101 Dumb Facts
      6 min read

    • Article

      'It Just Felt Very Wrong:' Sherman Alexie's Accusers Go On The Record

      Mar 5, 2018

      Author Sherman Alexie issued a statement in his own defense last week after allegations of sexual harassment began to circulate online. Now, several of the women accusing him are speaking to NPR.

      6 min read

    • Article

      From The Heart

      Feb 18, 2020

      Dear Sally I took this selfie in my hallway — and didn’t notice until afterwards a figure behind me like Red Riding Hood. It’s creepy! Deborah Taylor, Leeds Dear Deborah You have 100% genuinely captured a ghost of a child behind you. The spir

      5 min read

    • Article

      Under the Ackee Tree

      Jun 15, 2019

      If you’re the only son of uptown Kingston parents, then you will have options. You can take Daddy’s Datsun or Mummy’s new ’68 VW and fly past street urchins who sell bag juice and ackee at red lights down Hope Road to pick up Reyha or Sanya or Cherie

      27 min read

    • Article

      Welcome to Reliance

      Dec 1, 2021

      Welcome to Reliance
      11 min read

    • Article

      Woo-woo

      Feb 2, 2023

      Woo-woo
      8 min read

    • Article

      I Failed My Daughter

      Jul 29, 2022

      I Failed My Daughter
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You

    3/5

    20 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      The main character of this book is Darren Jacobs, a self-conscious outsider teen whose parents have just recently gotten divorced. On top of that he has just learned some troubling family news while simultaneously having girl and body image issues. Told entirely in a long series of eccentric lists, Darren's story is both touching and sarcastically humorous. Many teens, especially males, will be able to relate.

      I really liked the first part of this book; it was even laugh-out-loud funny more than a few times. However, as time went on, and particularly in the second half, I got so very tired of the lists. More than the lists, the story just became more rambling than I could stand in the end.

      I think it would have been better is some parts were just written in paragraph format without being broken up into numbered lists. After all, some of the lists are only 1-2 pages while others are so long that you have to constantly go back and see what the title of the list was in order to know why some passages are relevant. Those longer lists were practically already regular paragraphs so the list format being used for them was awkward.

      Overall it's a decent read but the format is too much.
    • 2/5
      This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence my review in any way.I am not sure I have ever read such a tedious 600 + pages. This book is told entirely in lists. LISTS! And it is more than 600 pages. I am not sure why anyone ever thought this was a good idea. There is a story here – but what is it? Darren is fifteen and going through some major life changes as his parents reveal the real reason for their divorce, the girl of his dreams disappears from his life without a trace, and his brother has left him for college. You could call this a coming-of-age novel. I normally love those. Not this time.The concept of the entire book told in lists seems interesting and novel to start with. You’re excited, this is new and different. I got through about fifty pages of this (because to start with, it’s super easy to read) and then I realised – I have to read another six hundred pages of this to get through. Suddenly it became a chore. Because some of the lists are completely useless and add nothing to the story at all. For example:“7 Days Since Saturday, April 26, That Darren Hasn’t Thought about Zoey within the First Four Minutes of Waking Up, Not That He Understands What Was So Special about Those Days, When He Was Definitely Thinking About Her Before Breakfast Was Over Anyway1.Thursday, May 222.Tuesday, June 173.Thursday, July 34.Monday, July 215.Sunday, July 276.Friday, August 87.Monday, August 25”A completely unnecessary list, taking up a whole page, and what did it add to the story? Absolutely nothing! What a waste of paper. Waste of a tree! There were many more pages like this so, yeah I’ll admit, I started skimming.Writing style aside, I felt even the story was bland. I didn’t even like or dislike any of the characters – all I felt was indifference. This story could not stir up any emotion for me – which is rare for me! But I couldn’t get invested, didn’t feel involved the way I do in a good story. For a coming-of-age story, I didn’t notice any change in Darren over the course of the novel. I did not understand his obsession with Zoey, with whom he had hardly exchanged any words with before she randomly follows his to … where did his brother live again? I can’t even remember. That is the impression this book left on me and if it had been written in regular prose as opposed to lists I don’t think I would remember it at all. 
    • 4/5
      A novel in lists is an exactly appropriate subtitle for this book. There's a note of cleverness and clarity to writing this way but it doesn't seem like a gimmick once you get the feel for it.

    Book preview

    Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You - Todd Hasak-Lowy

    @.abook_preview_excerpt.html}r#G5@Jj ܪ.u 8Bʅ(ae>e^SKq@}V1X<܏w|7LJQ60y}ɭ!i\X&{*iՕɦnu)_g?UaY}d&{temiBd6٤[l|]({TcU.<ۍ>iV}aS>sǍkqQ\b#w[ /.w.~m[olmxv/6IqEny4S_\Ƞ:d7[G'KNLg'tZegPgy36gifwt&d-g_daij7ʮ3 , 6˳zLLNwqٮ:/ݯ߳rQf? d3/+|ϏW'eBI|/fNU+?*),OUk xBo1uk3L[hӭ?-Ee瞧@zGfw~(M Xfo$u^v.cZCI)v.gyf7H $cwJ;[{nnD^yih;(J8Z޸|&l0R$Z5] U]V˾msu%m}ܳV6k%nl}nؘ4MX<TES:c7T (KyD.BNuX ̛JW"P~%AUtd)VATS`$TU۴~4&K.s|s֕5SI1Ŷ=_Tѱڝ;]rfɤxÚLF AC2;v\8 ;̴Z2U;`b0:QCy-+ [IXwxC$yމ1ݟŝdLݙ,ȓ:.c2}f%F$w>k޺?߭tܷioUz$k~ =3<2}M-\YV{((t\ nkqY#FU$z8tw?MI$Pi['2JK:]]NXy @ -R[`]h70ڦfwNrQ2B٢X%Mdxa8@<ͣcL d˰8QE.[x8\T4ZR _aVRQ#6+~N$~nūӫY#=#cZ5Plkk_xFWbE:IRʭ!6sxKm_ BtY%+#t0"QZأگՙJ6=xrvc)JJ#-zъl"dq75W- BEue'ֻRWtYͫ^`6NN? _<:EgnDb[ *vh/_U HXa=q?TUY@$ !]#lI4=b'W\ωvbd*־E\nжNZOD7CDpUO_md ٪lC?m}@lrni]kRZ&. L"27xyFZnߖṒ5]JeW_g3eX<(]}aUc \9U0>nXgARFW"e-P 󡪩2%;d@`T3/NJyxWhEnْ6K RUkmР1b)i‰ );o&v]duwۇ:p/Ƈ/l6 ~4[wHH3|h;a]aR悰{{ww?]?dg,g،yJW+bA4s(4פ;,?_ # cc~ȃnTeI>uM.4~O^I+w#*5{2}sӫi\ʝ{;hN\^OA[PQg*.{-Tfz+xc]ؚ{#Kn्ՃFe48#\נB)mCك|e-Od_ {ZwEP*>HG( F/pNz⚦F#9ARnBI{ [@wE^hS+Wz҆lǫܡt ST6}L*QX$%s  (r4=p;#ҥ˃Hu2LMѳU",K v/L (}"i%_;Ȇ=h[Ws6 CD[w{UsRߩ hƾD+6_Cg>lcB2$X2#hz*Cx/t3LJ/j-E/jPC(C)ĝZ8'ekmzht3כXVe^/+G"5Ćii!@jzZˢX!8,"LO,e!}td/ ¢ddL-,ۓ YRme7z 5YL壮s2L%=!p HJ/kx٤K(e: , Uil~|yTZhii";iB3Rl[@d3;f3D_ z'TULAvMHݕ |jL),Ĥ\,!9t値塺N]%z-vgd >Acho>{?2sdE"k]BK KoHӕ)n'EM?y~+8 zaZ4 F^KZT/ӿ~՗ǞZ<0ϑ?g1kd[GNMR:,9l߰hM?,\d{[؞u[>˾J%1`¶t!R'DI /yR*Ժ ^H٩Ӌۭ?剳1cl}j5$}59XT$Sz9=NЭxb2} kr"fK ib*NV9xnp詗Ʈ*;!Q/-'Xd2SWpd) s*XOp-BK# +2lf-b&".Δvɋgό<}u;Qe R9c, w0i,%D`Lt:TqVN6yU{$C 쯂BkgG&gcx1FO'ߐ^ӅJ,,(qptDX_ܢYjDX'\/ب42E䘇8#!4\e(-P5m¡F%p͹H?T{4jx%wV`4m"ʵd' \?y5 ᛏ%bSod*\"x/r+(JVq4 S\9~MyjXu91BK܌7DEGHH_r ;3,oLpZ-u.bKF1L2ʃҍg& Z7*-gݶ*ip$~*B̮yb 4aęabI&v M0q'6w5}mWns?ER/EC{$EXcfȊ)hК ^qK##s@0[c%觥u3{T$dQV5xH%s- v,m_0О6J`Q${& s,}ݺQk땧gZq#X⭌ZRQ^n؞W-i* 3S+5C޺Ɖ+46< \ i>.&(A4uGBg_g$BωW-`\'1r"MAH[6(_H$0H$B5(*lk(Yl88ZS=^1^uy<ݚfgߩ4eQ+$Y@uY9/Rn -(A ]I{U>|6j v"e^>2KO}Unw/~c֗%Nw4W+!؎K4OݡR3(DLE0>OT(Yk='uP@)_ BWj'LA\,Cþ6';=d).A.Hd 5z˳Yl o%ӵԁEvLʷ~9\2.6t{xb UBDD͕]`9}XY6\-z :<[n\0s0V=bsNȚB~`#sR>TLUE~cAM>zU鞖aNc^P*S`iE,< [:16b c\TɮI̷V<)dYi KT#Wh[0AYJnԤ$vٹFP"XFDN;HbkOZ @Q܆sƚcwk--wcX<P 6wM,%͟CNDf9\͵p'PMO֠hC)s! G~0%#!xȔ>ŷAb:c:m,VIxje; ?;{^ngvn>1oҕD { P MJgL",j玣^lBTc\ oR1Ph:k~} &iJazzKVK4heE${h!UG=wYW7 4Tr8a(f*B #)Dأue$TIL1.xd¼(3:Őֵ%qAO?R0m$R6gШʧ$J i5=IRx(R-hLBpObc5U'n8Ū5Ja*,{68b8, œYSMdjs]g?^J5 0c=E! 'y2,T4lt+>A9E-zI}t8)`' >3 Ygz)ao3Q6~LGc&`$lԝNZN z)4H[&<ӄ<hL+zu8D^(}jR_ѧyfO9R(:Q5|84Vp[9<{ڑt0Rj 8R>{#>/}p8nTyG@g@lW1`fIy;f5kie1l?x]A6ZGɳhu2LIʃOD>[ -CE58= it q1㝓dcz?SoB\=9z& /mnѡu5Œx-+U̅08YHIV 0 5j UHPd?Z'ZS=qs80S|$r£EW $׮O:6oE'EUDb|蔱-Ahf0Z W fֶ$?W "aźŽl4sK0p0fmɽѤ+d㻧dckI4,>nShYt֡.%t,դhrb|'mUWTSXG[dAMr3$Czwf[mD lb@qD66Dv#A[%= ].{LOE_M3?0LlO ٱF8naaLzQ0tߠ0JzbyY[03^>RFS }\y%h!gKNl0RSLΗ|?O`pjd ]kt 4i9Ĕ%P] jGz7S>]<*饪Q-SkA`MdfCA引UskC8,KWqHFtR'T{dd\ހ!Pl[9[e XRtq38n7LIg#.{ RvqGClQ9}?)S0[ђو5CcQm#cJۯ!:1ˁw݃2 XOo~? RBsRJ=(@!A8/oBA}"ԋ`]V;+n6=B3:(FM\˒iNFtFEH8ؼc&c lt_(F)@@+QW"_99obfhRg2B+(?`:L>m#Ֆyr#nY9s[\x''G#xh:mRO7 3n9EI¤|r
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1