It's Kind of a Funny Story
Rating: 4/5
Summary
Ambitious teen Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life, which means getting into the right school to get into the right college to get the right job. He accomplishes this by getting into Manhattan's extremely selective Executive Pre-Professional High School. And that's when things start to get crazy.
At Craig's new school, the pressure is unbearable. There, he's just average and maybe not even that. He sees his once-perfect future crumbling way. Craig 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 neighbours include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and a recovering garbage-head named Bobby who needs his help. There, isolated fro the crushing stresses of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.
Plot:
Basically, Craig Gilner is a very talented since he was a kid. He used to spend his time under the table that he soon created into his mini fort containing his encyclopedias. He liked to draw maps and was very familiar with Manhattan. This was his hobby. Most people would consider him smart and a fast learner.
Everything was going very well for Craig, he got accepted to the prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High School. Unfortunately for him, this is how he slowly developed depression. He was aware that he had depression, he felt a "Shift" that happened inside of him, where he felt that something was missing. His parent are very supportive of him, especially his younger sister. They had him sign up for several psychiatrists. He still went on with his personal life, hung out with his best friend Aaron and his girl friend Nia (who Craig has a crush on). He still smokes pot, drinks and attends parties. Until one night when he was about to commit suicide, he ended up calling the local suicide hotline he stumbled on in yellow pages.
There, he got checked in to the psychiatric care of the hospital. He wasn't allowed to leave unless a doctor permits him to. He got placed with the older people. During his time in the psychiatric care, he begins drawing maps like he used to do when he was younger. He begins to learn things from the people around him, especially Bobby. He even develops an interest in one of the girls, Noella, who is admitted there as well. He then learns that he's not alone in whatever he is going through, and that you need the people around you to help you be better. In the course of Craig's stay in the hospital, he is inspired to start living.
Brief Comment:
Before I give my thoughts on this book, I want to pay tribute to Ned Vizzini. I had not known that he has passed away a couple years ago. I haven't really heard about any of his work, but I wish I did, because It's Kind of a Funny Story was such an inspiring read. His work continues to touch a lot of people, including me, and more in the future. I think what makes a book more lovable and tangible, in a way, is when you can feel the author's emotions and what they're trying to tell you through the characters or the way certain phrases are placed. Ned Vizzini went over and beyond that, which is why I think that he is an amazing writer. It is sad that he was taken way too soon, but his work will forever live on. By just reading one of his books, I was able to relate to the characters and understand where they're coming from.
Thoughts:
Mental illness is something that most people don't even bother to talk or to pay attention to. Lately I've realized how important it actually is to raise awareness. While reading this book, I was able to understand Craig - the grades, having to be perfect at everything, having friends who you can talk about the real stuff and not just what's on the surface - about what it's like to be human. When Craig was describing the expectations of school, I could relate to him because that's what I've been feeling as well. So overwhelmed about the idea of being the best of the best. It's not that I was competitive, I just want to be great at something, to the point where I was raising the bar too high.
When Craig began his stay at the hospital, he was so bent on trying to be okay and act as if nothing happened, which is why I think it was a rough start for him. That was until he started hanging out with Bobby and everyone else, observing how they lived and acted. Which leads me to the other reason why I enjoyed this book. The characters were based on real people that Ned Vizzini met during his time on one of his stays in a psychiatric care and that the events in the books were 85% true, according to him. The fact that they were funny, easy to love and smarter than what people gave them credit for is something that I took to notice. Yes, they were in a hospital seeking for psychiatric care, but they were people. The characters were still them. They were written just as what a person with mental illness would act; great sense of humour and an all around great personality.
What most people don't realize is that anyone can have mental illness, some people hide it better and some are more intense that others. Craig learnt a lot from Bobby, and they were easily friends. He started to get inspired by the people around him that he started drawing his mind maps again. He even developed feelings for Noella, a girl who had intentionally placed scars on her face because she wanted to prove to people that she wasn't just pretty, that she was more than that. This was when they both agreed what their actually going through to each other, how hard it is to be playing the smart and pretty game. Which is why it pissed me off when Nia came to visit Craig only to make out with him because she hasn't made out in a hospital bed before, and just to check it off her list. But then I couldn't stop myself from laughing when Muqtada ( Craig's roommate) walked in and started yelling frantically about kids having sex in his room. It was one of the highlights of the book.
Seeing Craig's character growth was exciting. I say exciting because, he realized that it's okay to let go about being perfect, and that he was able to root out his real friends from those who are there just for show *cough cough Nia & Aaron cough cough* . I enjoyed it when he asked his dad to find Egyptian music so he could bring Muqtada out of bed. Bobby, President Armelio, and Smitty inspired him to start enjoying everything around him. Now he's doing the same to Muqtada, which shows how much he's grown in those short days. I was very happy for him when "the Shift" finally happened because he deserved it.
This book really inspired me and I encourage you to read it. My favourite quote(s) from the book are:
Basically, Craig Gilner is a very talented since he was a kid. He used to spend his time under the table that he soon created into his mini fort containing his encyclopedias. He liked to draw maps and was very familiar with Manhattan. This was his hobby. Most people would consider him smart and a fast learner.
Everything was going very well for Craig, he got accepted to the prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High School. Unfortunately for him, this is how he slowly developed depression. He was aware that he had depression, he felt a "Shift" that happened inside of him, where he felt that something was missing. His parent are very supportive of him, especially his younger sister. They had him sign up for several psychiatrists. He still went on with his personal life, hung out with his best friend Aaron and his girl friend Nia (who Craig has a crush on). He still smokes pot, drinks and attends parties. Until one night when he was about to commit suicide, he ended up calling the local suicide hotline he stumbled on in yellow pages.
There, he got checked in to the psychiatric care of the hospital. He wasn't allowed to leave unless a doctor permits him to. He got placed with the older people. During his time in the psychiatric care, he begins drawing maps like he used to do when he was younger. He begins to learn things from the people around him, especially Bobby. He even develops an interest in one of the girls, Noella, who is admitted there as well. He then learns that he's not alone in whatever he is going through, and that you need the people around you to help you be better. In the course of Craig's stay in the hospital, he is inspired to start living.
Brief Comment:
Before I give my thoughts on this book, I want to pay tribute to Ned Vizzini. I had not known that he has passed away a couple years ago. I haven't really heard about any of his work, but I wish I did, because It's Kind of a Funny Story was such an inspiring read. His work continues to touch a lot of people, including me, and more in the future. I think what makes a book more lovable and tangible, in a way, is when you can feel the author's emotions and what they're trying to tell you through the characters or the way certain phrases are placed. Ned Vizzini went over and beyond that, which is why I think that he is an amazing writer. It is sad that he was taken way too soon, but his work will forever live on. By just reading one of his books, I was able to relate to the characters and understand where they're coming from.Thoughts:
Mental illness is something that most people don't even bother to talk or to pay attention to. Lately I've realized how important it actually is to raise awareness. While reading this book, I was able to understand Craig - the grades, having to be perfect at everything, having friends who you can talk about the real stuff and not just what's on the surface - about what it's like to be human. When Craig was describing the expectations of school, I could relate to him because that's what I've been feeling as well. So overwhelmed about the idea of being the best of the best. It's not that I was competitive, I just want to be great at something, to the point where I was raising the bar too high.
When Craig began his stay at the hospital, he was so bent on trying to be okay and act as if nothing happened, which is why I think it was a rough start for him. That was until he started hanging out with Bobby and everyone else, observing how they lived and acted. Which leads me to the other reason why I enjoyed this book. The characters were based on real people that Ned Vizzini met during his time on one of his stays in a psychiatric care and that the events in the books were 85% true, according to him. The fact that they were funny, easy to love and smarter than what people gave them credit for is something that I took to notice. Yes, they were in a hospital seeking for psychiatric care, but they were people. The characters were still them. They were written just as what a person with mental illness would act; great sense of humour and an all around great personality.
What most people don't realize is that anyone can have mental illness, some people hide it better and some are more intense that others. Craig learnt a lot from Bobby, and they were easily friends. He started to get inspired by the people around him that he started drawing his mind maps again. He even developed feelings for Noella, a girl who had intentionally placed scars on her face because she wanted to prove to people that she wasn't just pretty, that she was more than that. This was when they both agreed what their actually going through to each other, how hard it is to be playing the smart and pretty game. Which is why it pissed me off when Nia came to visit Craig only to make out with him because she hasn't made out in a hospital bed before, and just to check it off her list. But then I couldn't stop myself from laughing when Muqtada ( Craig's roommate) walked in and started yelling frantically about kids having sex in his room. It was one of the highlights of the book.
Seeing Craig's character growth was exciting. I say exciting because, he realized that it's okay to let go about being perfect, and that he was able to root out his real friends from those who are there just for show *cough cough Nia & Aaron cough cough* . I enjoyed it when he asked his dad to find Egyptian music so he could bring Muqtada out of bed. Bobby, President Armelio, and Smitty inspired him to start enjoying everything around him. Now he's doing the same to Muqtada, which shows how much he's grown in those short days. I was very happy for him when "the Shift" finally happened because he deserved it.
This book really inspired me and I encourage you to read it. My favourite quote(s) from the book are:
"That's it. It happens in my brain once the rest of my body has moved. I don't know where my brain went. It got knocked off-kilter somewhere. It got caught up in some crap it couldn't deal with. But now it's back - connected to my spine and ready to take charge...
It's a huge thing this Shift, just as big as I imagined. My brain doesn't want to think anymore; all of a sudden it wants to do...
Ski. Sled. Play basketball. Jog. Run. Run. Run. Run home. Run home and enjoy. Enjoy. Take these verbs and enjoy them. They're yours Craig. You deserve them because you chose them. You could have left them all behind but you chose to stay here. So now life for real Craig. Live. Live. Live. Live.
Live."
P.S.
If you need to talk, you can contact us through email or anywhere else in social media. If you need a prayer, feel free to reach out to us. You are loved, and I would more than likely want to know you!
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