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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
this book is like being in a 14 yr old boy's head... literally. haha i totally loved the back and forth talking between jeremy and the squip!
Not sure exactly how far I made it in, but it was probably within the first 20 pages. The writing style was really weird and I'd honestly just rather watch the musical haha
A very slow start that did improve as time went on. But I just didn't connect with the story as much as I expected to. Disappointment!
it was a good escape form reality. it’s funny and dumb and i loved it because of that. the book being turned into a broadway musical made the experience so much better. listening to the be more chill soundtrack while reading be more chill is honestly such a fun experience. now jeremy has voices in his head but now there just the normal kind.
I really loved It’s Kind of a Funny Story back in high school and always wanted to check out this earlier novel from Ned Vizzini but never did. I finally stumbled upon it the other day so I decided to give it a read.
Right out of the gate the book is hampered because it’s so dated. It came out in 2004 and the notions of teenage “coolness” at the time are all things that any teenager from the past ten years would find extremely lame. So the entire foundation of the book doesn’t really work anymore.
But on top of that, it’s not actually a very good book. It’s extremely readable, often pretty funny, and uncommonly explicit for a YA novel (something I would have thought was refreshing and awesome when I was 15), but it’s pretty lousy.
It’s really misogynistic and filled with toxic masculinity, and for the whole book I thought the whole point was going to be that the protagonist was going to learn his lesson and ditch all those toxic notions but that never really happens? He doesn’t realize any of this behaviour is wrong, he just sort of decides not to do it because something else is more important. And the women characters in the book are so wildly underwritten, all walking cliches who are only there to service the plot.
And for a book about a dork who takes a pill to become cool, you’d think the whole moral of the story would be that he realizes he doesn’t need the pill to be cool and that coolness is a fallacy and that all that matters is you are yourself and all that crap, but none of that really happens either!
The book does not challenge the notions of high school popularity and toxic masculinity the way you’d hope it would, and logically the way it really should if it was a good book. Vizzini deals with these important themes passively and ends up kind of perpetuating these notions instead.
I’d give it 2.5 if I could because as disappointing and problematic as it was, it’s a fun concept for a YA book and at times it really works.
Right out of the gate the book is hampered because it’s so dated. It came out in 2004 and the notions of teenage “coolness” at the time are all things that any teenager from the past ten years would find extremely lame. So the entire foundation of the book doesn’t really work anymore.
But on top of that, it’s not actually a very good book. It’s extremely readable, often pretty funny, and uncommonly explicit for a YA novel (something I would have thought was refreshing and awesome when I was 15), but it’s pretty lousy.
It’s really misogynistic and filled with toxic masculinity, and for the whole book I thought the whole point was going to be that the protagonist was going to learn his lesson and ditch all those toxic notions but that never really happens? He doesn’t realize any of this behaviour is wrong, he just sort of decides not to do it because something else is more important. And the women characters in the book are so wildly underwritten, all walking cliches who are only there to service the plot.
And for a book about a dork who takes a pill to become cool, you’d think the whole moral of the story would be that he realizes he doesn’t need the pill to be cool and that coolness is a fallacy and that all that matters is you are yourself and all that crap, but none of that really happens either!
The book does not challenge the notions of high school popularity and toxic masculinity the way you’d hope it would, and logically the way it really should if it was a good book. Vizzini deals with these important themes passively and ends up kind of perpetuating these notions instead.
I’d give it 2.5 if I could because as disappointing and problematic as it was, it’s a fun concept for a YA book and at times it really works.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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:
Yes
I love love this book! And it has such a cool ending, without being a happy ending. And it’s like the perfect YA book, for coming of age, and early romance and just trying to fit in. I don’t think it’s like spectacular literature, but this is the kind of books that I love to read.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What it's about: A teen boy installs a computer in his brain to make him cooler. Hijinks ensues.
What I liked:
- -This was a really neat commentary on the internet that is only made more relevant by the advent of smart phones years after this books was written.
- -The author's writing style is approachable and engaging.
What I didn't like:
- Sometimes the characters were a bit whiny. The main character could get a bit gross and irritating.
- Yes, teen boys are gross porn addicts. Reading this can sometimes be a bit...much.
This is the third Vizzini book I have read and by far, my favorite.
I guess the reason why I like this so much is because I can totally relate to the main character, Jeremy Heere. I didn't have Humiliation Sheets in high school but I did want to be Cool. The only difference between me and Jeremy is he got to be Cool and I remained a loser until the day I graduated and left that stinking cesspool of drama and hormonal imbalance. With my drama aside, I really did enjoy the novel. I loved Jeremy's voice and humor (this book made me laugh out loud a couple of times). The concept of the squip is new and fascinating. And that ending just caught me by surprise.
I guess the reason why I like this so much is because I can totally relate to the main character, Jeremy Heere. I didn't have Humiliation Sheets in high school but I did want to be Cool. The only difference between me and Jeremy is he got to be Cool and I remained a loser until the day I graduated and left that stinking cesspool of drama and hormonal imbalance. With my drama aside, I really did enjoy the novel. I loved Jeremy's voice and humor (this book made me laugh out loud a couple of times). The concept of the squip is new and fascinating. And that ending just caught me by surprise.
adventurous
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not expect this to be a 5 star for me as I had not liked It’s Kind Of A Funny Story as much as I thought it was (I loved the movie which I had seen years prior to reading the book) but I was so impressed by this book- specifically the 2019 audiobook recording. I was shocked this was written in 2004 although it made sense with much of the references. I agreed completely with the afterword by David Levithan and how this book and Feed both got so much right about what we needed to be worried about in the future of technology years before smart phones even became a thing. Also, as a complete showtune lover, I now am going to listen to the cast recording in full- instead of just randomly hearing some of the songs when shuffling through a playlist of so many different musicals… that also made me expect this book to be completely different as the songs I heard suggest the musical is very different. But I digress! Be More Chill is a very enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual harassment