Life is Funny by E.R. Frank

I've always wanted to be able to peer inside stranger's minds and know their story. Okay, that sounds a little creepy, but don't tell me you've never wondered what's going on in the lives of that woman screaming at someone through her phone, or that friendly homeless man, or that group of kids smoking beside the park. This book is the closest I've ever come to experiencing that.

Each of the chapters holds a different story about characters in the same neighbourhood, kind of like a whole collection of memoirs. The cool part is that names come up that you recognize; it's a bit like hearing a story from a friend and they mention someone you know from somewhere else, all the time. All the teens have issues in this book, but the interesting thing is that the author never tries to pass judgement. She never says 'This is what's happening and it's wrong. This person should instead do...'. She simply says 'This is what's happening' and leaves the reader to come to their own decision. I've never seen such a wide range of characters portrayed so realistically. My favourite chapters are Monique, Molly, Drew, and Grace. This is a very unique book- read it!

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