Rating: 
Summary: A disjointed disappointment
Review: Having seen the movie, I was very excited to get the book and see a more in depth view of the complex character of Susanna Kaysen. I was extremely disappointed with the book however. While the movie presents the viewer with a clear and fluid timeline and story, the book jumps back and forth through time with the only cohesive thread apparently being Kaysen's insanity.If you enjoyed the movie, watch it again and avoid this book.
Rating: 
Summary: disturbing
Review: Well written story that has some really disturbing moments like the mindset of someone right when they're about to commit suicide. Definitely a page-turner!
Rating: 
Summary: great book!
Review: This is a must read if you've ever been hospitalized for depression or other psychological diseases. I read it soon after I had gotten home from the hospital and it took away some of the loneliness that I had been having. Some parts are slow, but don't give up because it will truly enrich your life and outlook on other people with diseases similar to Susanna Kaysen's. Oh yeah, the movie is good too!
Rating:
Summary: Ever wonder about that thin line?
Review: Girl, Interrupted introduces you to Borderline Personality as well as to Susanna as a teen-ager. Would you decide not to sign in? Or would you trust that the recommendation for signing into McLean Hospital was the right thing to do? Throughout this story, I wondered if the main character really was certifiable just as she was presented in the movie. Unfortunately, I walked away with this: truth is what is recorded on papers and reports, no matter what you believe. This is definitely a book worth reading even if you saw the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: I read this book a few years ago. If you didn't particularly like the movie, I suggest your read the book -- it's much better!
Rating: 
Summary: Girl Interrupted
Review: I debated on buying this book, but when I found out it was becoming a movie I was sold! How disappointed I was!! The fact that she allowed some doctor to shove her in a taxi and send her off to a mental institution is a mystery to me. Along with the fact that she never mentioned who was paying for her stay. She even got married, but before marriage she dated her husband to be and continued to live in the mental institution. After she got married then divorced she went back to the institution. Why? The main character's behavior did not warrant being locked up in an institution and she focuses on other roommates because she apparently didn't have anything to say about herself that would seem interesting. I was just "TOO THREW" with the whole book. It left alot of unanswered questions. It wasn't all that funny either. I'm going to donate my book to the goodwill.
Rating:
Summary: Not a fan of this book
Review: It's interesting to see the differences in the reviews...you either loved it or hated it. I'm in the latter category. I read it because I had planned to see the movie. Now I don't even want to see the movie. I didn't mind the style, which flips between different settings -- you get to see the author's true admittance record and psychological reports. Actually, that part was interesting. The interwoven plot just didn't move me. My advice is to skip the book altogether.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Book In A While!
Review: I think this book is a must have for any female with borderline persoanlity disoder. i think it is well written in the comical and heartbreaking sence that all women have felt somewhat like this before, and if you have the disorder you know that pain is only gonna get better if possible in your case. I loved this tale of Suasana Kaysen, a young woman who tries to OD on Asprin and ends up losing two years of her life in a mental hospital. i loved it's true to life heartbreaking madness unleashed into words of healing and lament all at the same time.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated -- Read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Instead
Review: I picked up this book at the airport, hoping to read something that would pass time and keep me interested during my journey. The book was short on length as well as other things -- like depth. I felt like the book had a lot to work with at the beginning -- a woman committed to an institution because of a man's idea of gender roles, crazy characters, weird doctors/nurses. Unfortunately, the author never goes really far with her topic and leaves a lot to be desired with the book. Overrated -- Read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Instead Only read it if you like these coming of age, depressed teenage girl books.
Rating:
Summary: Deceptively simple
Review: I saw the movie version of "Girl Interrupted" when it came out last winter in spite of the mostly negative reviews it received. I loved it, mainly because it highlighted how women can support each other through the toughest of circumstances. I then bought and read the book. The differences between the two are startling: the setting and most of the characters are the same, but the tone is quite different. The book is mesmerizing from its first paragraph. Susanna Kaysen uses deceptively simple language to describe her experiences and the people she knew during her 18 months stay at McLean's mental hospital. We slowly come to understand the lack of humanity showed to these girls, and the confused world they came from. Ms Kaysen's spare, poetic prose is interspersed with copies of actual hospital records written at the time she was a patient. The records appear as confused as the patients they detail. They seem to detail Susanna's social interactions and levels of ease with others, as if this alone depicts signs of strong mental health. Some of them appear incomplete and neglected. One is left to wonder what exactly the professionals at this hospital were looking for: mental health or acceptable female behavior? The book is brief, and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. How have we changed in the way we view certain types of female behavior? How have we changed in the way we view those suffering from mental illnesses? Do patients need to be cured or does the world need to be cured? This is a remarkable book. It manages to raise awareness without giving in to self-pity. I would recommend it to anyone.
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