It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is kind of a funny story. It is written from inside the mind of a depressed teenage boy who isn't quite sure how he ended up in a mental hospital. I don't mean that he doesn't remember how he got there, because he takes us with him from the last moment he felt happy right until the moment he was released. He doesn't really understand why he is so sad especially since he seems to have a lot more going for him then some of his fellow patients. He has the caring, supportive family. He got into one of the best high schools in NYC with a perfect score on the entrance exam. Yet he becomes utterly miserable unable to eat or sleep until it all becomes too much.

I really liked it because Craig has such a strong voice. It reads pretty fast because you can't really stop. Be sure that you can read at least the whole chapter before you have to pay attention to anything because they are the only good breaking points. It will make you laugh. The subject matter is taken seriously but some of the situations he finds himself in are utterly ridiculous. There are some really sad moments, especially when you consider the stories of some of the other characters. Craig doesn't really give you time to feel bad for him. You are too busy on his quest to better himself.

At the very end of this book it gives the week the author himself spent in a psychiatric hospital and then the month or so he spent writing this story after. I always say that Fiction is more true then nonfiction. I think this might be so with this book. And whichever parts Ned did or did not experience I hope he is happy with all that he has accomplished.