“People are screwed up in this world. I'd rather be with someone screwed up and open about it than somebody perfect and ready to explode.”
- Ned Vizzini, It’s
Kind of a Funny Story
Reviewed by Dylana
Synopsis:
Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life – which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.
Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.
Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life – which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.
Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.
General Review:
To be totally honest, the only reason I bought this book was because the synopsis on the back had the words “transsexual sex addict” in it and if that doesn’t make you want to buy a book, I don’t know what does. Horny trannies aside, the book didn’t really live up to my expectations. I got this novel thinking Oh yeah, this is going to be really dramatic and awesome and I’ll be able to read it really fast. This was not the case. I found the book to be dragging on with no real purpose.
Plot:
The problem I had with the main plot of the book was that it never seemed to be going anywhere. There was climax, no dramatic build up, nothing. There was just book. It would seem like reading about a guy in a mental hospital would be more dramatic and angsty than how Vizzini wrote it. I’m sure this is a more accurate portrayal of what goes on there, but it still seemed mostly boring to me.
Characters:
The
main character, Craig, is just this average guy. He’s not depressed in any sort
of agonizingly poetic way, which is a nice change, I must admit. He’s depressed
in an I’m-worried-about-everything-all-the-time-oh-my-God-kill-me-now kind of
way. I was able to relate to the fact that he feels overwhelmed all the time,
but it didn’t make for an interesting read.
Craig’s friends got on my nerves quite a bit. I know that Vizzini was trying to show that they weren’t good friends to have, but mostly they were just really annoying to me. I skimmed over most of their parts because they were so freaking irritating. The hospital patients were better than the friends, but even then, they seemed to lack substance. My favorite character was Noelle, Craig’s hospital love interest. She seemed pretty cool to me; again, a bit lacking in the substance area, but the realistic and relatable of the secondary characters.
The transsexual sex addict was only present for two scenes and then was never heard from again. What a disappointment.
Craig’s friends got on my nerves quite a bit. I know that Vizzini was trying to show that they weren’t good friends to have, but mostly they were just really annoying to me. I skimmed over most of their parts because they were so freaking irritating. The hospital patients were better than the friends, but even then, they seemed to lack substance. My favorite character was Noelle, Craig’s hospital love interest. She seemed pretty cool to me; again, a bit lacking in the substance area, but the realistic and relatable of the secondary characters.
The transsexual sex addict was only present for two scenes and then was never heard from again. What a disappointment.
Final Thoughts:
It’s Kind of a Funny Story didn’t suck, but it certainly isn’t one of my favorites. I think my main problem was that it wasn’t my kind of book. It’s not bad, it’s just not my thing, you know? 3 stars.
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