“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” may not have the most appealing title. However, as the saying goes, you should never judge a book by its cover. This novel tells a heart-warming, amusing story of a young boy struggling with painful stress in his life. Ned Vizzini combines deep meanings while maintaining a personal voice throughout the entire story.

Craig Gilner, the main character, is a brilliant teenager who spent most of his life studying to make it into his dream high school, Executive Pre-Professional High School. Once being accepted, his life goes downhill. He becomes overly stressed, which ends up affecting him physically and mentally.

Craig stops eating and sleeping. He cannot study, so therefore, begins to fail his classes. His stress has turned into depression before he knows it. In order to save his own life, Craig checks himself into a nearby emergency room, which is when he is sent to a mental ward where he spends five long days.

Vizzini’s personality as a writer truly comes out in all sections of the book. While expressing Craig’s personality and actions before and during the ward reflects his own personality in a sense, in my opinion. At times where someone may expect the story to have a dull and lifeless tone, Vizzini reassures the reader with comic relief.

In the ward, Craig meets many people who change his outlook on life for the better. This idea represents how the world actually works. Everyone goes through rough times, but all it takes is a certain person, or a group of people, to give you a whole new feeling.

Coming out of the ward for good, Craig becomes a confident person who looks forward to moving on in his life. He found his talent and is determined on prospering with it. In just a few days, Craig turned his whole life around and found the path he wants to take in life.

I believe this story has the potential to change a person’s perspective on a situation. Nothing last forever, and life is too short to hold on to one bad aspect of your it. No one can change their destiny but you, so why not start now?