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whitneymouse 's review for:
Be More Chill
by Ned Vizzini
This is getting a 1.5 and the 1 is for the fact that someone was able to finish this, be inspired enough to clean it up and write "Michael in the Bathroom". This was infuriating and I have a lot to get off my chest about this book. I'm just going to start off by saying if you came here from the musical like I did, this is NOT EVEN CLOSE. They changed a LOT and it was ALL for the better. I'm sorry to speak ill of an author who died, but this book condones a lot of dangerous behaviors and writes it off as "teenage boys having fun." SPOILERS ahead by the way. I'll do my best to hide them, but be aware.
Characters
Jeremy is a terrible human being and he's a terrible human being before he gets the squip. The book wants you to think it's the computer making him into a dick. It's not. He objectifies women almost constantly, comparing which ones have bigger boobs or better calves. They're all reduced to their body parts at some point. Not ONCE does he mention a girl's personality traits or brain or something other than "she's hot". He carries around these humiliation sheets and keeps a tally of every time someone does something mean to him, which is obsessive. Maybe he wouldn't need them if he didn't internally think of people by titles such as "Waste of Sperm", "retard", "skank", and "Fetal Alcohol Casualty". I know this was written in 2004 when this kind of insult might have been more acceptable, but it's abhorrent and it also makes your book age very poorly. There's another part where Jeremy describes someone as "homo-riffic". He also says at one point that his life could only be worse if he was a "Mongoloid", which can either mean someone of Asian descent from the area of Mongolia or an intellectually handicapped person, and either way, that's reprehensible. It's implied he might be a furry ("Sometime tonight I've got to find pics on the Internet of girls with tails"). The kid is a dumpster fire. He's essentially an incel or the predecessor to an incel. Take your pick. Either way, he sucks.
Additionally, Christine, the love interest, makes it very clear that:
-she doesn't really want to date him
-she just got out of a serious relationship
-she needs time
and Jeremy bulldozes straight through that because he's a terrible person and doesn't really care about her, despite claiming he does.
Other problematic elements
I know what you're thinking. There are other problematic things I haven't mentioned already? Sis, that's the tip of the iceberg.
At various times during this book, the following happens:
-An adult white man uses the n-word. He's talking about the title of an album when he does this, but there aren't any black characters in this book. There was no reason for the album to be named this. It could've easily been called something different. I feel like the author just wanted to get away with using that word in a book.
-Jeremy goes to a party and watches a classmate (Jake) having sex with a girl without her knowledge. While this is happening, half of the class of boys are watching this go on and one mentions that they "can't see anything" and they'll "have to wait" for another classmate to upload pictures to a website. This girl is part of a trio and there are multiple pictures of them having sex uploaded online without their knowledge or consent.
-The dad uses the word "poonanti" in reference to female genitalia, which honestly, is just...no. Please stop.
-The dad asks MULTIPLE times if Jeremy is gay and if he "has the drive" to sexually pursue women. One of the times he asks if Jeremy is gay is because he thinks he's looking at Beanie Babies on eBay. He is very concerned with whether his son is sexually active to the point that the majority of their dialogue is about this.
-Jeremy steals from his aunt
-At different points, the squip tells Jeremy to "never be mean to a girl unless she's ugly" and that guys with girlfriends are so attractive to other women that they're "forced" to cheat
In short, any behavior that could be potentially linked to toxic masculinity is in this book and reinforces dangerous stereotypes of "what women want".
Oh, also, the author apparently dedicated this to ANY woman he's ever dated, which I found kind of tasteless.
The Plot and The Writing
So, as I said, I read this book because I saw the musical online and then found out it was a book. The musical is great, so I thought I'd like this.
The musical has vastly improved on the plot.
The book is fine. It just isn't as great when you've come from the musical, which is better.
Again, a lot of the plot involves Jeremy being a dick and a toxic human being, so that's all I've got to say on the matter. When you've read the plot summary and you're waiting for the squip to show up, it takes forever. It's not there until 1/3 of the way through the book, before which is just Jeremy being an awkward dick.
The writing was stilted at times and had weird additions out of nowhere. Take for example, this:
"The doorman is reading a pornographic Mexican comic book with a woman dressed as an armadillo having sex with a coat rack."
I'm unsure if this is a reference or just something that came to the author's mind, but wow...that was...something.
None of the onomatopoeias made any sense. Instead of using things like "he sighed" or "she laughed", he'd use things like "bwer-her-her" and "humuckkkggggg". It looked like he hit his hand on a keyboard and kept it there.
The ending actually made me mad
Did I mention this was a Today Show Book Club book? I'm so let down by celebrity book clubs. The only good recommendation I've gotten is [b:Big Little Lies|19486412|Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492239430s/19486412.jpg|27570886].
So yeah. I hated this, which really bummed me out.
Characters
Jeremy is a terrible human being and he's a terrible human being before he gets the squip. The book wants you to think it's the computer making him into a dick. It's not. He objectifies women almost constantly, comparing which ones have bigger boobs or better calves. They're all reduced to their body parts at some point. Not ONCE does he mention a girl's personality traits or brain or something other than "she's hot". He carries around these humiliation sheets and keeps a tally of every time someone does something mean to him, which is obsessive. Maybe he wouldn't need them if he didn't internally think of people by titles such as "Waste of Sperm", "retard", "skank", and "Fetal Alcohol Casualty". I know this was written in 2004 when this kind of insult might have been more acceptable, but it's abhorrent and it also makes your book age very poorly. There's another part where Jeremy describes someone as "homo-riffic". He also says at one point that his life could only be worse if he was a "Mongoloid", which can either mean someone of Asian descent from the area of Mongolia or an intellectually handicapped person, and either way, that's reprehensible. It's implied he might be a furry ("Sometime tonight I've got to find pics on the Internet of girls with tails"). The kid is a dumpster fire. He's essentially an incel or the predecessor to an incel. Take your pick. Either way, he sucks.
Additionally, Christine, the love interest, makes it very clear that:
-she doesn't really want to date him
-she just got out of a serious relationship
-she needs time
and Jeremy bulldozes straight through that because he's a terrible person and doesn't really care about her, despite claiming he does.
Other problematic elements
I know what you're thinking. There are other problematic things I haven't mentioned already? Sis, that's the tip of the iceberg.
At various times during this book, the following happens:
-An adult white man uses the n-word. He's talking about the title of an album when he does this, but there aren't any black characters in this book. There was no reason for the album to be named this. It could've easily been called something different. I feel like the author just wanted to get away with using that word in a book.
-Jeremy goes to a party and watches a classmate (Jake) having sex with a girl without her knowledge. While this is happening, half of the class of boys are watching this go on and one mentions that they "can't see anything" and they'll "have to wait" for another classmate to upload pictures to a website. This girl is part of a trio and there are multiple pictures of them having sex uploaded online without their knowledge or consent.
Spoiler
Jake was dating Christine earlier in the book and Jeremy's concern is whether she is alright. He doesn't acknowledge AT ALL that what is going on in the other room is atrocious and no one should be taking these photos or watching them without consent. Later, he absentmindedly wonders if the pictures were uploaded, which is confirmed to be the case by the squip. While he doesn't look at them, this isn't dealt with in any way, which is not okay-The dad uses the word "poonanti" in reference to female genitalia, which honestly, is just...no. Please stop.
-The dad asks MULTIPLE times if Jeremy is gay and if he "has the drive" to sexually pursue women. One of the times he asks if Jeremy is gay is because he thinks he's looking at Beanie Babies on eBay. He is very concerned with whether his son is sexually active to the point that the majority of their dialogue is about this.
-Jeremy steals from his aunt
-At different points, the squip tells Jeremy to "never be mean to a girl unless she's ugly" and that guys with girlfriends are so attractive to other women that they're "forced" to cheat
Spoiler
-Jeremy steals his mother's car, drives multiple people in a car without a driver's license, and abuses her credit cardSpoiler
Rich sets a fire at the previously mentioned party and seriously injures himself and Jake. Jeremy goes on a rant about how all of the people crying and memorializing their lockers (they aren't dead. They're in ICU) are fake because "they don't really care about Rich or Jake". Jeremy later uses the tragedy as leverage in his scheme to get Christine to go out with him. There is zero evidence that Jeremy TRULY cares about either of these characters as human beingsIn short, any behavior that could be potentially linked to toxic masculinity is in this book and reinforces dangerous stereotypes of "what women want".
Oh, also, the author apparently dedicated this to ANY woman he's ever dated, which I found kind of tasteless.
The Plot and The Writing
So, as I said, I read this book because I saw the musical online and then found out it was a book. The musical is great, so I thought I'd like this.
The musical has vastly improved on the plot.
The book is fine. It just isn't as great when you've come from the musical, which is better.
Again, a lot of the plot involves Jeremy being a dick and a toxic human being, so that's all I've got to say on the matter. When you've read the plot summary and you're waiting for the squip to show up, it takes forever. It's not there until 1/3 of the way through the book, before which is just Jeremy being an awkward dick.
The writing was stilted at times and had weird additions out of nowhere. Take for example, this:
"The doorman is reading a pornographic Mexican comic book with a woman dressed as an armadillo having sex with a coat rack."
I'm unsure if this is a reference or just something that came to the author's mind, but wow...that was...something.
None of the onomatopoeias made any sense. Instead of using things like "he sighed" or "she laughed", he'd use things like "bwer-her-her" and "humuckkkggggg". It looked like he hit his hand on a keyboard and kept it there.
The ending actually made me mad
Spoiler
not because it was open-ended, but because of the implications, which were undeserved from my point of view. Jeremy has done nothing to show Christine he isn't a prick and that he's worthy of her forgiveness. He hasn't changed. And according to the squip, the version of events we get in the "apology book" is toned down and censored for Christine's sake, so holy crap, how much more of a train wreck is this kid?Did I mention this was a Today Show Book Club book? I'm so let down by celebrity book clubs. The only good recommendation I've gotten is [b:Big Little Lies|19486412|Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492239430s/19486412.jpg|27570886].
So yeah. I hated this, which really bummed me out.