Jungle Rumble

Hopkins, Ellen. Impulse. New York, NY: Maragret K. McElderry Books, 2007.

Vizzini, Ned. It’s Kind of a Funny Story. New York, NY: Miramax Books, 2006.

The holiday season is supposed to be fun, warm and joyful. SO leave it to me to pick up two melancholy books. Both had come on recommendations from students that they were “the best” books. The first one I read was Hopkins’ Impulse, a story of three teens whose lives have intertwined after meeting in a mental hospital for those who attempt suicide. Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade. Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills. And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself. I love Hopkins’s poem-like writing (as mentioned in the Burned review below). She so effortlessly presents each characters traumas, successes, loves and spirit. Having rooted for Vanessa, Tony and Connor to all have happy endings, I was saddened by the tragic ending…and you will be too.

The pressures of being a teen catches up to Craig Gilner in Vizzini’s first novel, It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Craig succumbs to academic and social pressures at an elite high school and enters a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide. The New York Times called this book “insightful and utterly authentic…an important book”. I wholeheartedly agree. A great companion to Catcher in the Rye (Craig could be a modern day Holden and an excellent example of how our society’s handling of depression has changed) or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (the author wrote this book days after spending time in a mental hospital and the characters are vivid, real and kooky). Unlike Impulse’s ending, It’s Kind of a Funny Story leaves you confident that Craig will find his way in life.