It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Ned Vizzini

“I think about work, and I freak out about work, and I think about how much I think about work, and I freak out about how much I think about how much I think about work, and I think about how freaked out I get about how much I think about how much I think about work. Does that count as a hobby?”
- Craig, stressed-out high school student

Once upon a time, we watched the wanna-be-Cool-Kid Jeremy Heere lust after chicks and score the mecha-pill. Two years after the male imbibed fantasies of Be More Chill, Vizzini’s semi-autobiographical character, thoughtful and wanna-be-sane Craig Gilner, battles a more serious issue. In Craig’s world, academic success is an extreme sport. His hard-core dedication towards acheivement coupled with bad friends, poor decisions, and uncontrollable worries, contributes to a particularly bad episode. Craig contemplates suicide and ultimately, checks himself into the hostpital’s pysch ward. Amongst the ward’s crew of eccentric misfits, Craig finds a little bit of love and a bit more hope. Vizzini’s embarrassing honesty and light humor addresses a controversial topic with refreshing frankness.

Male Teen Comment: “The ending may seem slightly unbelievable, but the humor in the beginning is well worth the read. HAHaaaa!”

FYI for teen reader’s advisory folks:
- It’s Kind of a Funny Story has its own myspace account on which Ned frequently responds to teen reader’s comments.
- Size may well be intimidating at nearly 450 pages. However, keep in mind that there are large margins, large text, and lots of dialogue.
- Because sometimes you just need to hollar “EULALIAAAAA!” oh, and other quirky humor inside.
- Teen partying = drinking, drugs, sex, and cockroach killings; but those aren’t the real issues here.