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Dec 22, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Ned Vizzini has a distinct advantage over other authors who write about teen depression, attempted suicide, and the ins and outs of psychiatry--as a teen he was clinically depressed and even spent time in a psychiatric hospital. That experience has allowed Mr. Vizzini to bring to life the kinds of situations that were once largely absent in teen fiction; that of the fact that not all teens are happy, spontaneous, happy-go-lucky youths.

F More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 15, 2009

Kim rated it:

Young Adult books seem to have a few formulas: divorce, unrequited love, death of a parent, self-transformation, and as of late... vampires. Oh... and angst. Usually always angst. Sometimes these can be written quite loverly. As with the few that have been jostled around GR lately,Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Book Thief ,I Am the Messenger ... These authors will come along and break, twist, switch it up...make.you.think. And manage to rise above the whole stigma of what it mean More...

8 comments like (47 people liked it)

Jul 20, 2010

Greg rated it:

A Synoptic Version of a Review Written but then Deleted. Accidentally

This is a book about a kid who thinks about killing himself but doesn't. It is edgy; I mean that there is sex and f-bombs in the book. The characters do drugs too. Kids will like that, some parents will get their closed little minds into a fucking tangle over it.

I wrote a whole review and then accidentally refreshed the page and lost it.

Oh well. I'm not even going to try to re-write More...

26 comments like (18 people liked it)

Oct 18, 2011

rachel rated it:

The plot of this book -- teenage boy admitted to mental hospital for five days to treat anxiety/depression -- is super close to my heart and I wanted to love it, but the execution reminds me way too much of John Green. Those of you who love John Green: this is a recommendation! But personally, there are few types of characters that annoy me more than the dorky boy whose main ambition* is to touch the inside of a girl's vagina (and who eventually does, because he's a dork but not SUCH a dork t More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2007

Lain rated it:

Take a good helping of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," add a heaping spoonful of "Girl, Interrupted," and stir in a dollop or two of "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," and you'll have a good idea what you're going to get with "Funny Story."

A week after the author, Ned Vizzini, was discharged from his own stay in the psychiatric ward of a New York hospital, he began the tale of depressed teen Craig Gilner. On the point of suicide, Craig More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2011

Reese rated it:

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story:
Find Out What Teenage Depression Is Really Like?

Craig Gilner has checked himself into a mental ward. Will his depression go away or will Craig choose to end his life? In the book It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini the main character, Craig, is suffering from depression. This book is realistic fiction because the events in it could easily be true. This book takes place in New York City in a modern day time frame. The main More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2011

Kate rated it:

The title of this book aptly describes the story therein. It IS kind of a funny story. Not laugh out loud funny, but quirky and cute, which are two adjectives I never would have thought of to describe a story about a kid who checks himself into a psychiatric ward for depression.

Craig's been stressing out ever since he made it into Executive Pre-Professional, an elite high school for the business-minded. To deal with the stress, he mostly hangs out with his friend Aaron and smokes More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2008

Barky rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 14, 2010

Julzzz rated it:

This book is amazing! I love it greatly!!!! It is all about fifteen year old Greg, who is suffering from clinical depression, and has to be hospitalized due to all the stress that is placed upon him. there he learns to cope with his stress, and cut off the source of his stress, which is his school. There he also learns that the girl that he loves is not worth it and he is better off with a girl that he met in the hospital. Greg also learns to draw and by doing this he expresses his emotions and More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2011

K rated it:

I really enjoyed the two halves of this story. It almost felt too neat and farfetched toward the end, but I did like where it ended up. Then I learned that the author wrote this based on, and closely resembling his own experience. So what do I know, right?

This is a story about depression. We meet Craig at his lowest and get his story of the year leading up. It’s at times uncomfortable, his thoughts are so honest and some very familiar. It felt genuine and never disrespectful. Then th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2010

Nicole rated it:

It’s kind of a funny story
By: Ned Vizzini
ISBN: 10:0-7868-5197-X
Publisher: Hyperion Paperbacks NYC
Pgs: 444

It’s everyone’s goal in their educational career: to get into the best high school and from there to get into the best college for your goals. What people don’t see (in fact) is the struggles and sacrifices we have to make to even get close to this goal of getting into the perfect school. What if a sacrifice was your life? In this book we get to meet Craig More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 06, 2007

Sammy rated it:

This book, Graig a teen that is depressed because of the stress in high school and outside. He starts off at 8th grade staying home studying all day and all night just to pass the test to get into the best high school in New York City. When he got in, it was not what he have expected. It was hard for him and he smoked pot. He started becoming depressed and he took pills. He stopped because he thought he was better, but he wasn't. One night, he was going to kill himself, but he decided to call th More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2011

David rated it:

We were almost done with the past semester when I was first introduced to this film. And maybe out of its relatability with my life as I ventured myself into the rabbit hole of college, I found this film a sure win for me. And after reading countless reviews and feedbacks, I then found out that this is actually adopted from a book by Ned Vizzini with the same name. That was when the quest of finding a copy of it started. I browsed through several bookstores but was all told that there are no mor More...

0 comments like

Apr 03, 2009

Hoang rated it:

It’s Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, is the story of Craig Gilner, a depressed, New York high schooler who spends a life changing five days in the psychiatric section of his local hospital. Everything seemed like it was going well for Craig; he got into a prestigious high school by passing a difficult entrance exam, setting his life up for success as a lawyer. He was proud, at least until he realized how much stress school causes him. To Craig, everything became a Tentacle, a stressful More...

1 comment like

Apr 02, 2009

Jessica rated it:

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is a comic but yet provides a important message. Just like Ned Vizzini a spent time in a psychiatric hospital during his depression in November 2004, so did his main character Craig Gilner. Vizzini is able to portray a life of a high school kid, in a way that shows that in then end it will not always end with the guy actually getting the job he always worked hard for. During the novel, Vizzini offers so much detail that you can feel what the character is More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 02, 2009

Kellyjean rated it:

The book I am reviewing today is It’s Kind Of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. This book is Young Adult fiction . The theme of this book I would have to say is that there’s always a bright/funny side to everything and you need to make the most of what you got.
The book It’s Kind Of a Funny Story is about a teenager named Craig Gilner whom has practically everything you could ask for he has best friends, got into one of the best high school in New York and has two loving parents who would do More...

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Jan 04, 2009

Maureen rated it:

If you are putting together a reading advisory for teens on depression or mental illness, or with issues of teen suicide, don't leave out this book!

Writing from experience as a teen with depression, Ned Vinzzini tells us a story of 15 year old Craig who is in a constant struggle with mixed anxiety and depression disorder. Vinzzini does a wonderful job of developing Craig's dialog so that the reader understand the feelings and thoughts of a normal, smart, teenager who suffers everyda More...

0 comments like

Feb 14, 2012

Amy rated it:

It's Kind of a Funny Story is a book about a boy named Ned who becomes clinically depressed and tries to commit suicide. He feels like his life is slowly spiraling down so he checks himself into a psychiatric hospital. The reason that Ned is clinically depressed is because he is pressured to maintain good grades in a very smart school. One thing that the author could have maybe researched or considered was adding more medical information about being clinically depressed. It would h More...

0 comments like

Jan 30, 2012

Paul rated it:

In the story It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, he portrayes a wonderful story on a child who is in high school,but he also very stressed with jugling sports, school, and a social life. Craig Gilner, the main chracter in the story, is not the average teenager. He is a very stressed out boy who is trying to impress everyone in his life and because of school and everything that goes along with it, he has thoughs of commiting suicide. After dreams and nightmares of dying , he admits himself More...

1 comment like

Jan 19, 2012

John rated it:

A Memorable Novel On Clinical Depression Which Will Interest Adults Too

When I moved back to New York City a decade ago, I was drawn immediately to the pages of the free alternative weekly "The New York Press". Why? Back then it had a terrific stable of eloquent columnists, ranging from Jonathan Ames and Melissa de la Cruz to fellow Brunonian Amy Sohn. But I thought the most remarkable person writing for them was a young high school student, Ned Vizzini, who would soon becom More...

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Jan 13, 2012

Angel rated it:

Funny. Angst. Teenage depression/drugs/therapy.

You think It's Kind of A Funny Story is that kind of book? Nope, you're wrong-it's that times two, and funny times two again. Or one hundred.

It's Kind of A Funny Story is raw, red emotion, right out there in the open. And it's absolutely delightful. I can totally relate to what the main character, Craig, is going through. First he gets accepted into a prestigious school. Then prestigious school gets really hard. Then he sta More...

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2012

Aaron rated it:

This story is about a depressed teenager who checks himself in to a mental hospital and meets some interesting characters.School, home life, girls, drugs, and suicidal thoughts all lead up to Craig breaking down and finally checking himself into the hospital. He was taking medicine before this but stopped because he thought he was "better." In the hospital he gets all the stuff straightened out in his head and meets some new friends and is able to help them out too. The five days he sp More...

0 comments like

Dec 28, 2011

Vanessa rated it:

Craig Gilner is a fifteen year old boy from Brooklyn. He is currently in high school at the Executive Pre-Prefessional School. He studied the whole summer before taking a test to apply for the school and made it along with his friend Aaron. As the school year went on he became depressed. The school was a lot of work, a lot of homework. He stops eating and sleeping and soon ebough he planned to jump of the Brooklyn bridge. He checks himsslf out at a mental ward and stays for five days. A long the More...

0 comments like

Dec 12, 2011

Nomi rated it:

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

Written by Ned Vizzini. A 2007 best book for Young Adults from the American Library Association. An Able Lincoln Award Master List. Picked by the Junior Library guild as a spring pick for 2006. Made into a major motion picture.

The stereotype of teenagers is that they are lazy, unmotivated, and irresponsible. Craig is none of these things. He is the type of teenager who studies day and night to get into Executive Pre-Professional High School, a v More...

0 comments like

Nov 17, 2011

deejah rated it:

As a mother, I often wonder how my child is going to "stack up" in school, in society, etc. I give her all of the tools I can and I try to make sure she has a well-balanced life - but at some point I have to say, "I've done all I can". This book focuses on 15-year-old Craig Gilner. He is a young man who is put under so much pressure to succeed (much of it self-induced) he feels the only way to escape is suicide. The title is "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and at times More...

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Nov 14, 2011

Natalie added it

When I picked up Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story for the first time I had high expectations. Many people I knew had already claimed to have read it and said they loved it. Another reason I was eager to read this novel was because I had seen the movie, which made me more open-minded towards reading it. Hands down, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is an extremely enjoyable read and entertaining movie. Something I noticed as I was reading was that I wouldn’t have enjoyed the content of this book More...

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Nov 10, 2011

Judy rated it:

Craig Gilner is a astonishing wonderful teenager who suffers depression. It is incredible how Ned Vizzini creates a story that relates to him given the fact that he has also been in a psychiatric hospital. The story has a wonderful twist of comedy with a topic that is however scary. The story also relates to teenagers since it consists of teenagers similar to what we see today. It's Kind of a Funny Story is a very inspirational book and has a great message.

I am completely surprised a More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 10, 2011

Kristen rated it:

In the book, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, the main character, Craig, fifteen, has been struggling with depression, and becomes suicidal when the book first opens. Craig explains that he does not blame his family for anything, his home life is good, and his family loves him. He is depressed because of his relationships with friends and difficulty in school. On the night that he planned to commit suicide, Craig decides to get help instead. He went to a local Brooklyn hospital, and w More...

1 comment like

Nov 10, 2011

Cassie rated it:

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Most people say that high school is supposed to be the "glory years", meaning the years we will remember as the most exciting and fun. However, juggling school, sports, friends, hormones, etc... it can get stressful. For Craig Gilner, life as a teen is anything but fun. He is a sophomore in high school, living in uptown New York, who has been through some rough teenage years so far. Craig suffers from a "sickness", him and his family call i More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Kate rated it:

I wish I had read this book when I was 15. Instead, I read "The Bell Jar" and "Catcher in the Rye" over and over. Anyway, I felt like Craig's description of depression and anxiety was really accurate. He and I had very similar high school experiences ie being overwhelmed in honors classes and pre-professional programs. However, once Craig checked himself into Argenon, I had trouble keeping the patients and staff straight. I haven't seen the movie based on this book yet, but I More...

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