Why We Broke Up is written from the perspective of a high school student who recently lost her virginity, so it's a safe bet that it's a story about coming of age. By toggling back and forth between flashbacks and the present day, we as readers get to see who the characters have been and who they are now, getting a sense of how they've matured (or, in the case of Ed, perhaps plateaued). The question looming at the end of the book, though, is who will they become. They're just teens after all, so there's more coming of age for them on the horizon.
Questions About Coming of Age
- Which character demonstrates the most maturity in Why We Broke Up? Use the person's actions to support your claim.
- Min and Ed's relationship lasts a brief five weeks. How much do you think a person can change in that period of time?
- How do you think that Min will feel about Ed when she looks back on their time together ten years from now? Why?
Chew on This
Min matures rapidly over the course of the book, and by the time it ends, she's learned a lot about life.
Min doesn't really change over the course of the book. When she breaks up with Ed, her life just returns to how it was before she met him.