Be More Chill

Found the CD audiobook at my local library, pleasantly surprised to find that Jesse Eisenberg is the narrator of this creative and entertaining story of a high-school nerd who battles bullies, mean girls and peer pressure with the help of a black market computer program. Fictional story, but could be true someday if technology continues to advance the way it has the last few years. Great story and best audiobook I've heard in a while, highly recommend. (Too bad Jesse Eisenberg has become a big star now and doesn't narrates other audiobooks... a great reader can make or break an audiobook!)

So, I got Be More Chill last night and finished it this afternoon. . .
It was a truly not a let-down. Actually, I found myself more consumed with the book than with my so-called friend (I was at his place). Judging from Ned's first book, I thought that he had a lot of voice, which is really great to have, and not very common. Anyways, now I know he's got a lot of voice. The people in the book seemed very realistic, very life-like. I found that there were a lot of things that I could relate to in the book, really well, actually, and that was pretty cool to me, especially after the fire at the party, and the "after-shock" of it all. . .When my school principal killed himself, everyone, even the people that were planning on rebelling and ambushing him, broke down and became very upset. . .Like Jeremy, I didn't get it, and thought it was lame, and a whole bunch of other things along that line.
Anyways, the voicing of the SQUIP was very funny (For some reason, I expected it to be Harrison Ford. .Or maybe Clint Eastwood. .But Marty Beckerman would've been funny. . .Anyways), and so "smooth" it hurt.
I don't really have any parts that I disfavored. . Ned defined his characters, but it seemed that there was some vagueness where people could say "Oh, I can relate to that. . OHMYGOD, my dad is the same way!"

"Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini is a really cool book. I think it's not really that funny, but it is a hugely creative story. The book is well-written and is a really quick read.

The basic story is that a dorky teenager swallows a supercomputer that teaches him how to be more cool. The supercomputer, or "squip", becomes a character of its own.

The book is very imaginative and inventive. I enjoyed it a lot. I actually think some of the squip's advice in the book would be very useful to awkward, non-confident teenaged boys (like I used to be!)

Ned Vizzini's debut novel, Be More Chill, is the story of Jeremy Heere, a nerd who wants to be Cool. He finds a pill called squip which allows him to do just that, with some circumstances.
This book not only shows that Ned Vizzini can write, but that he can write good. The fun really begins when Jeremy gets his squip. With plot twists and turns and an excellent, yet fitting ending this novel proves that good literature can be made today. Pushing away cliche's and having fun at the same time, Be More Chill is not just a "ha ha" novel. It involves deep thought and although its funny it has deeper meaning.
Ned Vizzini is an excellent up and coming writer, and I am looking forward to all of his books. Be More Chill has been officially optioned by Miramax, and the guys who made American Pie are signed up. For more excellent reading check out Teen Angst?Naaah.... by Ned Vizzini.

I just wanted to write to say that I just finished Be More Chill and loved

it. I really liked how you made Jeremy's character easy to relate to and

have him do stuff that most of us have done at least once in our lifetimes.

I also liked the ending and how you didn't conclude everything. I just got

my wisdom teeth out on monday, and I can honestly say that without that book

I would have been a lot more miserable. It helped me through my boring days

of just sitting around. There were many nights where I told myself "Ok, I am

only going to read these 4 chapters," but I'd soon find myself on the tenth

chapter instead. So, thank you for writing a book that is not only enjoyable

but extremely truthful!

Ned Vizzini's Be More Chill made me want to read his other books also. The first part is much more entertaining, which draws you into the second section easily, but after a while of the second section, you crave more action. At the end, it finally comes together to make you very satisfied and overall, it is a great book. :) Enjoy!

'Be More Chill' by Ned VIzzini is a book that covers all aspects of growing up. Here's the story: Jeremy Heere is your typical sex-obsessed teenager who is deperate to be cool and impress girls. Nothing seems to work until his friend tells him to get a squip, and with a little bit of help from the voice of Keanu Reeves (there's a perk for the girls!) he scores!

Ned Vizzini perfectly captures exactly how it feels to be growing up today, and despite the narrator being a boy, the book appeals to all sexes of all ages and no doubt will remind us all of a situation we've been in.

In short: One to read

Note: I would only reccomend this book to readers over the age of sixteen, ot younger more mature readers as it has some sexual content

I got reccommended this book by a good friend of mine and thought that it looked strange by the reviews and well... from the selected passages I read while in our school library. But I decided to give it a go. Not only was I completely mesmerized by the ironic truths that happen in this story, because let's face it, aside from the squips, this is what some teenagers actually do, but it was such a page turner that I read it all in one day. That could be a good or bad thing. It's pretty much easy reading, but that didnt bother me much. Jeremy Heere, Michael, Nicole, Rich, the Hot Girls... they were all people I could identify with. Being 16, this book was somehow perfect for me because it's like reading about my life, just more dramatized, more drugs, and more sex. ;) But I would definitely reccomend this book because of the clever ending and the good message it gets across.

From the start this book sounds like your typical high school storyline. An unpopular kid tries to get popular and get the girl he wants.

Doesn't seem like a work of genius, until a rip in reality forms and through this hole enters the squip: a quantum computer that goes in your brain and tells you what to do to be cool. However, the mesh between computer and brain isn't as perfect as the character would like and though-provoking and entertaining situations ensue.

This alone would give the book 5 stars, but the other thing about this book that made me a fan of Ned Vezzini was how realistic it was. As a seasoned veteran and participant in that on-going war known as "Being a student in a public school", this book without a doubt gives the most realistic account of what its like to be a student in the 2nd millenium. The only book that comes close to this is The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. It reveals the savage barbarity that kids go to strike eachother down, the depraved emotions that the unpopular feel and the glory of being recongnized as cool. Obviously Ned Vezzini isn't afraid to soften the experience of living in a public school, he expresses the experience exquisitely with all the foul language and sex that's necessary to show people what its like.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. BUY IT NOW.

If you've been out of high school for more than a few years, you're not goint to like this book. Period.

Everybody's recollections of high school and the years of their life they spent there tend to be variations on a theme: it was either completely, mostly, or at least sometimes unbearably miserable. There's no shortage of books exploring this theme. If we're going to have another one, it should at least have something new to say.

Most people tend to recall only the low points, and their explanations of those experiences tend towards narcissism and escapism (and lots of other -isms): if a girl/guy wouldn't go out with you, it was because she/he couldn't see the real you, or s/he was materialistic, or stuckup, etc, etc, etc. If your parents and teachers told you what to do (or what not to do), it was becuse they wouldn't let you express yourself, or they were jealous that you were taking risks that they were too scared to take when they were your age. Or maybe they just knew that someday you'd grow up and say "hey mom, thanks for keeping me from getting a tattoo on my forehead."

Vizzini's book offers a teenager's-eye view of the world from just about the lowest common denominator. I suppose some people would say it's "realistic," but I like to think that there's more to most teens than just partying, gossipping, and chasing around after sex. The book makes the same mistake that most others of the genre do: it's almost sociopathic in its over-indulgence in the protagonist's thoughts, feelings, and overall perspective, while casting everybody else, from parents, classmates, love interests, etc, in a wooden and one-dimensional manner.

The plot is so silly it barely requires discussion. A kid has a microcomputer implanted in his brain that gives him advice on how to do important things like impress girls and outwit bullies, and he thinks his prayers of popularity and acceptance have been answered. Then he finds out that there's more to developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships than a mini-computer telling you things like "part your lips slightly, it makes you look more sensual" (that's actually in the story). In the end, the girl of his dreams (one of the aforementioned wooden and unlikeable characters) rejects him BECAUSE OF, not in spite of, this wonderful mini-computer, and the moral (and it's an original one) appears to be that you're better off being yourself.

The end.

This book is neither as good as the raves you're seeing or as bad as some of the lousy reviews ("stab my eyes out"? riiiighht). It's entertaining, easy-reading (as in, 3 hours or so) stuff, but it's not exactly world-class plot or character development.

This would be forgivable if it was a slightly more accurate portrayal of high school, but it's not. I gleefully celebrated my high school graduation two years ago, and it wasn't from the sex-crazed drug swamp in this book. There was sex, to be sure, and drugs (just go to the bathroom during class and see for yourself), but we DID think about a couple other things. I remember actually caring about my grades a little bit, developing friendships, maybe going to a movie or two. Heck, we even discussed politics a few times, and not when oral sex was involved.

This book is, oddly enough, the outsider's view of the insider's view of high school. Sex, drugs, and rap music aplenty, sure to horrify any parent. The losers get picked on, and the Cool kids don't care about one another, just their place in the pecking order. The main character is so whiny and pathetic in the beginning that I, definitely not a Cool kid myself, had no sympathy for him whatsoever. He's the stereotype of the nerd: miserable, humiliated, masturbating to porn at his computer every night. His life, and the book, improve once he gets his Cool-inducing cyberpill, but for the first 100 pages you wish he'd just shut the heck up and go back to Generic World with the football-playing jock, the goth girl that cuts herself, and the slutty girl that has sex with anyone that walks.

(By the way, just make up your own explanation for how the pill works. Anything you come up with is sure to be more logical than the book's idea.)

In the end, as Jeremy chases the girl of his dreams, his pill has him try a ridiculous maneuver that the most socially-inept nerd could tell is going to blow up in his face. As if that wasn't bad enough, the book has a vague, open-ended ending that I can assure you would never win the girl over either (I don't want to spoil things by saying what it is).

I'm making all these negative comments because the book has been gushed over quite a bit in these reviews. It's not a bad read, and it's certainly titillating enough for the average high school sophomore, so feel free to get it from the library and give it a shot. But I want to stress that this is not high school.

If you're a parent, don't get the wrong idea from this book. If you're a high school student, and this book sounds totally accurate to you, then you need to reevaluate your priorities in life. Be More Chill is a caricature, and a rather goofy one at that.

When I bought this book I was prepared to enter the world of the main character Jeremy... what I found was that it brings the reader not into the world of the characters but also into the world of hidden technologies and humorous situations. A completly different genre of writing from his first book (a memoir), this was an amazing first fiction book for Ned. Written well, Ned manages to balance humnan interaction and technology interaction perfectly leaving the reader with all the information they need without rambling or overwhelming the reader with quick plots.

I am not an avid reader but considering that I have to for lit class, I choose this book due to an appealing cover and review from a friend. In a matter of pages I found myself completly consumed by this book. Not only does this book poses a intersting plot but is written from a guys prospective and makes it very easy for me to relate to. This book is defintly a good read for high school kids.

If i got the book off a shelf, the cover would give me a good impression. The blurb takes a really good, descriptive part from the book, and also, gives you positive motives. When you first start to read the book, it is about an annoying nerd, called jeremy heere. As he founds out about the squip, and sets out to buy it it suddenly gets interesting. The book is written in a diary style, and there is constant dialogue between the squip and Jeremy. The book was a good read, and keep me completely hocked and suprised with a twist in the ending. There was quite strong language but other then that it was a great book

I have to admit the first time I read this book I enjoyed it..then I read they are making it into a movie and read it over to see who I would cast in the film..and reading the book over I found myself not liking it. The ending is too abrupt, not a whole lot happens, and the book is a little..out there. But teenagers who enjoy books with a lot of sexual references (one of the things in the book i DID like) will like it, as will teens who can relate to the characters but adults most likely wont enjoy the book and I dont think it would make a good movie at all

While I have learned to steer clear of Oprah Book Club selections over the years (which always seem to be shallow downers), the Today Show Book Club sticker on this one seemed at least a little more encouraging. As a high school English teacher, I am always looking for books that might appeal to teenagers. Like many other books before it, critics have claimed this one has a Holden-esque feel to it. And as with other books that have made this claim, it falls short...way short. This book is listed on the store as a "grade 9 and up" book, so my expectations were not quite what they would be for an "adult" piece of literature. Even with my lowered expectations, I was disappointed. The author is young, only 23, and his writing is very undeveloped. In fact, I felt like I was reading one of my 10th grader's stories here. So, I suppose on one level, he succeeded: he did create a youthful narrator. But, this compliment is not entirely complimentary. The writing "sounds" young, but not altogether real. The frequent cussing is pretty accurate, as is the struggle to be cool. But, the dialogue is still fairly out of touch with real teens. The partying and drug use were over-the-top, and the story about the pill-computer was pretty lame too. It kind of came together in the end, but not really. I expect to see this brought to the big screen someday and star some cheesy young actors like from Malcolm in the Middle or something. This future movie would likely get an R rating for the inappropriate elements, or get watered down for a PG-13 rating, but the effect would still probably only be popular with immature 14 year-olds. I didn't see anything worthwhile for older teens, or adults, and am frankly surprised this was part of an adult book club. It made a little more sense when I learned that Judy Blume is the one who selected this author. I wish I had known that prior to picking this one up; I may have opted to skip it altogether. It's not horrible, but it's definitely not good. There are other coming-of-age books out there where the writing is better developed, the characters are more endearing, and the plot is more feasible. Keep looking.

Ned Vizzini, with his new book, "Be More Chill", talks about his generation.
Much like the 1960's great band, The Who, did.
If you are a kid, buy it. If you are an adult, buy it. If you are alive, buy it. The key to knowing our future is to understand the youth of today. Ned more than understands. He lives it.
Mark my words - with modern voices in literature like Ned's, the world can become a much better place. Do your part and support him. It's the right thing to do.
-GT
June 2004

This book put you in the world of a young boy with the thing that every teenager wishes they could have. It is increditably well written. I personally devoured the book. I started reading and could not put it down until I was completely finished. It was that good. Everyone who reads this book will probably want a "squip". If I had one it would make High School alot easier. It was a great read and a great excape from reality.

This was a fun read; I was impressed by Ned Vizzini's ability to balance plot, humor, and a unifying conceit. It's nice to see a young adult novel about an ordinary suburban kid who wants to get laid, not some tragically disadvantaged kid who has to overcome daunting obstacles to fulfill his or her lame personal dream. (Full disclosure: I am slightly acquainted with the author.)

I bought Be More Chill at the 99 Cent Store. Good thing, too. It wasn't worth more than that. I decided to get it because the cover looked good (it wasn't the cover listed on the store) and the title was interesting - they say, never judge a book by it's cover (I shoulda learned that when Catcher In The Rye was a great book).
I didn't expect much - after all, it was at the 99 Cent Store alongside a book about y2k- but even with my low expectations, it still managed to disappoint me. It was only later that I found out the writer was only 23- I suppose that gives a little bit of leeway - but still, I could have written a better book as a freshman in high school.
I've never read a book more shallow and stereotypical. I've also never read a book more childish and idiotic.
Be More Chill was predictable and the whole pill-computer plot was extremely just, lame.
The whole popularity thing and everything about the teenager life was extremely over-the-top and seems as if the writer was writing as an outsider who THINKS they understand high school, when in fact had never been there.

Now, I do dislike all books written solely on shallow high school popularity- but this one just REALLY disappointed me.

Now, if it was a rough draft written by a high school freshman who had never been to a real high school before and was not going to be published and praised - I might have said different.

This book makes a complete MOCKERY of high schools and teenagers and youth in general, and I hope parents do not read this book and accept it as realistic. If you are a teenager and you find this to be a realistic book.... well I have nothing to say to you; you are too far gone from reality.

I was NOT impressed and would NOT recommend this book to anyone.

Juvenile and insulting.

This book is one of the best book I've ever read! really!It is written very funny and exciting.it presents the social status of millions of kids in this world!I wouldn't write a review if I don't love this book!So,if you don't read this book, you miss something special!Reading this book worth it!trust me!

i thought be more chill was wonderfull. i read it in 1 day and found myself immersed in it and conncerned with it more so then everything else around me. i loved it. it "tells it like it is". it tells the truth about teenage and highschool life while ignoring the cliches. its a wonderful and funny book and i would recomend it to everyone 12-21

i wouldnt recomend it for anyones parents though, lol

I have noticed many people praising this book and I honestly don't understand it. This book is as shallow as they come, Ned Vizzini is an outrageous character in his own right as well. The book is just another in an endless flow of "novels" which feel the need to point out just how bad teenagers lives are. They then go and offer some ridiculous solution on ways to do things like get girls, or "Be More Chill". Isn't that what parents are for? I have met Ned Vizzini and what's even crazier is that he is not a person that should be giving anyone advice on anything. Do society a favor Ned and go chill elsewhere.

Kind of disappointed with this book. Loved It's Kind of a Funny Story, so I got this book for only a cent, so I can't whine. However, I didn't connect and fully comprehend what was going on. And the ending? So dissapointed, Easy read.

I read Be More Chill because my roommate told me that it was "sooooo good." So maybe my problem with the quality of the book was that I had high expectations. But I really didn't like it. This is supposed to be a dorky kid who is in high school but I have no idea what high school the author went to that he thinks this is how high school is. While there is peer pressure to use drugs and other things, the drug use and stereotypes of such things are way over the top in this book to the point that they're just unrealistic. And this pill, the squip, teaches you how to be "cool" but not every girl in the school is just waiting to get with a guy because he has the right clothes and being "cool" is all about having relations with girls in this book. I think it was a good idea for a book but the author went the wrong way with it. The story lines didn't always come together and there were gaps left. And the girl he has a crush on, Christine, is all over the place. You can't even call her changes in mood "mood swings" because she just left me utterly confused. The ending is ridiculous. If you can even call it an ending. Maybe if the whole thing was about masturbation on the internet and getting with girls, and had some actual substance it would be a good book. I wouldn't recommend it.

...I read his first and liked it. After raving on this site, I went for his second book and wasn't dissapointed. The plot is as random as they get -- I kid who takes a "cool" pill and his adventures, and also, his liking for girls with tails. (Dont ask, just read) But somehow, you believe and sympathize with it all, and laugh along the way.

This book is one of my favorite books ever, it's funny, quirky and makes you laugh while also think. Towards the end of the book you get some thinking moments. However, there is some flaws, at times it can get childish with the jokes, its a book that i'm sorry to say but can sometimes get stupied. But my friend said it best its a guy book, but a great book non the less.

This is the best book ever. anybody that is a teenager interested in being cool should read this. I got Teen Angst...naah and liked it also and i couldn';t wait for this and when it did it was the best. so go out and get a copy.

hahaa this book is awesome! theres really no other way to describe it! its hysterical! the character Jeremy is great and the squip is even better! its funny to see how far a dork will go to become cool. and where it actually gets you. good times! def. read it!!!!

i bought this book because i read its kind of a funny story and i enjoyed it very much. So i thought I would like another book by the same author. This book just didnt catch my attention. It was just so blah. The main character got on my nerves because he was so pathetic. He was such a loser, and all he cared about was getting with this girl that was shallow. i couldn't relate to it at all.

this book is sooooooooooo funny and i love everything about it.jeremy is such a dork but in a funny way.and it talks about everything like sex, drugs, school etc. i think teenager should really read this book cause is great and is really funny. "i love it".

This Novel is just the best it is just like real teen life the trials and trebulations of what us teens go through it also looks at topical issues of today and i think that it will help many teenagers to think about what life is all about.
10/10

ok this book is just freaky..sure there is fun teen dialogue and situations but this reads more like a science fiction American Pie then anything..plus the ending was so open in the air..whats that all about?

weird

As a parent, before you hand this book to your child, please read pages 79-81. I am not judging the content or the writing, however parents should be informed that masturbation, pronography and who knows what else are treated very candidly. If you approve, enjoy.

I being a barnes and nobles shopper only look at a book if the side is interesting if the side catches my eye i look at the cover the cover of this book is awesome and the book to say the least is awesomeeeeeeeeeeeee deffinatly a must read for a teenager

Once again another fine example of intruiging meaningless chatter from a desperate loser trying to find ways to be "cooler" so that he can get into a girl's pants. Is it any wonder that this guy needs to take a pill to become cool, just like the bridge and tunnel meatheads who slip ruffies into a girl's drink? Give me a break. It's amazing how much literary filth such as Vizzini's collection of misspent sentences and paragraphs, finds its way upon bookstore shelves. Clearly this wildly uninteresting collection of rancid rambling is another ploy by the publishing industry to fatten their wallets at the expense of millions of brain-cells.

"Teen Angst ... Naah" was hugely unimpressive and Vizzini follows his ode to perpetual idiocy with yet another example of his insurmountable self-absorption. Adding insult to injury this time however, "Be More Chill" displays Vizzini's unfortunate need to vicariously live through his drone of a protagonist, and inform the world about his supposed sexual adventures. But then again what else would you expect from a "writer" who has his own website in celebration of who else ... but himself. This writer's unabashed attempts to become the Paris Hilton of the literary scene is no more displayed then the site that contains letters and pictures from fans who are not yet old enough to understand that Vizzini is the manifestation of a talentless meatball.

After putting myself into intellectual peril by actually reading this self indulgent scuzz, I found myself looking for the nearest toilet bowl so that I could vomit up the putrescence that began to grow on, and attack my poor brain. I could feel my will to live waning as the education my parent's spent thousands of dollars on, began to leak out of my brain like the ooze does from the pimple-faced fan base that Vizzini boasts. If there is any lesson to be had in this waste of trees it's that Vizzini should consider an OD of his own squips so that maybe he'd finally become cool enough to know when to stop introducing the world to his dangerously stupid perversion, lest it begin to infect the innocent adolescents of the world who are not yet mentally strong enough to fight his defunct attempt at the art of writing.

Frankly if I were given the choice to either subject myself to this abhorrence again, or to poke my eyes out with the two pointiest pencils on earth, it wouldn't be a tough choice. I'd go with the pencils.

The book was labeled "young adult," but it is vulgar, has a lot to do with how to be "Cool" which involves flirting and -of course- sex. This book is not for adolesents even though that is who it is about. The squip tells Jeremy to leave behind his best friend, change his clothes and his way of life. I stopped after the first few chapters, it was so bad. I do not suggest this for teenagers.

This was by far the best book I've ever read. While a lot of people might complain about the language and focus on sex, those people clearly haven't been in a suburban 2013 high school. The humour was spot-on, the plot better than the typical garbage "be yourself" storyline, and I really liked Jeremy as a character. While most of the characters were pretty shallow, I didn't find that a problem. It's meant to make you laugh, and I certainly laughed a lot.

There are very few books in which I've been so disgusted that I actually decided to put the book down for good. This is one of them. The character is extremely shallow and obsessed with scoring some action. In fact, the only thing he and his friend have in common is this one goal. Please... I can't imagine anyone relating to this. And for those who do... I pity you. I couldn't stand to read another word.