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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve always loved the Be More Chill musical, it’s one of the shows I recommend to people getting into musical theatre. So I decided to try the novel, and while it plays with familiar high school loser tropes, the addition of the Squip (a quantum computer implant that takes over Jeremy’s choices) is an intriguing concept.
That said, the execution didn’t hold up for me. The musical takes the Squip and turns it into a full character, giving the story more depth and energy. The novel, by comparison, feels flat, it doesn’t add anything new to the “desperate teen wanting to fit in” formula. For younger readers, especially middle schoolers, it might satisfy those feelings of insecurity and belonging. But for someone hoping for something more analytical, layered, or thought-provoking, this misses the mark.
The ending frustrated me most. Jeremy writing the entire novel as a note to Christine is meant to be sweet, but it feels lazy and unresolved. It raises more questions than it answers, and it doesn’t feel like a true conclusion. Combined with the major differences in plot and ending between book and stage, I’d say: if you want Be More Chill done well, skip the book and stick to the musical.
That said, the execution didn’t hold up for me. The musical takes the Squip and turns it into a full character, giving the story more depth and energy. The novel, by comparison, feels flat, it doesn’t add anything new to the “desperate teen wanting to fit in” formula. For younger readers, especially middle schoolers, it might satisfy those feelings of insecurity and belonging. But for someone hoping for something more analytical, layered, or thought-provoking, this misses the mark.
The ending frustrated me most.
Honestly, I learned about the musical before I knew about the book. I haven't been able to see the musical in full, but I've listened to the whole soundtrack and enough soundbites to get the idea of it. That being said, the book is incredibly different than the musical - in some good ways, in some bad ways.
First, the style jarred me for the first little bit, as it is written from the perspective of Jeremy and contains words and phrases that a teenager would use, but I got used to it and ended up enjoying it a lot. The conversations between Jeremy and the Squip was fun to read the way it was written and helped the whole situation feel more real.
However there was a WHOLE LOT of eye-rolling, cringy, and completely unbelievable parts to the story that you know would never happen in the real world, and you know people don't ACTUALLY talk and act like that, but that's kind of the point. Most of the book reads like an odd, overly-dramatic exaggeration of reality to help you really understand the emotions behind it all. Is it supposed to feel realistic? Are we supposed to believe this is how kids talk and act? Is Aunt Linda really THAT painfully cringy and awful? Hell no, it's meant to convey a point and a feeling and it does that very well. As long as you understand it's written that way for effect, and not to convey a perfect rendition of our reality, it's really fun and interesting to be immersed.
That being said, the tech explanations behind the squip are still painful and I would've loved to do without. Seriously, Vizzini just tosses around big sciencey words as if they mean what he says they mean, but they're so drastically disconnected that you wonder if even read the definition of quantum-entanglement or if he was banking on the hope that no one else understood them either. Seriously, using parallel worlds? No, stop it, you have no idea what you're talking about and it gets worse the more you try to explain it. Better to be unaddressed than addressed poorly.
At this point I'm just rambling so I'll just end it like this: the book was an incredibly fun read that was enjoyable from start to finish. It's so far different than the musical, and I kind of like it that way. The squip feels more honest and well-intentioned like he actually wanted to help Jeremy. There wasn't a whole lot of character development, and the plot moved really pretty quickly, but it was still a fun little book. And the final chapter was just a fantastic way to end it imo. Far different than the musical and, in my opinion, far better. Great read, I definitely recommend it.
First, the style jarred me for the first little bit, as it is written from the perspective of Jeremy and contains words and phrases that a teenager would use, but I got used to it and ended up enjoying it a lot. The conversations between Jeremy and the Squip was fun to read the way it was written and helped the whole situation feel more real.
However there was a WHOLE LOT of eye-rolling, cringy, and completely unbelievable parts to the story that you know would never happen in the real world, and you know people don't ACTUALLY talk and act like that, but that's kind of the point. Most of the book reads like an odd, overly-dramatic exaggeration of reality to help you really understand the emotions behind it all. Is it supposed to feel realistic? Are we supposed to believe this is how kids talk and act? Is Aunt Linda really THAT painfully cringy and awful? Hell no, it's meant to convey a point and a feeling and it does that very well. As long as you understand it's written that way for effect, and not to convey a perfect rendition of our reality, it's really fun and interesting to be immersed.
That being said, the tech explanations behind the squip are still painful and I would've loved to do without. Seriously, Vizzini just tosses around big sciencey words as if they mean what he says they mean, but they're so drastically disconnected that you wonder if even read the definition of quantum-entanglement or if he was banking on the hope that no one else understood them either. Seriously, using parallel worlds? No, stop it, you have no idea what you're talking about and it gets worse the more you try to explain it. Better to be unaddressed than addressed poorly.
At this point I'm just rambling so I'll just end it like this: the book was an incredibly fun read that was enjoyable from start to finish. It's so far different than the musical, and I kind of like it that way. The squip feels more honest and well-intentioned like he actually wanted to help Jeremy. There wasn't a whole lot of character development, and the plot moved really pretty quickly, but it was still a fun little book. And the final chapter was just a fantastic way to end it imo. Far different than the musical and, in my opinion, far better. Great read, I definitely recommend it.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I definitely would have given this 5 stars when I first read it many years ago, but I no longer think it's the *best* of this genre. (The genre being moody teenage boy and science fiction.) What I do think this book is best at is making manifest the unpredictable consequences of AI. Be More Chill condenses all the scary ideas about AI into a single, short, realistic portrayal of a crass 16-year-old boy. In that way it is way ahead of its time. I think it's a great read for young and old alike. Ultimately, it is not about what makes us cool...but what makes us human. Side note: The audio narration by Jesse Eisenberg was great, but I pictured Michael Cera the whole time.
I wish Vizzini was still around. I would love to see his take on the manosphere.
I wish Vizzini was still around. I would love to see his take on the manosphere.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The only good thing about this book is that jeremy gets rejected