Benjamin Lebert (born 9 January 1982) is a German writer. He was born in Freiburg. His first novel Crazy, was published when Lebert was only 16 years old. The international bestseller about a handicapped teenage rebel has been licensed to 33 nations and was made into a feature film by Hans-Christian Schmid (see here), and has drawn comparisons to Jerome Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. In 2003, Lebert published a second novel, Der Vogel ist ein Rabe (The Bird Is a Raven). Lebert lives in Hamburg. Background Benjamin Lebert and his father were close, they bonded over the similar taste of the Rock and Roll lifestyle and music. He was influenced by American pop culture like Pink-Floyd, Jekyll and Hyde (the musical), Rolling Stones, etc. In an interview with the New York Times, Lebert said his “father loves [rock and roll], has for centuries...He likes the Rolling Stones -- they're a rock group from way back.” The father and son’s love of classic rock influenced Lebert’s writing. He first began writing journalistic articles for the young-adult supplement of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Lebert is partially paralyzed on the left side of his body since birth. This prevented him from performing basic tasks such as tying his shoes, using utensils, and working with his fine motor skills. When he began to write, it was based on the difficult experiences he faced every day and switching schools. Due to various academic challenges, Lebert attended several schools, including the boarding school that inspired the setting of his best-selling novel Crazy.He dropped out of school in ninth grade. After his success with the publication of the novel, he returned to school and graduated. The novel Crazy was based on his struggles while in boarding school and the friendships he made. Crazy. A Novel The main character is also named Benjamin, nicknamed Benni. The book gets its name from one of the characters, Benni's roommate Janosch, who uses "crazy" frequently to describe events they encountered as thrilling and exciting. Benjamin’s friend group uses “crazy” as inspiration for how they want to live life. Like Lebert, Benni suffers from partial paralysis on the left side of his body and struggles achieving passing grades in school. Lebert based his novel on his experiences attending boarding school and the people he met while there. The plot centers around Benni and his gang of friends that quickly become his family.