Rating: 
Summary: very entertaining
Review: you could not take me away from this book if you tried to. I was completly absorbed in this book. It is such a good book partly because it is a true story and many people can relate to her. The thing i didn't like was the eniding. The last chapter was kinda of boring and it just seemed to end- like something was missing. Other than the last chapter the book was really good.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T JUDGE THE BOOK BY IT'S COVER
Review: I laughed and then I cried after realizing that CRAZY is the operative word. Ms. Kaysen tries to meet her demise by her own hand and is found, certainly crying for help. She is then sent to McLean....the 'nut house'. She makes some friends while having life changing encounters. Susanna describes what goes on within the walls of McLean and how the view of the world looks from the inside. I have found that many of the reviews that have come before mine have described this book as 'boring', 'wake-me up', and other similar expressions. Give this one a chance...I found, via "Girl Interrupted", that crazy is as crazy does and we all share certain elements of 'crazy'. As SEAL, in a phrase, so eloquently put it, "...in a world full of people only some want to fly, is it not crazy?..." Or is it, really? ENJOY
Rating: 
Summary: From a teens point of view...
Review: I know that a teen's point of view based on a book is rarely accountable for, but I have to say that this was one of the most uninteresting books I have read. There was no plot to it at all; it was just scattered about. I learned absolutely nothing about the characters. Maybe if some background information or any information at all about each character was established I would've enjoyed it more and would even consider giving this book two stars out of five. This is actually the first time that a movie was better than the actual book from which it was based on. It's not worth the money or the time.
Rating: 
Summary: An Honest, Brilliant Book
Review: The Book "Girl, Interrupted" was many things. Sad, triumphant, and overall, inspiring to some of the people's reviews I've read. I had this book in my grasp for only two days before I could let go. It is exiting to read, and it really makes you think, of the consequences, and dangers, life offers you. This was a fantastic book. (Ages 12 and above)
Rating: 
Summary: Wake Me UP!
Review: I listened to the book on tape. First of all the monotone author had no business narrating this one. The book was ok and I could find many more worthwhile books to listen to instead. Now on the otherhand, if you have insomnia this is the perfect remedy. zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Rating:
Summary: I'm crazy, you're crazy...
Review: I haven't seen the movie so I can't compare, but I will see the movie now that I've finished the book. This is a precise and beautifully written story. It reminded me that "crazy" is contextual, and, that humor is a saving grace.
Rating:
Summary: Boring!
Review: This book was a waste of time. It seemed the author tried to take a boring short story and add to it until it made a book. I'm sorry I bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hope the movie version is better
Review: I guess I fell victim to the media hype surrounding the movie, e.g. Angelina Jolie's Oscar for best supporting actress. As is my custom, I read the written work prior to seeing the motion picture version. I was disappointed in the book because I found it rather ordinary, and I sincerely hope the movie version is better.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and thought-provoking.
Review: In this beautifully insightful book, Kaysen manages to combine her memories of the harsh reality of a mental institution with a hope for the future. A very thought-provoking and readable book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: IF YOU MUST--BORROW--DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
Review: First: The prose is clearly sub-par, there is absolutely no gift here...no depth to the characters, the treatment of the subject matter as a whole is superficial (even bitter), and there is a lack of theme as well as a story line, etc... To her credit she did succeed in illustrating one crucial component, and that is the role that humor played in her own and most of our recoveries. I laughed with both patients and staff during my own inpatient stays, (and hey, it seems to actually prove that that at least some of all this psychiatric theory is working, patients bonding through laughter is actually a part of "Milieu Therapy"). Ms. Kayson seems to be unwittingly making a case for her "captors" on this issue. Yet, I still have to say there are many better books on the subject out there... Second: As long as it had integrity, was thoughtful, and well written, I would not have had the zealous reaction that I have with this book, (even if it shared her negative bias). Unfortunately the way I see it, Ms. Kayson, is looking for a quick way to cash in on the voyeurism of the American public who want to see "what the 'loony-bin' is all about". So she writes a trite book which consists basically of a collection of shallow character portraits of various people she remembers from 25 years ago who happened to live on the same unit in a psychiatric hospital...clearly she's profited financially, but at what cost... I have been in the "system" for years, and without it, most definitively, would be dead by now. This book attempts (and some would see it as succeeding) to trivialize everything I have struggled for in the last 16 years. For those of us who are in the system, and the caring practitioners we depend upon (and need to be able to trust), Ms. Kayson is as heartless as the doctor who committed her (supposedly) without cause. And Last: I hope that Ms. Kayson is still in therapy. Evidently she has not come to peace with the issues that brought her into McLean in the first place... I saw her speak there several months ago, and even I could see that she had not yet been able to let go of her anger over this 18 month episode in her life; (and how/why does the 18 actual months she spent there keep getting exaggerated to 2 YEARS? ). Certainly there is no need to protect future patients from the same "trauma", the insurance companies take care of that, (for instance, Suicide victims are often discharged far too prematurely-sometimes within a week these days...) Today patients are more frequently not getting enough time as inpatients; (nobody is Allowed to stay for months, let alone years...). She writes (and spoke) with disdain for the 'Psychiatric System' as a whole. And while I will allow that there are practitioners out there who are abusing their power, from my experiences, they are in the minority. BPD is a very real and very serious illness, and anyone who suffers from it needs to be assured that it is not a fabrication on the 'systems' part, and that there IS help out there that will NOT land them in Ms. Kayson's 'loony-bin' for 18 months. If you still insist upon reading this book, please, read it knowing it is NOT a representation of the psychiatric community today, and please don't let it scare you from seeking help if you feel depressed. Unless you and a number of professionals TOGETHER decide that inpatient care is your best option, this story will not be yours...
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