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The teen years are often jam-packed with emotions—the highs and lows of friendships and plans for the future and first love. And in author Adi Alsaid’s Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak, one teen struggles in her attempt to understand it—and write about it.
The story follows 18-year-old Lu on a journey through heartbreak during the summer before college. With just weeks to go before going to schools in different states, Lu’s boyfriend, Leo, decided that it was just best to end their relationship and get on with their lives. Since then, Lu has been moping, unable to write her column about teen love—even though her college scholarship depends on it. And when she meets Iris and Cal, another couple struggling with the same uncertain future, she becomes obsessed with them and their relationship.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak seems to promise a story of love, loss, and lessons learned through the eyes of a teen whose job is to live it, observe it, and tell it like it is. But when she experiences the worst part of teen love, Lu is hit with a case of writer’s block that sends her snooping into the relationships of others.
All of this could be entertaining and even insightful: a sweet story about heartbreak and the search for answers. Unfortunately, though, Lu just isn’t a likable character. She’s irresponsible and completely self-absorbed, wallowing in self-pity. She ignores her family and her closest friends, instead chasing after this seemingly perfect couple for all kinds of purely selfish reasons. And, in the process, she puts off writing her all-important column, knowing that she won’t be able to afford college if she doesn’t keep her scholarship. As she gets deeper and deeper into her relationship with Iris and Cal—and farther and farther away from actually finishing her column—it’s absolutely painful to read.
Of course, had Lu learned a valuable lesson in the end, it might justify the whole agonizing journey (though maybe just a little bit). But there’s really no lesson here. Lu doesn’t really learn or grow much in the process—and it doesn’t seem as though there are any serious consequences for her destructive behavior. And that takes an already frustrating story and brings it to a maddening conclusion.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak is an exhausting story about a self-centered and reckless teenager who causes all kinds of drama for herself, her family, and her friends, and the only consequence she suffers for it is a little bit of embarrassment. She’s definitely not the kind of role model you’d want for your teen readers, and grown-up readers will struggle with her endless immaturity.
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