Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
Be More Chill
I decided to read this book after being obsessed with a song from the musical version. It definitely was one of the more interesting books I've read in a but, and I'm interested to now listen to its soundtrack.
I decided to read this book after being obsessed with a song from the musical version. It definitely was one of the more interesting books I've read in a but, and I'm interested to now listen to its soundtrack.
Be More Chill has an unique take on the teenage experience, especially when anxiety is tacked on. Jeremy Heere, a teenager who has trouble socializing, buys a SQUIP, a pill sized supercomputer that gets absorbed into your body and helps you achieve a goal. In Jeremy's case, he wants to become cool (or chill) so that he can date his dream girl, Christine. The SQUIP is, in my opinion, a very interesting idealized anti-anxiety medication. People often approach medication as a problem solver, as the SQUIP is.
A very interesting part of this book is that no character is very likable. Jeremy is vulgar and, in a way, manipulative. Rich is disgusting, Michael is rude and irrational, Christine is very self-centered and Chloe is very unempathetic. This doesn't work against the story at all though, instead it acts to make the high school setting much more believable.
Be More Chill is a fantastic alternative coming of age story, and I fully recommend it to anyone.
A very interesting part of this book is that no character is very likable. Jeremy is vulgar and, in a way, manipulative. Rich is disgusting, Michael is rude and irrational, Christine is very self-centered and Chloe is very unempathetic. This doesn't work against the story at all though, instead it acts to make the high school setting much more believable.
Be More Chill is a fantastic alternative coming of age story, and I fully recommend it to anyone.
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
I liked Ned's other book,
[bc:It's Kind of a Funny Story|9429173|It's Kind of a Funny Story|Ned Vizzini|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1285865553s/9429173.jpg|240980]
It was classy and funny and sweet and all that. I could relate to the character.
That being said, I didn't like this book as much. I don't know, it lacked passion. I think the main character was kind of a jerk to begin with. Plus, he always wanted to blame someone else for his problems. Don't get me wrong, I could feel for him. He's a dork who has this big old crush on some Christine girl. He being...what's his name? Oh yeah, Jeremy. And so Jeremy decides to get this 'squip' thingy that makes you become cool. Basically.
Actually, I think i liked the squip as a character more than Jeremy himself. I mean, even the darn squip had more personality. I mean, I understood Jeremy, I really did. But it was just, I wasn't too sympathetic of his whole self-pity thing. And another thing. Throughout the book, he kept watching porn! Every other page! I mean, come on now! Sigh.
Anyway, long story, short, I think I enjoyed the part with the squip better than the pre-squip part. That part sucked.
Oh, and also, I hated the ending :/
[bc:It's Kind of a Funny Story|9429173|It's Kind of a Funny Story|Ned Vizzini|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1285865553s/9429173.jpg|240980]
It was classy and funny and sweet and all that. I could relate to the character.
That being said, I didn't like this book as much. I don't know, it lacked passion. I think the main character was kind of a jerk to begin with. Plus, he always wanted to blame someone else for his problems. Don't get me wrong, I could feel for him. He's a dork who has this big old crush on some Christine girl. He being...what's his name? Oh yeah, Jeremy. And so Jeremy decides to get this 'squip' thingy that makes you become cool. Basically.
Actually, I think i liked the squip as a character more than Jeremy himself. I mean, even the darn squip had more personality. I mean, I understood Jeremy, I really did. But it was just, I wasn't too sympathetic of his whole self-pity thing. And another thing. Throughout the book, he kept watching porn! Every other page! I mean, come on now! Sigh.
Anyway, long story, short, I think I enjoyed the part with the squip better than the pre-squip part. That part sucked.
Oh, and also, I hated the ending :/
2.5/5
this book gets a lot of things right, like the fact that high school boys are actually gross. however, it’s so dramatic that it’s everything high school isn’t. everything that happens is like the most extreme example of a social situation. i think this musical is a good parallel to dear evan hansen, what with the socially awkward boy mc and a matching musical. dear evan hansen is definitely dramatic. a lot of the things that happen to him might seem unrealistic. however, evan has canon social anxiety, which makes the fear he experiences much more believable. as a person with social anxiety at high school, he’s easily relatable and his inability to socially function makes sense. be more chill doesn’t set this up. jeremy literally has no reason to constantly experience the things he does. i understand it’s far more sci-fi than deh, and also that deh deals with a heavier subject, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be completely unrealistic. i also feel like it took my favorite parts of the musical out. maybe it’s because the book was written before the musical/the author of the musical didn’t write the book, like deh, but it feels very clunky and there’s almost a lack of understanding how each character operates.
this book gets a lot of things right, like the fact that high school boys are actually gross. however, it’s so dramatic that it’s everything high school isn’t. everything that happens is like the most extreme example of a social situation. i think this musical is a good parallel to dear evan hansen, what with the socially awkward boy mc and a matching musical. dear evan hansen is definitely dramatic. a lot of the things that happen to him might seem unrealistic. however, evan has canon social anxiety, which makes the fear he experiences much more believable. as a person with social anxiety at high school, he’s easily relatable and his inability to socially function makes sense. be more chill doesn’t set this up. jeremy literally has no reason to constantly experience the things he does. i understand it’s far more sci-fi than deh, and also that deh deals with a heavier subject, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be completely unrealistic. i also feel like it took my favorite parts of the musical out. maybe it’s because the book was written before the musical/the author of the musical didn’t write the book, like deh, but it feels very clunky and there’s almost a lack of understanding how each character operates.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pretty good. Loved Rich (of course) and Cristine was okay. I like Micheal WAY better in the musical. In the book he has an orange afro, his character is better in the musical. Jeremy was okay I don't really like what he did at the end though, to be honest. Over all I LOVE the musical and book is okay.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced