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 — which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job — Gilner studies night and day to ace* the entrance exam, and does. That’s when things start to get crazy.

    At his new school, Gilner realizes that he isn’t brilliant* compared to the other kids; he’s just average*, and maybe not even that.

    He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling* away. The stress* becomes unbearable and Gilner stops eating and sleeping, until, one night, he nearly kills himself.

    Gilner’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, away from the pressures of school and friends, Gilner is finally able to face the sources of his anxiety.

    Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric* hospital, has written a moving story about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. For a novel about depression*, it’s definitely a funny story. The book was adapted into a movie in 2010. (SD-Agencies)