*CONTENT WARNING* THIS BOOK CONTAINS POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING THEMES SUCH AS MULTIPLE MENTAL ILLNESSES/DISORDERS, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND SELF HARM*
Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life – which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He 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 neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.
Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. (Goodreads)
I’d first like to say that this is an own voices novel, in that it is written by Ned Vizzini, who spent time in inpatient treatment due to mental illness. Ned Vizzini sadly passed away by suicide, leaving behind this book in his legacy, which has and will continue to help individuals struggling with mental illness.
This book has so much heart and warmth to it. Every character is so interesting and has endearing and has humorous qualities, which added a bit of light to the hard topic of the story. It really highlighted for me that even during the darkest points of life things can still be humorous. Some of the humour in the book surrounding the patients in the ward did not come across as inappropriate or insensitive, but instead really highlighted that finding these moments within bad times does not take away from the bad times you may be experiencing. It instead shows that things such as mental health are not linear, but instead exist on a spectrum and days can vary in their difficulty and feeling.
One somewhat random facet of this story that I particularly appreciated was Craig’s family. I found it really endearing and nice to see that Craig had a solid family dynamic where his parents and sisters were supportive and understanding of his mental health struggles. I think for many teens/young adults (talking from experience) there can be nerves opening up to parents because of how their generations viewed mental health, and so I was really pleased to see how much effort Craig’s parents made to aid his recovery.
I feel this book is really important in that it highlights the pressures placed on young adults and teenagers which can have very troubling consequences. It also provides great commentary on how while it can be a very real experience for young people, because of a lack of awareness and understanding of it in wider society a lot of friend’s of Craig have really warped/inaccurate views of mental health, comparing some of their problems to Craig’s suicidal thoughts. I found this interesting as there is so much discussion as to whether people self diagnosing themselves is contributing to a negative view of mental health.
There was one part of the book where Craig touches – ever so briefly – on how mental health isn’t necessarily becoming a ‘trend’ or ‘more prevalent’, and the quote really got me thinking about how maybe there has been an increase in cultural acceptance and acknowledgement of mental health between generations. I think that mental illnesses have been prevalent throughout history, however an increase in discussion and diagnoses makes it seem as though it is on the rise.
“We’re just part of that messed- up generation of American kids who are on drugs all the time.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think we’re any more messed up than anybody before.”
I also think this book provides a positive view of inpatient treatment, crisis intervention and the idea of acknowledging your mental health and taking an active role in your recovery. Inpatient treatment is often stigmatised and villainised to the point where people see it incredibly negatively, however I think books like this can do work to change perceptions, so that hopefully we can get to a point where inpatient treatment is seen for what it ACTUALLY is.
Overall, this book was really special to me. I felt the value of it even now as a 22 year old, but I definitely wish I had read this when I was 17. It is a mental health novel with uplift and hope, which addresses a lot of things that young adults NEED to hear.
Have you ready it? Did you enjoy it? I’d love to know.
amytalksbooks.wordpress.com 