Audrey Miller Good Reads 6: It’s Kind of a Funny Story It’s Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, is the story of Pre-Professional High School student Craig Gilner. After months of obsessive preparation in order to test into “the right” high school, Craig finally gets in, along with his best friend Adam and Adam’s girlfriend (and Craig’s crush) Nia. But, after he is admitted, he quickly finds the pressure of competing with other students and himself to be too much. This book follows Craig’s spiral into depression, and eventually his admittance into another institution; this time, a mental institution, after an almost-suicide-attempt. When I stumbled upon this book at Barnes and Nobles, I nearly made the mistake of purchasing this book over Eleanor & Park (gasp!)- it looked that good to me. I read the first chapter before I left the store, and was drawn in largely by two things: the dry, sarcastic tone used to discuss depression-a topic usually discussed in highly emotional terms- and the eerily accurate depiction of being a teenager with depression. I thought, “Where was this book when I was in school?!” It was refreshing to hear about such a heavy topic without it coming from an adult being paid to talk. When I finally got my hands on the book, however, I found it difficult to get into. I began forcing myself to read, and ended up skimming pages like I would a text book. The dry, humorous tone quickly grew stale and monotone. Worse yet, as someone who reads books for the characters, I was disappointed because I couldn’t find one character that I actually even liked. As a whole, this is not a poorly written book and I think that this is/would be a great book for the right reader. I can imagine many high school age boys relating to this, or anyone who has a sense of humor similar to Vizzini’s and has experienced depression, feeling alienated, and crumbling under pressure. This was just the right book at the wrong time, I guess.
Good Reads 6: It’s Kind of a Funny Story
It’s Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, is the story of Pre-Professional High School student Craig Gilner. After months of obsessive preparation in order to test into “the right” high school, Craig finally gets in, along with his best friend Adam and Adam’s girlfriend (and Craig’s crush) Nia. But, after he is admitted, he quickly finds the pressure of competing with other students and himself to be too much. This book follows Craig’s spiral into depression, and eventually his admittance into another institution; this time, a mental institution, after an almost-suicide-attempt.
When I stumbled upon this book at Barnes and Nobles, I nearly made the mistake of purchasing this book over Eleanor & Park (gasp!)- it looked that good to me. I read the first chapter before I left the store, and was drawn in largely by two things: the dry, sarcastic tone used to discuss depression-a topic usually discussed in highly emotional terms- and the eerily accurate depiction of being a teenager with depression. I thought, “Where was this book when I was in school?!” It was refreshing to hear about such a heavy topic without it coming from an adult being paid to talk.
When I finally got my hands on the book, however, I found it difficult to get into. I began forcing myself to read, and ended up skimming pages like I would a text book. The dry, humorous tone quickly grew stale and monotone. Worse yet, as someone who reads books for the characters, I was disappointed because I couldn’t find one character that I actually even liked. As a whole, this is not a poorly written book and I think that this is/would be a great book for the right reader. I can imagine many high school age boys relating to this, or anyone who has a sense of humor similar to Vizzini’s and has experienced depression, feeling alienated, and crumbling under pressure. This was just the right book at the wrong time, I guess.