It's Kind of a Funny Story

katherinec - I think this is one of the books I read that I am willing to spend extra time to reread. This book is just really interesting and wonderful to read when you have spare time. This book is about a smart young teenager, Craig Gilner who faced depression and suicidal thoughts. He was stressed about grades and relationships where he eventually checked himself into a mental health clinic. In there, he met people who would change his life. It is amazing to see how he changed from a depressed kid, to a person who crave for live. Especially the ending just made my whole day cheer up. It started off by telling how he thought, and the problem of him couldn't really fit in the community, but as the story goes, it became interesting by telling and giving his interaction with other people. I think this book really made me want to reread it because it just addressed a teenage problem that anyone could face yet, it described the book in a brilliant way. I would recommand this book to anyone around 7th grade. I think this is a perfect age for them to read this book.

Starred review from April 10, 2006
It's so hard to talk
when you want to kill yourself" is the attention-grabbing first line of Vizzini's (Be More Chill
) highly readable and ultimately upbeat novel. Though Craig was elated when he passed the entry exam for Manhattan's highly competitive Executive Pre-Professional High School, during his first year there he grows increasingly overwhelmed. Matters aren't helped by his new habit of smoking pot and then tormenting himself by hanging out with his best friend, Aaron, and Aaron's girlfriend, Nia, on whom Craig has a longstanding crush. Unable to eat and seriously considering suicide, Craig checks himself into a psychiatric hospital. There, Craig finds his true calling as a visual artist, begins a promising romantic relationship with another patient, helps yet another patient get a place in an adult home, and arranges a thoughtful treat for his reclusive Egyptian roommate—all in a mere five days, a timeframe that readers struggling with their own issues may find somewhat daunting. Still, few would begrudge Craig his exhilarating recovery. The author clearly has not lost his knack for conveying the textures of teenage life. Ages 13-up.