Teen Angst? Naaah...: A Quasi-Autobiography

I read this book the summer before I started high school at Stuyvesant in Manhattan, which happens to be the school that Ned went to (go Stuy!). His book was very accurate and insightful about the school, and I was able to relate to some things he felt. Even though he graduated when I was still in elementary school, things have stayed the same. Things like the Magic Card gang on the 6th floor are still real for my grade. It was a funny read and I literally couldn't put it down until I finished.

The author reflects on his youth in this collection of short stories. Teenage memories written with style and humor kept me from putting this book down.

Ok, this is definitely a laugh-out-loud kind of book, and it's the first I have ever come across where I actually did so at least ten times. If you want a deep, thought-provoking story, go for something else. But if you want a book to read when your favorite TV show isn't on, this is the best fill-in. It's quick and hilarious.

To tell you the truth, the only reason I picked up Ned Vizzini's book, "Teen Angst? Naah" was because it was free and I didn't have anything else to do at the Book Expo. However, as soon as I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Being a teenager myself, I could relate to Ned's problems with members of the opposite sex, parents, and school. I mean, we've all had embarrassing moments -- but I don't think any of us could put them into words as well as Ned Vizzini does in this book.

...Let's first start out with the fact that it's a commentary on a subject many people can relate to: the seemingly agonizing chapter of life called high school. Though as we all know, high school isn't that agonizing, but it's only AFTER we've moved on that we realize it. The great thing about Vizzini's book is that it 'overrides necessity.' It allows the reader to reminisce while understanding how those oh so dramatic moments which weren't really so, have somewhat shaped the people we have all become today. High school is a daring, if somewhat repressed time of one's life, and "Teen Angst ... Naaah" displays just that. Through his witty writing, and ability to recognize the comedy in every situation, and I mean every that he encounters, Vizzini relates to the reader a sense of identification that one seeks through their high school years, and comes up by the end with an individual who has acquired a good many skills thanks to his crafty intellectuality and talents. Teen Angst is great because in it's own simplicity it's funny, and easy to understand, and really, just a great array of work.