It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

It's Kind of a Funny Story is a YA fiction novel by Ned Vizzini. It was selected by the ALA as a Best Book for Young Adults in 2007 and was named one of the 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels by NPR. Ned Vizzini penned this novel after a 5 day stay in the adult psychiatric ward at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn. This book was turned into a movie in 2010.

Craig is overwhelmed with his desire to succeed. After successfully studying his way into the top high school around, he suddenly finds himself unable to eat or sleep. Struggling with the pressure he feels, Craig begins to contemplate suicide. Instead, he calls a suicide hotline and ends up checking himself into psychiatric care for five days. This book is about those five days.

Sex: There are some sexually explicit conversations and scenes in this book.

Language: Moderate to high.

Drug/Alcohol Use: Craig and his friends often drink and smoke marijuana. They are 15 years old.

Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: The scenes where Craig thinks about suicide are pretty heavy. Some of the other people in the hospital have difficult backgrounds.

Final Note: It was interesting to see firsthand what clinical depression feels like. I thought Ned Vizzini did a great job sharing his experiences. It's important to note that in 2013, Ned committed suicide. This may be troubling for any teenagers who pick up this book.

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What is The Rapid Reader?

Hello fellow parents and friends! My name is Danielle. I had the idea for this blog a couple of years ago when I was working in my son's school library. It was a known fact that I was an avid reader of middle school and young adult literature and several parents would ask me about books before checking them out for their kids. (Or buying them at the book fair!) Because I read so much, I've never worried too much about what my kids might be reading. My oldest is only eight years old and anything he's read, I've read already! But what about parents who don't necessarily enjoy reading or have the time? I wanted to offer a resource that gave these parents the chance to make educated decisions about books their kids are reading. That's how this blog was born! Before we go any further, I want to point out that I am strongly opposed to book banning. I believe in freedom of speech and expression of art through literature. But I also feel strongly that kids should ...

The Rapid Reader

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