It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Ever desperate for admission to the prestigious Pre-Professional Executive High School, Craig Gilner spends every waking moment studying for the entrance exam of said school. His dream comes true, but the reality is much crueler than he'd imagined. Craig realizes that he is just a mediocre "accident" compared to the rest of the students at school. After an aborted suicide attempt, he checks into a psychiatric hospital. There free from pressure and harmful influence, he befriends the most unlikely people: Noelle -- the prospective girlfriend who had scarred her face with a scissor, Muqtada -- the Egyptian roommate who wouldn't get out of bed, Johnny and Bobby -- the two hobo dynamic duo, and Jennifer/Charles -- the sex obsessed transvestite. As Craig begins to reconnect with his forgotten passion, he discovers that everyone defines happiness in different way.

Though housed in the often overlooked young adult category, Vizzini takes a uniquely authentic approach toward the tragically prevalent topic of teen depression and makes it convincing and inspiring. Written in a quasi stream-of-consciousness approach, his writing is fresh and bold in its trekking through the dark and depressive corners of the modern teenagers' psyche. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud-you-been-punk'd moments (hence, the book's title) like when Craig and the girl he had a crush on get caught while making out in the hospital, or when he gets hit on by Jennifer/Charles while being totally clueless. Even if 444 pages look daunting, the book's quick pace will keep you engaged from the 1st sentence to the last word--and puts you in a warm fuzzy feel good mood at the end too.

Vizzini wrote the book in less than a month, basing on his own experience at a psychiatric hospital when HE wanted to kill himself.

Author Bio: Ned Vizzini had written for the New York Press at 15 and published his first novel, Teen Angst? Naahhhh... at 19. His second book, Be More Chill, was the first YA novel chosen as a Today Show Book club pick and also one of Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten Books for 2004 and recently made into a play. Vizzini is currently writing a novel targeted at the adult readership. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches math at Rickema S. Walters.

Book available in paperback for $8.99 at www.amazon.com/Its-Kind-Funny-Story-Vizzini/dp/078685197X/ref=ed_oe_p/002-1487421-2352837