Rating: 
Summary: Please.
Review: Like so many others, I picked up this book based entirely on the fact that the writer was supposedly seventeen when she wrote it. From the first page, I was drooling with boredom. Actually- after the first paragraphy I was drooling with boredom, before that I was too incensed to drool. Crowell's premature style leaves a lot to be desired in the way of artfulness, subtlety and, most of all, originality. It's great that she can keep the plot moving along (as one editorial put it), but she didn't seem to concern herself with the accurate logistics of those points she dwelled on. The England details were so generic and Fodor's that I don't see why anyone'd boast that she wrote this book without having visited the country, first- or spent some time with its people. The poor son came in and out of the story on whim- I would've liked to see more focus on the mother-son relationship. I've read somewhere that Madison Bell, who "discovered this gem" (how I loathe those words), read it and thought immediately of its marketability. I wish he'd instead thought of the girl who'd written it, spent a little more time encouraging her as a writer and getting the book up to standard (whatever that means these days) before FedExing it to his agent. Frankly, his haste doesn't speak too highly of his judge of quality. And can I just say here (stop reading if you want) that I am not impressed with the OVERALL quality of "young prodigy writers" which have been published in the past few years? These poor kids are raking in nearly a million dollars before or shortly after they've hit twenty, but time will tell that they've been ruined. If Crowell had been twenty-three, or graduated from some stinking MFA program with that manuscript and scouted it out, she would've had a much more difficult time finding a publisher. And rightfully so. As a reader, I'm disappointed with the standards of the entire industry.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST-read!
Review: Ms. Crowell's writing reached into my innermost being to touch my deepest emotions. Tinged with an understanding of the deepest sadness, Necessary Madness faces the world of the survivors - those left behind - and struggles with the darkness of aloneness in a manner unparalleled in other similar works. Incredible that such wisdom can come from the mind of a 17-year old! I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Neccessary madness is necessary reading!
Review: Neccessary Madness is perhaps the most exciting and brilliant literary debut since Donna Tartt's The Secret History. The splendor of Jenn Crowell's prose is like an ocean: beautiful, flowing, mesmerizing and powerful. Her ability to seamlessly weave the story of Gloria Burgess' past and present is reminiscent of another impressive debut novel, The Tracks of Angels by Kelly Dwyer. The story is about a young, recently widowed mother and her life from childhood to present. Though she feels as if she cannot bare her loss, she finds a way to move forward by reconcilling herself with her past. Her own mother was a frustrated musician and her father believed Gloria to be the reincartion of his one true love who died in a tragic car accident. Her characters are real and her writting is honest. Jenn Crowell's talents are undeniable and we are fortunate to catch the dawn of what looks to be a glorious literary career.
Rating:
Summary: Ageless
Review: Necessary Madness is one of the most amazing books alive that ISN'T on Oprah's book list. I never read the summary of any book before reading, because I don't want to spoil the plot, but I do read the author's profile to give me an idea of where they are coming from. In this case, I don't know if it was a good or bad thing, but I must have turned back to that tiny paragraph five times in the four hours it took me to read the book. I am not surprised that one so young can feel the way that Crowell feels, only that one so young is capable of expressing, with such depth, the things it takes most a lifetime to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Unnecessary reading
Review: Necessary Madness was pressed on me by two friends who swore it was "the best book they had read in ages." Oh had I remembered that these pals read only when they can find nothing on cable to absorb them! Come to think of it, perhaps that's what turned me off. The characters reminded me of the cardboard cast that a Lifetime or USA original movie would parade before me in the guise of presenting me with compelling individuals. A brilliant but beleaguered scholar for a father, a brilliant but bedeviled cellist for a mother, a brilliant but embattled artist for a husband... Gloria, the punk revolutionary turned English teacher, has quite a supporting cast for her little psychodrama. And let us not forget Jascha, the brilliant but bereft artist who wishes to assemble a retrospective of Bill's work (even though the grieving widower resented Bill's happy family). Argh! Tell me I wasn't the only one left cold by the overwrought characterizations and the forced plot line. Necessary Madness isn't a bad book... nor is it a "dazzling debut" or "breathtaking achievement." Admittedly, there were moments in which the widow's anguish was palpable (and believable), but the rest of the time I was left wondering what was on t.v.
Rating: 
Summary: Crowell is a gifted young writer
Review: Overall, I found Jenn Crowell's book about Gloria Burgess, a schoolteacher grieving over the recent loss of her husband well-crafted, engaging, and moving, with only a few irritating slides into melodrama and some unrealistically analytical dialog. However, Crowell more than compensates with her truthful, human renderings of people, events and emotions. This is a great achievement, especially taking into account the young age of the writer when it was first written and published. I highly recommend this one!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Since I love to write but am only 14, I read Necessary Madness (which is written by a young, talented writer) as inspiration. I loved the book. I couldn't put it down and had to re-read parts of it several times because they sounded so beautiful and were so true. It is a very poignant and well-written story about tragedy, love, and relationships but also about hope and getting on with life after losing a loved one.
Rating:
Summary: raw and beautiful
Review: The language in this book is so beautiful at times that I had to stop and write quotes down. I had to tell someone, read them a passage and shake my head at its stunning clarity. This is an important story written compactly and stringent, yet encapsulating a wealth of personal emotion in 200 pages. I wept. I replayed my adolescense. I understood. This book will get inside of you and shake your soul. I dare you to read it, especially if you are happily married with children. It will scare you and at the same time force you to grasp tightly to what you have and rejoice over health and happiness
Rating:
Summary: Jenn Takes You On An Emotional Roller Coster
Review: This book is amazing! The words take you and put you in Gloria's poistion. You feel her grief, you feel her happiness, you feel her passion. If you're looking for a book that will alter your life this is the novel for you. I can't wait for the next novel.
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