Teen Angst? Naaah... Book Review

Author: Ned Vizzini

Teen Angst? Naaah... is for anyone who has been shot down by someone of the opposite sex, been embarrassed by their parents, skipped studying to hang with friends or basically just went to high school. It's fresh and funny and with over twenty chapters, each one telling a new tale about surviving teenage life, you're bound to be able to relate to at least one or two of Ned Vizzini's stories.

The cool thing about Teen Angst? Naaah..., is that author, Ned Vizzini, is only 21 years-old! Ned can reflect on his high school experiences now that he's an adult but he's still super-young so his stories don't start out with the classic, "When I was your age," line. He talks about his experiences with girls, popularity, drugs, sex and rock and roll... the way it really happens when you're 15.

Your teenage years are by no means hyped up in Teen Angst? Naaah.... Ned Vizzini just tells it like it is, and it's about time someone did. There's no need to glorify the years when you are, more often than not, a bumbling idiot with acne. We can however have a good laugh about those "oh so humiliating" years. And that's exactly what Teen Angst? Naaah... is all about.

One small downside to the book, are the ever present, very annoying footnotes. Every couple of pages there is a tiny star after a sentence which is directing you to the bottom of the page for a little side-thought. Now, footnotes can be wonderful things when they are relevant to the story you are reading. These footnotes however, just distract you from the story at hand. I found it best to get through each chapter and then go back to read the footnotes. Don't worry, they will still make sense once you have finished the chapter!

So, if you're looking for a book to take your mind off the horrors you're currently enduring in high school, why not pick up Teen Angst? Naaah... and have yourself a chuckle at Ned Vizzini's expense, (I don't think he'll mind!)

Teen Angst? Naaah... Rating:

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