'Teen Angst' a real world sensation

By CRAIG GRAZIANO
The Free Lance-Star

YOUTH CORRESPONDENT

Autobiographies are usually written after many years and accomplishing many different feats.

Now, when you think about great feats, your mind may go to the politicians who make our country's decisions, or the athletes who break world records. But can we please pay some attention to the greatest feat of all? Making it through those teenage years.

Thank you, Ned Vizzini. Vizzini wrote the book "Teen Angst? Naaah" shortly after graduating high school. From junior high all the way to senior prom, "Teen Angst" tells of hilarious situations--involving his "Magic: The Gathering," protesting his school's "Take Our Daughters To Work Day," Demolition Derbies with AC/DC, and crashing a taping of "The View" with his friends.

Rather then read another book about a fictional teen going through the rights of passage--whether it be Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield--it's nice to see a modern, real account of high school (other than your own, of course).

Vizzini takes each interesting experience and puts a nice commentary on it. I found it easy to picture each situation in my head.

The illustrations, done by Christopher Schons, were also well crafted.

One of the coolest things in this book were the liner notes. On the sides of the pages, small parts of the plot are summed up in a few sentences, or bits of info are given. For example, Vizzini talks about the sports he had been in: "When I was eight, I played in a soccer league for a season. All the other teams had cool names (Tigers, Condors), but I got stuck with an insane coach named Mr. Sack, who insisted on calling us 'The Sack Attack.' The Sack Attack went 0-12 that season. I was the goalie."

"Teen Angst? Naaah" has to be one of the hippest books I've read in quite a while, especially since my English class is covering 1,500-year-old epics right now. I got this book over the weekend and didn't put it down until I was at the last page.

So I suggest you go get this, unless you don't read--and if you don't read, you shouldn't be reading this article.

CRAIG GRAZIANO is a senior at Chancellor High School.

Date published: 11/21/2002