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bitinglime's review against another edition
5.0
This was a pretty great "Quasi-autobiography." This entire book is basically little vignettes from author Ned Vizzini's teenage years. Now, I actually read It's Kind of a Funny Story from him a while back and loved it, and that's when I also learned of Vizzini's suicide. It actually became a topic of discussion at a book club I went to who read Teen Angst this month, the question being something along the lines of "could you tell if he was suffering from depression when he wrote this?" This book has nothing really to do with Vizzini's mental health, but such a question to ask is obsolete anyway. Most of the time, you can't tell if someone is suffering. I have bouts of depression and even hallucinate from time to time (I'm diagnosed as having high-functioning Schizoaffective Disorder), but I have been known to hide it out of embarrassment - which is dangerous, and I don't recommend it. There are so many news stories of suicides where the people closest to the victims had no idea the victim was suffering. If you feel anxious or depressed, please talk to someone about it, it could save your life. Now, about the book itself.
The stuff that Vizzini went through in his teenage years reminded me of my own childhood. And he writes about it so well. I remember fighting with my brother over playing with the Nintendo at my grandmother's house, but for some reason his fight with his brother had me laughing out loud. Or how he went to summer camp at a church recreation center. I went to a Christian camp as well. Seriously, I related to most of his life-snippets. Although I never tried recreational drugs until I was much older, I'm glad that I read this book at a time where that still managed to be somewhere in my past to look back on.
There is a sort of Afterword written years after this book was written. Vizzini states that he went to a mental health facility and wrote It's Kind of a Funny Story after that. The book I have might be a little outdated because it still gives URLs to his website, which is no longer running. It also doesn't say anywhere what happened to him. To be fair though, I don't think it even mentioned it in It's Kind of a Funny Story either. I think I actually found out about his suicide after reading that book. I liked it so much I wanted to find others he had written. I was sad when I found out he had died a year before I read It's Kind of a Funny Story.
The stuff that Vizzini went through in his teenage years reminded me of my own childhood. And he writes about it so well. I remember fighting with my brother over playing with the Nintendo at my grandmother's house, but for some reason his fight with his brother had me laughing out loud. Or how he went to summer camp at a church recreation center. I went to a Christian camp as well. Seriously, I related to most of his life-snippets. Although I never tried recreational drugs until I was much older, I'm glad that I read this book at a time where that still managed to be somewhere in my past to look back on.
There is a sort of Afterword written years after this book was written. Vizzini states that he went to a mental health facility and wrote It's Kind of a Funny Story after that. The book I have might be a little outdated because it still gives URLs to his website, which is no longer running. It also doesn't say anywhere what happened to him. To be fair though, I don't think it even mentioned it in It's Kind of a Funny Story either. I think I actually found out about his suicide after reading that book. I liked it so much I wanted to find others he had written. I was sad when I found out he had died a year before I read It's Kind of a Funny Story.
cle_'s review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this one, it was a fun and light read. Full review coming later.
javier00fernandez's review against another edition
3.0
Que manera de escribir bien y que manera de ser un imbécil insoportable y egocéntrico este machito asqueroso.
Trigger Warning: Alto en Misoginia
Trigger Warning: Alto en Misoginia
nikkivrc's review against another edition
3.0
An okay book, there just wasn't anything there for me.
kristinschoellkopf's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed reading this book very much.
Ned Vizzini has a very nice style of writing which makes you care about characters and developments as though it was a novel. Usually, I have trouble being empathic when it comes to real-life - stories. It was the exact opposite with this book and my reading experience was simply put - great.
I am very much looking forward to reading his other works.
Ned Vizzini has a very nice style of writing which makes you care about characters and developments as though it was a novel. Usually, I have trouble being empathic when it comes to real-life - stories. It was the exact opposite with this book and my reading experience was simply put - great.
I am very much looking forward to reading his other works.
sofiefriisbrunvoll's review against another edition
5.0
Funny book of essays, the writing is really good!
mrsrogers's review against another edition
5.0
I read "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and I loved his style of writing. I was excited to learn that he had written a book about his life growing up, so I immediately bought it and finally picked it up. It isn't very long, but he describes a very long journey that makes up for it. I love his style so much, and the care he takes to describe the stories and the characters in his life are fantastic. This isn't a story-story, it's more of an autobiography. I loved it so much!
sienat's review against another edition
4.0
I ordered this book because I absolutely love Ned Vizzini's writing! Also because I want to read everything he's ever written. This book was quite lovely given how much I can relate to his adolescence period when he was in high school! Since this book is composed of many little stories of his life, it felt a little repetitive and somewhat boring. Which is why I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. Towards the middle, I just wanted to get it over with. Although his last chapter was Ned's words about what happened in the future and his present life since he ended the novel at his graduation: the whole time, we read about high school and how he prepped for college but then we never got a chance to hear about his college and henceforth. At least we had a brief sum up at the last chapter. Although, I wish it hadn't been so cut short! Nevertheless, it was a great read and I'll continue reading all of his pieces!