Be More Chill

May 28, 2007 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jeremy Heere is a typical high school geek. Unable to socialize with other people, he instead chooses to analyze their reactions to him, tallying up insults and laughter on self-made Humiliation Sheets.

And he's damned tired of it.

All Jeremy wants is to be Cool. He wants to rub shoulders with the Hottest Girls in School. But most of all, he wants the attention of Christine, a girl in his drama club who won his heart over.

Jeremy doesn't think any of this is possible until he learns about the "squi...more

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Jun 25, 2008 Juli rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, so I picked this up because it was on my kids' desk, I recognized the author's name and it is on my daughter's summer reading list... It is a compelling read, a bit disturbing (from a parent's point of view), sometimes humorous, and probably altogether true - except the part of the super-computer that is swallowed and mind controlled, of course (at least not in 2008). The story of the cool vs not cool in school is an old story played out everywhere, all the time in pop culture - the geeks/...more

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Mar 13, 2008 Sammy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anybody

Recommended to Sammy by: Carolina

Imagine being controlled by a computer that talks in your head. Well you may think this is impossible, but somehow Jeremy manages to get this "computer" called a squip. Why? You ask. This so called computer gets you whatever you desire, at least that's what Jeremy thinks. "Going out. At least now i know which stage I'm up against. I'm getting prepped. I think I might have a shot," Jeremy says to himself. The only reason Jeremy is getting a squip is because of Christine. Be More Chill is the book...more

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Mar 04, 2012 kb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 4ever-young-adult

I don't get to read a lot of YA novels written from a male's point of view so this was really fun for me. I like how Ned Vizzini's mind works. While he's dealing with real-life experiences about boys being hang up on being Cool, on girls, masturbation and etc., he didn't make his story so cliched and ordinary - he put a bit of sci-fi-like action into it in the form of the pill called "squip," which basically ran the whole exciting course of the story.
Also, this book reminded me that boys also ha...more

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May 04, 2013 Domenic Canonigo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

cleverly plotted story.... Every teenager guy can relate in the situation. How I wish I can acquire this "squip" thing and become as cool as what most of us desire.

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May 06, 2012 Cassi aka Snow White Haggard added it

Be More Chill follows the story of Jeremy Heere, a dorky theater-nerd who seems to spend all his time looking at porn and masturbating (yep that's your hero folks!). After failing to woo his crush with chocolate, he hears rumors of a new technology called a "squip" a microcomputer that can make you cool or smarter or whatever you're lacking. After selling some of his aunt's beloved beanie babies, Jeremy gets a blackmarket squip.

The squip changes his life--taking him from dud to stud in record ti...more Be More Chill follows the story of Jeremy Heere, a dorky theater-nerd who seems to spend all his time looking at porn and masturbating (yep that's your hero folks!). After failing to woo his crush with chocolate, he hears rumors of a new technology called a "squip" a microcomputer that can make you cool or smarter or whatever you're lacking. After selling some of his aunt's beloved beanie babies, Jeremy gets a blackmarket squip.

The squip changes his life--taking him from dud to stud in record time. Except, as the reader his newfound coolness just never translated.

Be More Chill was a frustrating book to read. It was like the borderline dorky kid who tried way too hard to be cool. Sorry book you just aren't cool and trying this hard makes it even worse. Unfortunately this book tried so hard to be hip that it's already outdated. Written in 2004 with references to musicians and styles of the time. Part of me never quite believed the coolness the squib gave. Was an Eminem t-shirt really cool in 2004?

One of the biggest problems with this novel is even though it's science-fiction, I complete disbelieve its science. Maybe I'm just clueless and a tiny consumable computer that speaks in your head is really technologically feasible. But I don't know--a computer that you eat and then somehow lodges itself in your brain? Is that really supposed to feel plausible? Also the book occasionally made the mistake of giving the computer near-humanity. At one point the computer actually apologized. How can a computer feel regret or sorrow?

I know the author was young when he wrote this book. Yet this book doesn't feel in-touch with teenagers. It gets a little lifetime original movie at times. There's drugs, sex, parties and hip-hop! Oh my! The cool kids live such exciting and dangerous lives! Eh. I believe there's drinking and partying, but I think this book took it to an unnecessary melodramatic level.

I also need to note that I didn't enjoy the depiction of girls in this book. They're never really developed. The main characters actually refers to a group of girls as "The Hot Girls" and they're never developed beyond their hotness and as tools for the now-cool Jeremy to make out with. I don't like it when stories use women as props to maneuver the main character around.(less)

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Jun 05, 2013 Dijon Chiasson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-lit

Imagine there was a pill that could teach you how to become the coolest kid in high school. Would you take it? Jeremy Heere, the novel's geeky, chronic masturbator of a protagonist does. Surprise, surprise, it seems awesome at first and gets him laid, but it ends up screwing up all the relationships that he SHOULD have valued all along. Maybe being cool at any cost isn't the answer after all, blah, blah, etc.

The book is told 1st person in a humorous voice very similar to the narrator in Vizzini...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Cheyla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, teen-romance

This book was pretty good.

I really like Ned Vizzini's writing; he has the incredibly sought-after ability to write in the voice of his character, like a pro.

Be More Chill is a story about Jeremy Heere, social misfit in Middle Borough High. He gets ahold of a squip, a tiny quantum computer you ingest to make you act Cool. And then, of course, everything backfires.

The beginning was really cool, the way Vizzini set it up. It moves along at a fast-enough rate that you aren't bored, and it was comp...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Erin rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So here’s the premise: teenage boy is awkward, nerdy, uncool. He hears about a pill, a “squip,” that is a microcomputer that will give him instructions on how to be cool (or “more chill”). He gets a squip, becomes cool, and eventually the squip fails - its technology isn’t perfect yet.

You might have been thinking - wait, wait, as YAF shouldn’t this book have ended with the boy realizing he’s better off as himself, without the aid of a microcomputer telling him exactly what to say? No. No, that’s...more

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Nov 04, 2012 David Dicolen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the world of high school, popular students rule. It’s like a binding agreement granted by no headmaster or principal in a certain school. And their power alone lies on their complete dominion over their classmates and every student in general through different corridors and four corners of a room. You have to obey them though and deal with whatever shit they may bring you along the way, because if you do not, there’s always a huge chance they are going to lambast and humiliate you in front of...more In the world of high school, popular students rule. It’s like a binding agreement granted by no headmaster or principal in a certain school. And their power alone lies on their complete dominion over their classmates and every student in general through different corridors and four corners of a room. You have to obey them though and deal with whatever shit they may bring you along the way, because if you do not, there’s always a huge chance they are going to lambast and humiliate you in front of everyone else. And you wouldn’t want that, not especially if you have no one to back you up, so you have to keep your mouth shut and make everything appear as if you just do not exist after all.

In Ned Vizzini’s Be More Chill, An unpopular, teenage dork by the name of Jeremy Heere is presented. Jeremy is an authentic presentation of a bullying victim from every popular student in his school. He belongs in the lowest structure of the high school hierarchy which classifies him as one of the infamous, dork and every popular student’s source of humor and entertainment. Every day he makes his way through the hellhole that is high school and the only reason he is still attending his classes is because of the beautiful girl by the name of Christine. These all changed though, the moment he acquired a Squip –a supercomputer in a form of a pill that can be ingested like an over the counter drug in a random pharmacy. Jeremy had then been transformed into a cool guy he had long needed to be.

He became as popular as everybody else. He started to hook up with girls and gone are the days when he was one of the most eccentric, bizarre students in his school. He became the literal presentation of a cool guy in high school, with even his appearance and sense of fashion changing into certain distinction of coolness. It didn’t last that long though and soon he realized that the pill he ingested was almost taking the entirety of his life and he had to face the consequence along the way. He started to question the real significance of the pill to his life and the changes it has brought him through different aspects of his life.

This book really is a sincere and honest presentation of life in high school and the discovery of one’s self along the way. I admit, I was bullied many times in the past and I didn’t have that much friends back in high school. I was one of the geeks, the wallflower, or even the outcasts. Name it all and I’ll probably fall into it. I also loathe the popular students because they have this sense of dominion that I simply find stupid. I believe that nobody is granted the power of humiliating or bullying in high school. And this whole idea of being the center of attention is just dumb to begin with since it gives you nothing. Ask these popular students in a game of IQ and they would probably quit right away.

I believe, this book also depicts the acknowledgement of one’s self despite certain differences from people around you. Of course, we cannot deny that sometimes we want to be somebody we are not or never going to be. But reading this book will make us understand and realize that none of it matters. That as long as we stay true to ourselves and we act as nonchalant as we can with people trying to put us down and makes us feel low of ourselves along the way; we can always find the sense of belonging amidst of it all. It was almost cliché but I agree that we have to be true to ourselves and accept for how we’re just made. And if you want to rekindle your high school memories, and live the moments once again, then this funny, enjoyable and easy read book is the right one for you.
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Aug 29, 2012 Dana Blane rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: unpopular teenages boys who might identify with Jeremy, but not even them...

Uh, honestly, if Jesse Eisenberg didn't do the audiobook, I never would've picked this up. Apparently this was published in 2004 but I thought this was written, in the 90s or something. I'm not going to go into the entire plot, but there were many things I didn't like about this: 1) obviously the Squip is supposed to be farfetched, but I thought it was ridiculous, 2) this relies on way too many outdated high school stereotypes, 3) this is written entirely from an insecure teenage boy's perspecti...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In “Be More Chill,” Jeremy Heere is an unpopular drama nerd who daily records the injustices he suffers on Humiliation Sheets. He’s never been to a party, never been to a dance, never been on a date, never been kissed… he virtually breaks out in hives just sitting next to a girl. When Jeremy thinks all hope of ever being Cool is lost, he learns about “squips.” A squip is a microscopic supercomputer that is swallowed. It then works its way into your brain and tells you how to walk, talk, and dres...more In “Be More Chill,” Jeremy Heere is an unpopular drama nerd who daily records the injustices he suffers on Humiliation Sheets. He’s never been to a party, never been to a dance, never been on a date, never been kissed… he virtually breaks out in hives just sitting next to a girl. When Jeremy thinks all hope of ever being Cool is lost, he learns about “squips.” A squip is a microscopic supercomputer that is swallowed. It then works its way into your brain and tells you how to walk, talk, and dress to be “the man”. Jeremy secretly buys himself a squip to win the heart of Christine – the girl he has had a crush on for years. After fixing Jeremy’s clothes, posture, and verbal language, and getting him kissed by two girls, the squip has come up with the ultimate plan to help Jeremy make Christine “his”… but can a computer REALLY know the way to a girl’s heart?

What to say about this book?!? There are elements of the plot that are, quite obviously, implausible. For example, the squip… we all know that there aren’t computers you can swallow that will travel to your brain, read your mind, interface with other computers, and tell you step by step what to do. IMPOSSIBLE! However, the characters in this book are excellent! The main character, Jeremy, is believable. According to my hubby (who would theoretically know), Jeremy says and thinks the things that lots of teen boys think – about sex, girls, the purpose of the Internet, social injustices, parents, etc. He is a character that teen boys will easily relate to. From the female perspective, I think that Christine, Jeremy’s love interest, is also a very believable character (mildly impressive since this book was written by a guy). She is not willing to be used and then tossed aside; she wants a relationship based on honesty and shared interests with someone who is intelligent and caring. So, while the plot of this book is a stretch (some might even say completely far-fetched), it is funny and the book is filled with likeable, believable characters.

My husband and I would give this book four out of five stars. He took away one star because he hates the ending of the book. I took away one star because parts of the book are just too juvenile and crass for my female sensibilities. However, this book is funny, unique, and, in parts, shockingly honest. I would recommend this book to both high school boys and girls. In a lot of ways, this book reminded me of “Girl Parts” by John Cusick. So, if you read that book and liked it, “Be More Chill” is perfect for you!(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Guillermo Merlos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Summary:In the novel Be More Chill, a young teenage boy goes threw high school being the underdog. He is bullied and makes it by with only one friend. The day comes when he decides its enough and takes a drug called a "squip" which is a supper computer that is implanted into his brain to make him cool. He finally feels reassured in life but little does he know that with taking a "squip" there are consequences. He might be making the biggest mistake of his life.

Themes and Ideas:One of the themes...more

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Nov 16, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ned Vizzini’s novel Be More Chill is an easy read and would be great to teach to a class of high school students if only there weren’t so many obscenities. The book starts innocently enough with a student who’s a bit of an outcast—Jeremy Heere. He’s just an average teen looking to make more friends and date the girl he’s crushing on. Everything changes one day when he’s told of the new nanotechnology of the “Squip”. The Squip is a small computer that can give commands and assist a student in be...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Carter Mooney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Be More Chill, by Ned Vizzini Is one of the best books I have ever read. The author does a great job at exposing teen life in its most real forms. It really is a great read for all.
The Book is great read for all young adults and teens. The reason it is so great for teens and young adults is because most of them can relate to the story. At one point or another in life we have all felt out of place or unwanted: dorky. We all want a find a way out no matter what, instead of means that can be used...more Be More Chill, by Ned Vizzini Is one of the best books I have ever read. The author does a great job at exposing teen life in its most real forms. It really is a great read for all.
The Book is great read for all young adults and teens. The reason it is so great for teens and young adults is because most of them can relate to the story. At one point or another in life we have all felt out of place or unwanted: dorky. We all want a find a way out no matter what, instead of means that can be used to us today the main character Jeremy Heere uses the Squip. The Squip is a mini supercomputer which can activate parts of your brain to make you a way more cool and awesome individual.
This book is a great and vivid portrayal of modern day high-school. Be More Chill uses great references to the separations between cliques and the scrutiny placed on each by opposing groups. The Cliques most shown in this book are the ones you might expect the ‘nerds’ (Band Geeks, Theatre Kids), and the ‘Jocks’. The conflicts between these two opposing groups is great, because it really shows the ‘nerd’ is jealous and willing to try to reach the top of the popularity poll. The vivid exposé of high school drama and conflicts is great for parents of children in high-school, so they can understand what it really is like to be a secondary student nowadays. That is why I recommend this book for parents as well.
The references to teenage life continue with the internal struggle of depression, and fitting in. Jeremy Heere wants to fit in, but never can. He tries everything to get noticed, like participating in theater. I have definitely felt the effects of feeling a little low in my life , and could really connect with this book.
I really loved Be More Chill. It really is one of the best books I have ever read. Between the contrasts to real life, and the added bonus of a fictional remedy, I could really connect to this story. Great job Ned Vizzini. I give this book four and a half stars!
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Aug 21, 2011 Wil Luca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Be More Chill was written by Ned Vizzini and is about a high school student, Jeremy Heere, who desires to be cool and get a girl he likes by taking a pill to put a computer in his head that teaches him to be cool. Jeremy is the main character whom the book revolves around as he tries to woo the girl he like, Christine, and become cool. Christine is Jeremy’s main love interest and his number one goal and reason for getting the squib. Christine is interested in the high school play along with Jere...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Anthony Guo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 9th-10th-grade-summer

Be More Chill, by Ned Vizzini, is a great book to read for fun and pleasure. The protagonist, Jeremy Heere, is an unpopular boy at his high school. Popular girls and boys pay no attention to him, but he wishes to be with Christine, a pretty looking girl in his math class. Soon afterwards, he learned of a super computer that helps you get whoever you want, called the squip. He took the squip as a pill, then shortly after, he changed from a total nerd to one of the most popular boys in his school...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Anastasia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Be More Chill
Having Someone Tell You How to Live Can Be Good
Jeremy thinks that nothing is more important than being popular. What if you could swallow a pill that made you socially accepted on all levels? The Squip did exactly that for him. It took him from being a complete loser, who had “Humiliation Sheets” that listed everything that happened to him at school. After he swallows the Squip, he becomes the hottest and coolest guy at school. It tells him to say and act in certain ways, and he...more Be More Chill
Having Someone Tell You How to Live Can Be Good
Jeremy thinks that nothing is more important than being popular. What if you could swallow a pill that made you socially accepted on all levels? The Squip did exactly that for him. It took him from being a complete loser, who had “Humiliation Sheets” that listed everything that happened to him at school. After he swallows the Squip, he becomes the hottest and coolest guy at school. It tells him to say and act in certain ways, and he follows its commands. People who bullied him before, are now his best friends. Girls who ignored him earlier are now doing everything they can to be his girlfriend. But that wasn’t enough for him; he wants to get Christina, his long term crush, to like him back. The Squip attempts to assist him in winning her over, but fails. Jeremy discovers that he didn’t needed any super pill to get her and they finally end up getting along. In this Sci-Fi/Realistic fiction book by Ned Vizzini, the storyline is set in Modern Time, at the so-called Middle Borough High School. Be More Chill is one of the best books I’ve ever read because it’s really humorous, relatable, and hard to put down.
First of all, Be More Chill is very amusing and that’s one the reasons it’s a good book. When Michael and Jeremy were in the car, Michael was saying the problem with having a girlfriend was that she would take your shirts; “’Huh. Do you like your shirts?’, ‘They’re okay, I guess’ […]’Girls are like the arch nemeses of shirts,’ Michael says. ‘Really.’ ‘Oh yeah. Shirts are their trophies. The last girl my brother went out with, she ended up with like three of his shirts.’” (56) This type of humor can be found all throughout the book. It makes the sad topic of the book easier to read and lightens the whole theme. It also makes the book seem very short because the jokes throughout it keep you from putting it down.
In addition to it being very funny, Be More Chill can be related to easily and that factor always makes books better. Throughout the beginning of the book, Jeremy experiences very insecure moments that I ‘m pretty sure a lot of people have; “’Jenna!’ Anne whispers like she’s protecting something. ‘He’s right there.’ Double whoa. I sit quietly, stiff. Calm. Calm. My head is turned so they must not think I’m listening but I’m always listening. I’m wired. I peek at Jenna.”(8) At this point in the situation, Jeremy must’ve felt very uncomfortable. I loved how throughout the book, whenever Jeremy was thinking about something, he described his emotions perfectly. Honest books like these are almost always good. The openness made the book easy and fun to read because you got to really understand what was happening in Jeremy’s head.
Last but not least, Be More Chill is a great book because it’s so hard to put down. Once I started to read it, I always felt sad when I had to go to bed and stop reading. Especially at this moment: “The pill plops into my hand with a gorgeous little pat. […] dun dad a dunh da dunn dunn…The pill goes down.” (100) At that moment, Jeremy had swallowed THEE Pill. THEE Pill! It was the object that had been talked about for about fifty-five pages of the book and it finally happened. Imagine trying to put the book down and resisting the urge to see what would happen. Almost every chapter in the book ended a moment that was just as important as this one. That fact made the book a very quick two-hundred-eighty-seven page read.
So in conclusion, Be More Chill is one of the best books I’ve ever read because it’s really humorous, relatable, and hard to put down. In fact, it was good enough for me to give it a five out of five star rating. I think that I could relate to the book, because just like Jeremy, I sometimes act the way I’m expected to, to fit in at a given situation. Even at school, when you follow the rules, you’re just trying to fit in with the environment. One time when I got in trouble for yelling at a kid in Kindergarten, I remember thinking “Nobody ever gets in trouble! It’s just me!” Although this wasn’t true at all at the moment, I felt that way. Throughout the book Jeremy is instructed to talk and act in certain ways in order for him to stay out of trouble in school, but still stay socially accepted. After reading this my ideas about being popular were confirmed; being well-known is not always beneficial to you.
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Nov 07, 2010 K rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

I enjoy an awkward protagonist as much as the next girl, but pre-squip Jeremy was a mess. He wasn’t the bumbling, glasses-wearing version of the dork-to-hottie character in a late ‘90s teen movie, or even Gilbert Lowell; he was the smelly kid in class. His best friend was equally inept, so instead of safety in numbers when they hung out, they intensified their shining beacon of uncool. His parents were kind of horrific, he tactfully described them as an example of people who shouldn’t breed. It...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awkward-boys, science-fiction, future, relationship-problems, relationships, teenagers, high-school, funny, young-adult-fiction, borrowed-from-the-library

Jeremy is a dorky, hypersensitive teenage boy. He’s got a crush on a girl in his class (Christine), he spends way too much time online, and he keeps track of the myriad ways other kids pick on him on his specially formatted “humiliation sheets.” Everything changes when Jeremy gets a “squip” – a nano-computer that tells him what to do in order to be cool, get with girls, and increase his popularity. Jeremy’s squip has a voice like Keanu Reeves and generally its advice gets results - but not with...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Moby 704 added it · review of another edition

This book is about a high schooler named Jeremy. Hes not very social. And hes a typical high school geek. And he also likes a girl named Christine who is in the drama club. But he doesnt want to be known by all that. He just wants to be a cool kid. So he takes this pill that makes him behave and become what he wants to be. But little does he know that the more he takes it the more consequences there will be. His main external conflict is trying to not take to many pills and trying to avoid to b...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Kevin2 added it

this book was pretty interesting. this is because it is about a regular teenage boy who is conisdered a loser in his school, basically invisible. he likes this girl named christine which is in his class and she has 2 friends named anne and jenna. in the beginning of the book, they are all in math class and the 3 girls start talking about this stalker that christine has which they thought was wired and creepy. they had letters or papers from this stalker and they were talking about it. jeremy was...more this book was pretty interesting. this is because it is about a regular teenage boy who is conisdered a loser in his school, basically invisible. he likes this girl named christine which is in his class and she has 2 friends named anne and jenna. in the beginning of the book, they are all in math class and the 3 girls start talking about this stalker that christine has which they thought was wired and creepy. they had letters or papers from this stalker and they were talking about it. jeremy was getting nervous because he knew that the stalker they were talking about was him. then he meets up with his friend which is not as dorky as he was and they talk about this shakespere play which jeremy ends up signing up for. then later on, he bumps into one of the poplar blonde kids named rich. he was a bully and oftenly bullied jeremy. then when the halloween dance came around, jeremy went and saw rich dressed up as marijuana. rich talks to jeremy as a friend and then goes on to one of the hottest girls in the school and starts making out with her. then he eventally tells jeremy about this pill called a squip. this squip basically will make jeremy one of the most popular people in the school. this squip costs around 5-600 dollars so jeremy starts selling his aunts rare dolls and gets enough to pay for the squip. after this point, his popularity starts shooting up. this popularity is the squip talking and coaching him through everything and he eventually gets to a point where things get graphic. he steals his mom's car, takes his best friend to the party where he gets high on ecstasy and his squip starts malfunctioning talking in spanish. he then hides out and waits untill his squip is back to english and goes home. when he gets home, his mom starts talking to him about his aunt's missing dolls and why her car was parked differently so he tells her about the squip. they think hes crazy so they send him to the therapist which also had a squip and let him go. then back in school during the play, the squip tells him to stop in the middle and ask christine out. he does and gets rejected and kicked out of the play. he goes outside and cries and his squip turns off. he then was brought back to his original loser self and the squip apologizes and tells him to tell christine about the squip. then the squip tells him to drink red mountain dew and destroys the squip. to me, i just think that this book is what every teenager is looking for. a chance to be popular. (less)

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Jan 11, 2010 Meryl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Be More Chill". With that title and this cover, why wouldn't I, the then-16-year-old, bored-out-of-her-mind, dying-to-read-something-fresh-and-funny, NOT want to pick up this book? The very title caught my attention at the library, the many shelves of ongoing dull titles stretching out before me.

I snatched up the book and biked home (checking it out first, of course).

This book was the shit because it was fast-paced and just "chill", in general. It was laid-back and hip; I could seriously dig it...more

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Nov 02, 2009 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ir-09-book-reports

This book is about a high schooler named Jeremy. Hes not very social. And hes a typical high school geek. And he also likes a girl named Christine who is in the drama club. But he doesnt want to be known by all that. He just wants to be a cool kid. So he takes this pill that makes him behave and become what he wants to be. But little does he know that the more he takes it the more consequences there will be. His main external conflict is trying to not take to many pills and trying to avoid to be...more

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Oct 25, 2009 Clay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Be More Chill was an interesting novel. There were parts I liked, and parts I didn’t like about the story, writing, characters, events etc. So lets start with the stuff I didn’t like.

One of the things that jumped out to me almost immediately upon reading it was some of the crazy verbs used for dialogue attribution. I recently finished Stephen King’s On Writing and one of the things he suggests that, as writers, that we never do, is to use superfluous adverbs when attributing dialoge. However, “S...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Cui rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: summer-reading

Ned Vizzini, the author of one of my favorite books "Teen Angst, Nah.." now has another book on my favorite list. This book is really interesting as it is a Teen fiction but it also has things like "Squip" which is this pill sized thing that makes you "nerdy" like and get anything you want for your life. Jeremy Heere is a normal high school kid who likes this girl name christine but keeps recieving dirty notes from others until one day he eats this "Squip" and gets followed by the hottest and ko...more

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Apr 12, 2009 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: junior-year-advisory-books

This book is really great! The main character reminds me of Peter Parker(spider man) because he's describe as a geek who no one likes, which I personally think its great! The main character has this quirkiness about him because he's so shy and afraid of girls; he's had a crush on a girl in his school but he's afraid to talk to talk to her. One thing that I really like about Ned Vizzini's writing in the book is that he makes his main character, Jeremy, narrate so that it seems as if he is talking...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Scott Ramsey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book Review
Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini
By Scott Ramsey
ENG 7701
Feburary 8, 2013

Summary: To fit in or not to fit in. That is the question! How far would you go to become noticed, belong, or even be considered cool in high school or middle school? Would you or any kids you know, whether they be your own or not, go as far as taking a pill with a computer chip that could help them become one of the popular kids in school? Well the main character, Jeremy did just that in the book Be More Chill written...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Ashley rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Being Cool (sic) is obviously the most important thing on earth. It’s more important than getting a job, or having a girlfriend, or political power, or money, because all these things are predicated by Coolness,” muses Jeremy Heere, protagonist of Ned Vizzini’s 2004 debut novel Be More Chill (29.) We have all shared high schooler Jeremy’s plight in our younger years (or perhaps in our recent years, as well): the struggle to be accepted by our peers. However, Jeremy has a seeming advantage that...more “Being Cool (sic) is obviously the most important thing on earth. It’s more important than getting a job, or having a girlfriend, or political power, or money, because all these things are predicated by Coolness,” muses Jeremy Heere, protagonist of Ned Vizzini’s 2004 debut novel Be More Chill (29.) We have all shared high schooler Jeremy’s plight in our younger years (or perhaps in our recent years, as well): the struggle to be accepted by our peers. However, Jeremy has a seeming advantage that we do not; he has discovered a punny “chill pill” that almost instantaneously transforms him from social peon to sought-after stud at Middle Bourough High School. This pill, known as a Squip, is an illegal supercomputer that Jeremy purchases black market style. The squip, in a Keanu Reeves voice, commands Jeremy’s words and actions around his peers. It chooses his clothing, aids him in courting the girl of his dreams, and encourages him to disregard his un-Cool best friend. And of course, we learn that this seeming panacea for all social woes is not foolproof, as Squip 3.0 is badly programmed.

I will be teaching in a classroom filled with Smartboards, high speed internet access, iPhones, iPads, and iPods. It seems as though Be More Chill would be a perfect supplement to my classroom, to teach my students that technology cannot take the place of human integrity and self, that high school awkwardness is temporary, that true friendship is a thing of value, and the fact that being a high school quarterback or homecoming queen does not ensure success for the rest of one’s life. The problem is that Vizzini’s Be More Chill does not support those listed ideals. Rather, it not only ignores, but rails against them, which is why, after reading this book, it was clear to me that not only would I never teach this book, I would not include it in my classroom library or recommend it for summer reading. I will give Vizzini credit that the prose is fairly free flowing, an easy read for a student who is rummaging through a bookcase. The cover is quite attractive to a teenage eye, as it seems to have a comic book cover vibe. It's not clunky, and I didn't roll my eyes at ridiculous descriptions. However, the fault that lies in my eyes is the depiction of morality in this universe.

I will admit that the reader does develop a feeling of sympathy toward Jeremy, but he is the only round character in the entire book. I found the other characters to be either morally reprehensible or irrelevant. For example, Jeremy’s love interest, Christine, is supposed to be depicted as mysterious and “different” from the other high school girls described in the book. (Note: I say “described” because that’s mostly what Vizzini does: physically describe “hot” girls constantly engaging in quasi (or actual) coitus. There is not an “average” girl in the entire 283 pages, and I would never recommend a book that objectifies women as this one does, even if the argument can be made that this is written through the lens of a teenage boy.) I find nothing mysterious or even compelling about Christine’s character, as she is just one of Vizzini’s “hot girls” with a few lines of dialogue. She falls into the trap of dating a jock, which negates the idea of her difference from the other girls at Middle Bourough High, and her mysterious nature seems to be a thinly veiled cover for a catty sixteen year old who advises Jeremy not to call her again “until (he) learn(s) to drive.” Outside of Christine, even the adults in the novel are condemnable, as I found no adult willing to be any sort of moral compass; all adults in the novel are either wildly eccentric like the teenagers, or absent.

Perhaps the most blatant moral blunder I found in the novel was in its resolution. After discovering that the squip is faulty, (Jeremy purchased the 3.0 which was “badly manufactured,”) Jeremy does not take charge of his life to resolve any of the issues that have ensued. Rather, the squip provides the resolution. The squip also advises Jeremy to “get the 4.0 version when it comes out” (pg. 277.) Why would I choose to encourage this line of thought? Why would I recommend a book that does not have the protagonist learn and grow and change something other than his squip upgrade to mend the problems in his life? There are many attributes and qualities I will strive to instill in my students, and Being Cool, as in Vizzini’s definition, is not one of them. I will say that reading this book has taught me to analyze exactly what messages are being enforced in texts in my future classroom, and for that, I am grateful. 1 star. (less)

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Jul 29, 2011 Titisha Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini is about Jeremy Heere who purchases a squip which tells him how to be cool and how to get girls to like him. Jeremy starts out with hardly any friends except Michael so he writes in his humiliation sheets. At the Halloween party, Rich tells him about a squip which will make him popular so he will have more friends and Christine will like him. He soon purchases a squip with the money he makes off his Aunt’s Beanie Babies and it tells him to get new clothes. Soon, Je...more

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