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aibhlinn 's review for:
Be More Chill
by Ned Vizzini
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.