Rating: 
Summary: Biting Reality
Review: I picked up this book in Early August at a used book store in San Fransisco. I read it in one sitting. The way that Kaysen puts together her thoughts on the page is a way in which I think all young women can relate. She is a little mixed up, as to why she is where she is, and throughout the book there is no organization, no sense of time, nor is there a sense of reality. But that is why the book is so amazing. I think all of us at one time have been somewhat confused about who and where were were in this world, as well as depressed, and this book sent me a message that, if I just work my way through the little everyday things and look at my life in a less serious way, things may become clearer. The book also taught me that relity is not always the same for the people around you, and you have to try and feel what others are feeling to get a better understanding of yourself. Simply put, I think this book speaks volumes to all women, but then again, that is just my opinion, in my own biting reality.
Rating:
Summary: Deep, fast, great read
Review: Like Invisible Monsters, the introspective look and feel of this book is great, dealing with the characters questionable sanity. The back and forth timeline works, jumping to and from different stages in the character's life in a beautiful way.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT STUFF
Review: I LOVED THE BOOK.. IM GLAD I HAD THE CHANCE TO READ IT. IT MADE ME HAPPY TO KNOW THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE OUT THERE LIKE ME. IT ALSO MADE ME THINK ABOUT ALOT OF THINGS IN LIFE LIKE BEING FREE. BY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE IT IS THE WORST THING BEING LOCKED UP. THIS BOOK GAVE ALOT OF INSIGHT ON THE "REAL WORLD."
Rating: 
Summary: Mental with lack of true feeling
Review: I admit that I got this book because of the actresses that are in the movie based on it. I thought it was well written and all but there was a total lack of raw emotion. It wasn't like you were with her in an institution, it was like an all girls school. I think that if you had to go through all this you would have a definite feel for what the experience brought out in you. I also didn't like the lengthy mental descriptions, it was a bit boring.
Rating:
Summary: misconception: sorry to disagree
Review: My impression of the book was definitely NOT that the protagonist gave a glimpse into the world of borderline syndrome or any kind of mental illness. Rather, I understood the author to be trying to convey the fact that these labels were inappropriate for her, that she was "normal" in every way. The diagnosis was made on the basis of a 15 minute interview with a psychiatrist who had never seen her before. Even the author's explanation of her choice of the title of the book shows her viewpoint: she explains that she felt herself to have been interrupted at the music of being seventeen. From my reading of the book, I saw the protagonist as a normal (but quite intelligent and creative) teenager, not as borderline, manic depressive, bipolar, depressive, or "mentally ill" in any way -- and I believe that this was the intention of the book: to show in a personal way the social construction (at least in this one particular case) of "mental illness".
Rating:
Summary: this book is far from dated.
Review: i am under twenty five years old and was locked in the mental health system for 5 years as a teenager and the world and ideas and perceptions this book paints are dead on. forgeting how to use phones... that is my dominant impression. this is not as strong as the bell jar but better than prozac nation, which was still a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Review of Girl, Interrupted
Review: Susanna Kaysen checked herself into McLean Psychiatric Hospital when she was 18, in 1967. This book is about how her life was interrupted, the two years she spent at the hospital, the other girls on the ward, her keepers, and her psychiatrists. It shows you how someone with a "borderline personality" thinks, and how they act, without going into a lot of technical detail, just her own experiences. This book reminds me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, because of it's inside look of a teenager. The style of writing is also similar, yet it's not the same. The descriptive detail in both books is there throughout, but never excessive or boring. It keeps you reading until the end, and then wanting to know more. One thing that stood out to me was the character description. It's most prominent in Susanna, the narrator, the main character. She shares her thoughts, whether or not they're important to other people, it's important to her, and she'll go into detail explaining it. "Take a thought---anything; it doesn't matter. I'm tired of sitting here in front of the nursing station: a perfectly reasonable thought. Here's what velocity does to it. First, break down the sentence: "I'm tired"-well, are you really tired, exactly? Is that like sleepy? You have to check all your body parts for sleepiness, and while you're doing that, there's a bombardment of images of sleepiness, along these lines: head falling onto pillow, head hitting pillow, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, Little Nemo rubbing sleep from his eyes, a sea monster. Uh-oh, a sea monster. If you're lucky, you can avoid the sea monster and stick with sleepiness." This is probably my favorite quote from the book. Her thought process is so random, it's almost funny. But because this is how she thinks, and how she looks at life, it's how she got to where she is now. Another character that stood out to me was Daisy. She "was a seasonal event. She came before Thanksgiving and stayed through Christmas every year. Some years she came for her birthday in May as well." What I thought was "quirky" about her was her need for Ex-Lax and chicken. "Twice a week her squat potato-face father brought a whole chicken roasted by her mother and wrapped in aluminum foil. Daisy would hold the chicken in her lap and fondle it through the foil, darting her eyes around the room, eager for her father to leave so she could get going on the chicken. But Daisy's father wanted to stay as long as possible, because he was in love with Daisy." All of the girls on the ward were strange, and quirky, but Daisy and Susanna were different. I could actually picture them in my mind without any doubt, and I enjoyed learning new peculiar things about them. I could picture the other characters, but they didn't stick out in my mind even when I learned more information about them. This book was well written for a large audience. As a teenager, I enjoyed reading it. Some things I could compare my own life with. I would think adults would also enjoy reading it, remembering back when they were a teenager. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under 15, because of some language, and also what it's about. I read it a few years ago, and didn't understand any of it.
Rating:
Summary: one of my favorite books
Review: This is absolutely on the list of my favorite books. I couldn't put it down. I blew off my homework and read it all day. I think that the experiences expressed, but most importantly the beautiful and entertaining writing style, make this an excellent book. I read it last week and have already recommended it to several friends.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY DATED MATERIAL
Review: As someone actively in treatment with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and who spent two years as an inpatient during the late1980's at Mclean Hospital, I found Kayson's book to be verging on dangerous. Her experience is dated enough to no longer be accurate, and while it is written as a personal memoir, clearly from the comments here, people are being given a (perhaps unintentional) false exposé on the hospital, and more importantly on the diagnosis. Recently there has been a lot of advancement in reasearch in the field, and treatments have become more hopeful.
Rating:
Summary: This book is for every teenage girl to read...
Review: This book is absolutly awesome. I read it in 9th grade for my English class. It tells the story of and teenage girl who is put into a mental hospital after only one session with a therapist. Throughout the book, the girl grows and matures much like any teenage girl does, but the setting is a little bit different. But what the girls goes through and what she thinks is exactly what I go through and think. This book was so powerful, it almost had me convinced that I had a "borderline personality." As I said earlier, this book is a must for any teenage girl wanting to understand her own thoughts and to basically find herself, because it sure helped me.
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