Book Review: Crazy

Benjamin Lebert is a partially paralyzed sixteen-year-old repeating his freshman year at a remedial boarding school, Castle Neuseelen. Scared and unsure, his life takes a turn for the better when he meets Janosch, Troy, Fat Felix (a.k.a. Glob), Skinny Felix, and Florian (a.k.a. Girl). Lebert and his friends set out to discover what it really means to be alive. In their quest, they visit the girls' rooms after lights out, drink and smoke, and even sneak off to Munich to visit a strip club.

On its face, Crazy seems to be a typical coming-of-age story. In fact, Lebert's semi-autobiographical novel is anything but typical. For one thing, it is the most well-written YA book I've read in a long time. For another, it was written by a sixteen-year-old -- so, unlike other YA books, it really shows the world from a teenager's perspective.

Crazy is a must-read book for teens and for older readers (though all readers should be aware that the book contains explicit language). Not only is it excellently written, but it deals with the real world from a real person's perspective. And even though it was written by a German teen and translated into English from the German, Crazy applies to teens the world over. In the end, it reveals more profound truths about life than, perhaps, many books written by adults do -- like "how to make the best of the hand you've been dealt, and how you find your way in a crazy world by just being your crazy self."

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To find out more about Crazy and its author, Benjamin Lebert, visit the book's official website.

Have you read Crazy? What did you think? Post a comment to the discussion board.

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