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ambassadorfae's review against another edition
3.0
This was waaaayyyy better than Be More Chill, but the pervasive sexism and objectification of women remains impossible to stomach. I wanted to like Perry so much. But his self-centered view on life and his consistent lack of empathy made him feel like more of a psychopath than a loveable dork. His enthusiasm for adventuring was born more from boredom, egotism and quest for glory than it was from an earnest desire to help. The glib violence was disturbing too, the obvious brainchild of someone who is/was willing to kill. I can't get on that wavelength. D&D references along the lines of Ready Player One, I am here for. I liked that he structured the whole thing like a campaign - you can almost count up the dice roles, xp, hp, charisma and damage. I liked the imaginative nature of the story. Ghetto camp made me a bit squeamish. Definitely more of a 2012 vibe than 2020. The romance aspect was a hot mess. No: you cannot get with a frog man and still be a contender. Sorry. As far as an arc for personal development...tell me again why his game was akin to smoking crack? Did we learn anything, Perry? Did we grow? Are we smarter now, braver now, better now? Or did we just do some stuff, get hurt, heal, and want to do more stupid stuff??
hollowspine's review against another edition
3.0
Perry Eckert isn't the most popular kid. In fact, he doesn't have a single friend. Instead he spends his time playing Creatures and Caverns alone, reading rule books and imagining a fantasy world.
When his parents (through their lawyers) decide that it's time Perry started socializing with people and making some real friends, Perry finds himself getting packed off to camp.
That's where things start to get weird...well...weirder. Perry of course doesn't hit it off with his new yurtmates (yes they sleep in yurts) and ends up in the nurses office first thing. That's where he meets Anna and Mortin. Anna is a normal girl, who enjoys knitting mittens. Mortin looks exactly like Perry's C&C character Pekkar Cland, which is odd since Pekkar Cland is a Ferrule - he's one of the Other Normals, creatures from an alternative earth who have been visiting Perry's Earth for a long time via mushroom patches (it's a bit complicated).
Soon Perry finds out that Mortin and his fellows are from the World of the Other Normals and it's up to Perry to save their Princess from the clutches of the reptilian monster Ophisa. To do that Perry only needs to kiss the Princess' correspondent on Earth, Anna. Every Other Normal has a correspondent on Earth and when something happens to one of them, it affects both of them. When Perry punches the Other Normal Ryu, the Ryu at camp who put Perry in the nurses office on the first day, becomes the one who got beat by Perry instead.
So all Perry has to do is kiss Anna and the Princess will be saved. Easier said than done when you're a socially awkward skinny kid who has yet to grow a single hair.
Vizzini's novel is very funny and awkward, there are some cringe-worthy moments when Perry does exactly what you'd do if you were an awkward kid, he's pretty endearing. There is a lot of great and realistic character development going on here, both in the World of the Other Normals and at the summer camp. Perry doesn't immediately become brave or understanding or perfect all at once (or ever) but he does gain a sense of self and a greater understanding of others, Other Normals and um...Normal Normals both.
I remember back when I was in college reading Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini and loving it too. It had some of the same messages, being true to oneself, yet also learning how to be 'chill' and figuring out how to fit in without hurting others or yourself.
I would suggest this book to those who are growing out of the Diary of the Wimpy Kid books, kids who game, kids who like goofy books, fans of Pete Hautman and Gordon Korman among others.
When his parents (through their lawyers) decide that it's time Perry started socializing with people and making some real friends, Perry finds himself getting packed off to camp.
That's where things start to get weird...well...weirder. Perry of course doesn't hit it off with his new yurtmates (yes they sleep in yurts) and ends up in the nurses office first thing. That's where he meets Anna and Mortin. Anna is a normal girl, who enjoys knitting mittens. Mortin looks exactly like Perry's C&C character Pekkar Cland, which is odd since Pekkar Cland is a Ferrule - he's one of the Other Normals, creatures from an alternative earth who have been visiting Perry's Earth for a long time via mushroom patches (it's a bit complicated).
Soon Perry finds out that Mortin and his fellows are from the World of the Other Normals and it's up to Perry to save their Princess from the clutches of the reptilian monster Ophisa. To do that Perry only needs to kiss the Princess' correspondent on Earth, Anna. Every Other Normal has a correspondent on Earth and when something happens to one of them, it affects both of them. When Perry punches the Other Normal Ryu, the Ryu at camp who put Perry in the nurses office on the first day, becomes the one who got beat by Perry instead.
So all Perry has to do is kiss Anna and the Princess will be saved. Easier said than done when you're a socially awkward skinny kid who has yet to grow a single hair.
Vizzini's novel is very funny and awkward, there are some cringe-worthy moments when Perry does exactly what you'd do if you were an awkward kid, he's pretty endearing. There is a lot of great and realistic character development going on here, both in the World of the Other Normals and at the summer camp. Perry doesn't immediately become brave or understanding or perfect all at once (or ever) but he does gain a sense of self and a greater understanding of others, Other Normals and um...Normal Normals both.
I remember back when I was in college reading Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini and loving it too. It had some of the same messages, being true to oneself, yet also learning how to be 'chill' and figuring out how to fit in without hurting others or yourself.
I would suggest this book to those who are growing out of the Diary of the Wimpy Kid books, kids who game, kids who like goofy books, fans of Pete Hautman and Gordon Korman among others.
autumn_alwaysreadingseason's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know much about role playing games and in this book Vizzini created a complicated one. At some points I was confused. I had trouble keeping track of the different types of creatures. Otherwise, the book was at first a little slow but picked up soon enough to be well liked. The main character, who alternates between Perry and Peregrine, is at first somewhat unlikeable. He's socially awkward and has no interest in doing anything but playing his RPGs. Honestly though, I don't blame him. His family dynamic is messed up. Anyway, his parents send him to camp in order to normalize his social behaviors. However, this is exactly the opposite of what happens, as he falls into a world much like those displayed in his games. He meets creatures and wants to stay in this alternate world but he has a mission. The end is a little bit surprising but also somewhat expected.
mdemanatee's review against another edition
2.0
I love Ned Vizzini, and I wanted to love this. But it just didn't resonate with me. The pacing happened extremely quickly. I felt no connection to the "world of the other normals" and had trouble suspending my disbelief in terms of Perry's reactions to it. I think there were a lot of things that could have been flushed out in more.
shidoburrito's review against another edition
1.0
I can't do it! I just can't. This book has no redeeming qualities at all. I picked it out because my husband brought me into the world of D&D 4 years ago, I thought this book seemed like a fun idea. I read the inside flap and I SWEAR the summary made it sound like this was a story of a teen boy who is forced to go to camp to get away from his anti-social behavior and obsession with C&C (the made-up RPG for this book). There at camp he meets others that play C&C and he learns how to make friends and stick up for himself. Cool! NO. Instead the main character, Perry, is written in such a way that I couldn't stand him. He's so cliche and awkward and terribly written I couldn't care an ounce for the kid. I can understand giving faults to a character and having them rise above it, or learn, but Perry with his bowl cut hairdo, not a friend in the world, unable to talk to girls, bullying brother, incredibly un-supportive parents, never got less annoying. Plus, what the hell is up with his obsession (and the author's obsession writing about) his single, newly-spouted pubic hair??? For the love of God, no one is so stupid as to expose themselves to a girl to show off a single pubic hair to prove he's a man. Not without mental issues, which Perry (among his thousands of pathetic traits) was not introduced to having.
Perry does make it to another world, The world of Other Normals, but it's shoddily described and put together. The characters are slightly nicer to him, but it's only because everyone on Earth seems to hate Perry's guts.
Speaking of terrible cliches, no one in this book acted like a human being. I mean, seriously, EVERYONE in Perry's life is cruel to him? EVERYONE? All the students and campers beat up on him and bully him? Both his parents are shallow and pick on their son for not being "manly" enough and also bring their lawyer significant others into ganging up on their child?
Did the author, Ned Vizzini ever even LOOK at a rule book for a tabletop RPG? It seems he mentions the only elements he thinks he knows about ("Oh, my speed must be about 7, and my HONOR is 50") and rapes the character building process as well as world building. Jesus, take about an hour of your life to learn about an RPG before making it a main plot in your book!
I'm sorry Ned, I know you're dead, and your death notice made me want to read one of your books, so I picked the one I felt I could relate to the most with RPGs. I'm sorry to say I chose poorly.
Perry does make it to another world, The world of Other Normals, but it's shoddily described and put together. The characters are slightly nicer to him, but it's only because everyone on Earth seems to hate Perry's guts.
Speaking of terrible cliches, no one in this book acted like a human being. I mean, seriously, EVERYONE in Perry's life is cruel to him? EVERYONE? All the students and campers beat up on him and bully him? Both his parents are shallow and pick on their son for not being "manly" enough and also bring their lawyer significant others into ganging up on their child?
Did the author, Ned Vizzini ever even LOOK at a rule book for a tabletop RPG? It seems he mentions the only elements he thinks he knows about ("Oh, my speed must be about 7, and my HONOR is 50") and rapes the character building process as well as world building. Jesus, take about an hour of your life to learn about an RPG before making it a main plot in your book!
I'm sorry Ned, I know you're dead, and your death notice made me want to read one of your books, so I picked the one I felt I could relate to the most with RPGs. I'm sorry to say I chose poorly.
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