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*It's Kind of a Funny Story* by Ned Vizzini- young adult book review
 
It's Kind of a Funny Story
by Ned Vizzini
Grades 9-12 448 pages Miramax April 2007 Paperback    

It’s difficult to write a book about depression, suicide, and the mental health system without being, well, depressing. And it’s difficult to write a story that accurately captures the vernacular of teenagers without seeming either condescending or out of date.

In his warm, intelligent and funny young adult novel It's Kind of a Funny Story, author Ned Vizzini manages to do both. The novel is narrated by Craig, a smart, ambitious teenager whose greatest goal in life is to get into a tony pre-professional high school. But once he gets in, he finds it hard to keep up. Trapped in a world where getting a 93 on a test is considered a failure, Craig is plagued with anxiety, which leads to depression. His condition escalates until one night when, on the verge of suicide, he ends up semi-accidentally checking himself into the mental health wing of the local hospital.

What happens next is surprising, convincing and occasionally hilarious. Vizzini gives all of his characters three dimensions, from Craig to his overachieving friends to the folks Craig meets while at the mental hospital. These all feel like people you know, particularly Craig. Certainly, teens today are under increased pressure to excel and, as a result, are coming apart at the seams.

Vizzini also is careful to depict Craig’s parents as loving, caring but not overindulgent. They’re good parents who care about their son and are as saddened and frustrated by what’s happening to him as he is. It’s also refreshing that the doctors at the hospital are actually helpful. They give Craig good advice. They’re not the monolithic stereotypes you see in so many writings about the mental industry.

In fact, no one here is a stereotype. The result is something tender, intelligent and vastly entertaining to read.


Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students

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