It's Kind of a Funny Story

This book is so real. I've never seen a book that's truer to teenagers relationships or parents vs. kids. It always monitors what is going through the 15 year old boys head which some people might think is crude or gross but I love it because it's so right on. The thought about how teenagers all want to be like each each other- like if one boy is depressed they all think "hey that sounds cool, I want that, I can have that, I can do that" or if one kid has asthma or low blood sugar or a broken arm they all do because "he can miss gym class" or "eat during school" or have people write all over his arm". I experience this practically every day and that is why I love this book- because i honestly believe that any teenager could turn to any random page and make a connection.

Craig's character is normal. He is not an Ellen Hopkins character, he is real. He's just a normal guy who lives a normal life and suffers from some depression. He thinks normal teenage thoughts and does normal teenage things which is what makes this book so brilliant- it's serious and sometimes depressing but, always light-hearted and funny. One night, Craig almost kills himself which gets him checked into the mental ward. There, he meets so many people who change his life, including Noelle, a girl who cut her face with scissors. Craig, like most 15 year old guys, is unpredictable and confused. Just when you think he's over Nia, just when he thinks he's over Nia, he's not. Just when you expect him to make a move on Noelle, he doesn't. Just when you think he's getting worse, he gets better or just when you think he's getting better, he gets worse. This book may be one of my new favorites, I really rushed through it because I wanted to see the movie but, I'm looking forward to reading it a second time with annotations and much more time. It really does require it's own category- I've never seen anything so depressing by nature but yet, so funny.