The Girl Who Takes Out The Trash

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.15

Goodreads Summary:
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.

Actual Rating: 4

First off I want to say how great I think the cover is for this story. If you don't/haven't read the book, you'll never understand the cover. But once you get started you start to figure it out and by the time you get to the end you have a totally different understanding and appreciation for the cover art, the meaning behind it is extraordinary.

This book was a total roller coaster. Craig, the main character has clinical depression even though he hasn't been through some big dramatic event. He's just a 15 year old kid whose brain never sleeps. This is something I feel like a lot of people can relate to.

Craig has such an interesting way of thinking and the way it is portrayed into Ned's writing style is really extraordinary. I came to care a lot about Craig and his recovery. He really opened up my mind and made me think about thinking, if that makes sense. I was so happy with the way the book ended but then I heard something devastating about the author. I would like to think that this character, my Craig, didn't go on to do what the author had done in real life but considering it's based on a true story, I guess that answers that question.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"A person's relationship with food is one of their most important relationships."

"The only thing I had done that people said was kind of like smoking pot was go really hard on the swings, and Aaron had told me that anyone who said that was probably high when they were on the swings." 

"I don't know how much of it is really chemical. Sometimes I just think depression's one way of coping with the world. Like, some people get drunk, some people do drugs, some people get depressed. Because there's so much stuff out there that you have to do something to deal with it."

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