While I was reading the book Teen Angst? Naaaah… by Ned Vizzini I started to really think about whether or not memoirs have to be completely true. The reason I was thinking about this was because I felt that Vizzini did think they had to be true and I disagree with that. The way he wrote you could tell he couldn’t remember a lot of things. He had almost no sensory details, and hardly any feeling. There was dialogue but very little; there was no real ending; and some parts were just unnecessary. There wasn’t an exact plot or big idea. It was just about his life, which made me feel unattached and bored. tAn example of one of the ways that Vizzini should have stretched the truth to make this book more exciting is in the chapter “Goofy Foot Forward” when he and his friend Owen went snowboarding, and Owen broke his wrist. He never talked about what the mountains looked like or if he was scared snowboarding for the first time, just about how much money he wasted. He wrote about that as if that was the most important thing, even though having money problems aren’t really an issue in any of the other chapters, which also goes back to how there are no real big ideas. ttAn example of how Vizzini didn’t put any real ending is it’s not like he’s at his high school graduation starting college or ending something. He’s just in the car with his dad and his brother driving away from a restaurant. That’s it. Nothing else. At least when the book begins it’s like a beginning on a trip on his way to high school but the end is just not really any kind of conclusion. tAn example of how some parts were just unnecessary is the chapter “Fifteen Minutes” which is basically just about his commute to school every morning and what he does with it. It doesn’t pull you in at all because there is one piece of dialogue that is just an example and there is no sensory detail. It isn’t one exact moment and isn’t really like a narrative story at all because no one really cares about the fifteen minutes he travels to school every morning. It could possibly be interesting if something remotely exciting happens on one of his commutes, but that’s it. What he has now is just boring. tIn conclusion, I think that you’re allowed to stretch the truth in memoirs to make the story better, and pull the reader in more. This didn’t really happen in the book Teen Angst? Naaah… by Ned Vizzini, but would have had me enjoy reading the book more. He had almost no sensory details, and hardly any feeling. There was dialogue but very little, there was no real ending and some parts were just unnecessary. This made it hard to get through it because I had no desire to read it. If I were the writer I would have taken out the boring unnecessary things and added to the interesting things. I would have put in as much as I could remember but if some details and dialogue and stuff just couldn’t come to mind, I would simply change it a little bit to make it actually worth reading. The majority of this, I’m sorry to say, wasn’t.
Serack Woldehaimanotttttttt12.18.08901ttttttttttWriting ArtsttttTeen Angst? Naaah…Teen Angst? Naaah….By Ned VizziniISBN-13: 9780440237679Price: $6.50 279pp Age Range: Young Adult 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 bascially just went to high school. Going through teenager life is pretty hard for everyone. Ned shares all of his doing when he was a teen and how he lived life out loud. He had his ups and downs and it’s difficult to see what’s right or wrong. What were the rebellious moments you’ve had towards your parents? Was it severe as Ned Vizzini rebellious moments were? Ned Vizzini tells this story in first person and we can see his thoughts and many other things.Ned is an average teen who goes to a specialized high school called Stuyvesant. He shares funny and controversial moments from Freshmen to Senior Year. Ned tells this book in first person. It is exciting because Ned is a normal teen, and what he has been through can happen to anybody. This book is reccomended for ages thirteen and up. Readers, you can probably relate to Ned if you’re a teen. This book was so fantastic that it has changed the way that I think about my life. I now believe that everything happens for a reason. I’ve also realized that I should appreciate more in life. Reading this book shows how Ned lives his life out loud.Ned had to face many obstacles including drugs, sex, partying, and not doing his homework. Those are things that a teen will eventually face and he is sharing moments, that will blow your mind away! So come on people stop by Barns and Nobel and get this book, it’s great! One of Ned Vizzini moment was to choose whether or not he was to go on a vacation with his friends or stay home and play Jesus for his church aren’t you interested in finding out whats going to happen? Just get the book its in every single book store because it is that great.If you enjoy books about teen life and funny stories you should get this book Teen Angst? Naaah…. It is in any Barns and Nobles store so pick it up. Reading this book showed how Ned lived his life out loud and how other can to. This book relate to a lot of readers if they were a teen. Ned faceing his obsticles which were drugs, sex, and partying had made me more awear of what I might approch in the future. Therefore if you are near a book store or Barns and Nobel get this book its only $6.50 and it is a hilarious book.
It seems that a lot of adults who write books for and about teenagers try to sound 'authentically teen' by sounding brainless. For example, in the book I'm reading now, Future Missionaries of America, a high school girl writes a letter that begins like this: "Dear Kyle, I came home from school today totally bummed. I'm listening to the new Wu-Tang record and thinking that you would, like, so hate it it, because this is like totally the opposite of all that metal stuff you like, and before you know it, like, a whole hour has passed. Mom totally freaked out" (46). What I loved about Teen Angst? Naaah... is that Ned Vizzini wrote most of it when he was a teenager, and his observations and dialogue are witty, articulate and perceptive. The footnotes that run through the book are especially funny, and each chapter has its own, often sophisticated, arc. So the next adult author who thinks that teenagers only write, speak, and think "totally like this, OMG" should probably pick up a copy of Vizinni's book, to read something truly authentically teen.
—Ms. D
Ned's family took cheap vacations - airplanes cost too much; cool resorts? way too many people. For vacations, Ned's family piled into a van and headed to bizarre and out of the way locations sem-close to New York. Like Binghamton NY for example - birthplace of the twilight zone creator Rod Serling. Yes, Ned had actually been to a Serling Museum. On one of these jaunts, his family ended up at Allentown, Pennsylvania. They were supposed to go to the Poconos but at the last minute, his dad decided they needed some real culture, so they headed for "the Largest County Fair in Eastern PA."This is how, for $5, Ned came to see the World's Largest Demolition Derby. His Dad pointed out the sign once they were on the fairgrounds, and asked Ned if he wanted to go.Destruction can really cheer up a thirteen year old. He wasn't sure what a demolition derby was, but it sounded violent and it would give him a chance to stop walking around with his family. Ned found out how a demolition derby really worked: some redneck with a car so screwed up that no one will buy it decides to have fun and compete for prize money. He pays about fifty bucks; his vehicle gets a paint job, and its engine is "modified" so it'll run for a few more hours. On derby day, he drives to a stadium where he slams into other cars until he totals them all, or just his own. If his is the last car running, he gets a big check.This quasi-autobiography is Ned - the real Ned - telling real stories from when he was in high school - he even wrote them when he was in high school. It's about family, friends, staying out all night at a card game in the big city (New York). It's also cool that when he put the book together, he decided to make comments about it. They're off on the side (show page ?) like in the chapter about the demolition derby (Highway to Hell). In the story itself, shortly after telling you about rednecks and broken cars and big checks - Ned tells you how the audience boos at the girl who comes out to sing the Star Spangled Banner before the demolition starts. In the margins, he adds notes later when he's putting it together. Here's what he had to say about the singer at the demolition derby: She was much younger than me, and she was doing something better than I could ever do it - that's why I booed. I was hyper-competitive, and I loved it when other people failed. Sorry. (snicker/make very sarcastic)Does Ned have Teen Angst?? Nah…. By Ned Vizzini.
—Cathleen Ash
The characters in my book were realistic. Ned he was the curious kid who was always trying his best in school and always will to learn something new. He acted like a normal high school student by going to band concerts and staying up late to study for his big tests. He was curious by trying the illegal things as in marijuana and drinking alcohol coming home to his parents to see if he could get away with them no noticing. His parents were very realistic as well taking care of two boys fighting over the Nintendo by taking it away and making them take turns and putting them in their place not letting the children run there life.The plot had some weird twists that kept me guessing. One example is when Ned is studying all night, I figured he was a book worm. The twist that got me wanting to read more is when he went out with friends and got drunk and walked around town then tried to come home without getting caught. The reason he got caught is because he was in the bath tub just laughing at nothing at all. The speed of the book for me was awesome because I have then attention span of a new born baby and, with it being a bunch of short chapters it was easy for me to keep reading because of the quick changes.The style of the book was perfect for me to because he used the language that I speak basically and he also uses the term that he used in school. If it was a term that he said and figured the reader would not understand he would put some stars at the bottom of the page for the reader to get a good grasp on what they were reading. I really enjoyed reading this book because at times it was serious but yet the next chapter was humorous and gave me a good giggle.
—Ty
