Y.A. Love

Blake Nelson Paranoid Park

180 pp.  Speak (Penguin Group) 2006 ISBN: 978-0-14-241156-8

Summary (From Goodreads): It was an accident. He didn’t mean to kill the security guard with his skateboard – it was self-defense. But there’s no one to back up his story. No one even knows he was at Paranoid Park. Should he confess, or can he get away with it? It’s an ethical question no one should have to answer.

Writing more intensely than ever before, Blake Nelson delivers a film noir in book form, complete with interior monologue and dark, psychological drama.

This is a riveting look at one boy’s fall into a world of crime, guilt, and fear – and his desperate attempt to get out again.

I’m always looking for books that appeal to guys, so I bought Paranoid Park after a librarian on Twitter recommended that I read some of Blake Nelson’s books.  After looking Blake Nelson up  on Goodreads, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of him before.  He’s written quite a few books that I now plan on reading.  A few that I’d like to read are The New Rules of High School, Genderbender and Destroy All Cars.

Right from the start I liked that the story is told in a series of letters, but to whom we don’t know until the end.  Well, we know who they ended up being written to.  The death of the security guard happens late in the summer, but the letters are written in January which gives us some insight on what happened to the narrator.

The narrator goes through a series of stages after the security guard is killed.  He’s completely shocked and sick to his stomach at first, he tries rationalizing what he’s done, but eventually he ends up completely paranoid.  Nelson has written this so well that I felt paranoid for the narrator.  Was it going to hit the news?  Was Scratch going to rat him out?  Is the narrator going to confess?  I kept feeling the need to look over my shoulder as I turned the pages.  And I didn’t realize this until the end, but we’re never given the narrator’s name.  He’s writing these letters and telling his story, but he makes sure he never writes the story in a self-revealing way.  (I hope others didn’t realize this about his name too.  Otherwise I’m going to feel incredibly unobservant!)  It makes me wonder if his brother’s name is really Henry.

The story is simple, but the character development is not.  Nelson did a fantastic job of writing the narrator the way he should be written–a very confused, scared, teenage boy.  I never felt like I was reading a character that’s supposed to be a teen, but speaks like he’s 30.  And I’m not knocking YA authors that write characters like that, but it’s refreshing to read a story with characters speaking like teenagers.  I’m working with teens all day, and as much as I wish that they had stronger vocabularies, they don’t always.  Teens will appreciate this and the narrator’s character development when they read this book.

This is a difficult review to write and avoid spoilers at the same time.  The ending is one of the biggest talking points, and I really look forward to discussing this with my students who choose to read Paranoid Park.  Speaking of, I’m positive this will be a hit with my students, the boys especially.  Skating is really popular with my students; we even have a skate park down the street from our high school.  I’m hoping that connection with the book will spark a bigger interest.  Hopefully I’ll be adding this title to my Books Guys Dig page

The reason I gave this four stars is because Nelson’s writing is a bit choppy at times, which bothered me.  However, the choppiness fits the narrator’s thoughts because his mind is often racing and scattered.  I’m sure this will actually be helpful to my lower-level readers that pick up this book.

If you’re looking for a good quick read, then Paranoid Park is certainly worth your time.  Also, the cover of my book says it’s now a movie so I’ll be looking into that.

Ned Vizzini It’s Kind of a Funny Story
444 pp.  Hyperion.  2006 ISBN: 978-1-4231-4191-4 (p’back)

“Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life — getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job — Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That’s when things start to get crazy.

At his new school, Craig realizes that he’s just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and 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 neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a moving tale about depression, that’s definitely a funny story.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Honest.  Funny.  Inspirational.  It’s Kind of a Funny Story is all of that and more.  I’ve been eyeing this book for a few years now.  I started a book club with some of my former students and we chose this as our first read.  I’m happy to report that all of us loved it!

I started reading this thinking of it as mere fiction, but as I continued into the story, I started to question my original thought.  Ned Vizzini included thoughts and details that felt extremely personal.  But it wasn’t until I finished reading the book that I saw the last page where it’s explained that Ned spent time in a psychiatric hospital.  To top it off, it says that he wrote this in less than a month after leaving the hospital!  That’s absolutely incredible and explains why the story is so honest.  It must have been a wonderful cathartic experience for him to write this, but also scary to have his emotions right out there.

Craig and all of the patients in 6 North are unique and entertaining.  Craig struggles with depression and intense anxiety like many teenagers and adults.  I found it interesting that while Craig was staying in 6 North, it seemed like he was helping the other patients more than he was getting help.  But the support Craig shows for his peers proves to him that he can cope and make friends.  Noelle, Craig’s love interest who displays her pain on the outside through scars, reignites Craig’s passion for art.  This becomes Craig’s outlet and his anchor- his coping mechanism.  I love that this is written into the story because everyone needs a healthy outlet, whether it be exercise or writing.  I’d love to find out if Ned Vizzini discovered a love for art during his hospital stay.

A movie version of It’s Kind of a Funny Story has recently been released.  I did enjoy the movie and recommend going to see it.  If you’re hoping for an exact representation of the book, you’ll be disappointed.  Small but important details were changed.  The movie pretty much followed the basic story line and that’s it.  Extra scenes were added to the story, and they were entertaining, but the movie ended up being enjoyable as a separate entity from the book.  Nonetheless, hopefully people who haven’t read the book will want to do so once they see the movie!

I definitely give this five stars.  If you haven’t read it yet, move It’s Kind of a Funny Story to the top of your TBR list.