Quick read. It was ok, takes place in 2004 however, Siri & Alexa weren’t around then, right? The lesson learned is to be careful with technology. It may help you with some things, but not with the heart. That’s why we have free will. Technology cannot determine who will be the person you will end up with. I’d be interested in reading the original book. The illustrations were good, the colors discerning between Jeremy & the Squib. ( )

The afterword mentions that Vizzini wrote this when he was a teenager, which makes sense: the emotions and interactions and confusions feel incredibly real, but it doesn't quite live up to it's potential. It feels thin and underdeveloped, and the ending is unsatisfying (the fact that Rich went literally insane because of his Squip isn't mentioned again, even though that's a HUGE concern! And the squip just decides to deactivate itself rather than try to force the host to buy a new version? And there's no accountability for Jeremy because he just writes a letter?). ( )

This book is gonna teach me a lesson about grabbing a book on display in the library without looking it up. Text on the front reads New York Times best-selling author, text on the back says inspired a Tony Nominated Broadway Musical. I generally enjoy coming of age stories, and I loved “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel. Let it be known, just because the general accolades are the same, the substance is far from the same.

First mistake – I missed that this graphic novel is an adaptation from a book. That’s a warning sign. Always go for the source.
Second mistake – Believing all the hype on the front and back covers.
Third mistake – Should have browsed through the artwork a bit more and decide if I like the style. (Not really)

Ultimately, the worst is the book’s premise that a person can pop a pill that will then tell the person how to “be more chill”, i.e. be popular, be accepted, to date the hot chicks, etc. Insert ‘eye roll’. The science in me rebels against such a theme. Plot is something like dumb stuff, stupid move, are-you-for-real, why-would-you-believe-that, and close with why-would-that-fix-everything. My mockery is now complete. For a moment there, I thought, “Did I age out of the ‘coming of age’ genre?” Then I watched “Sex Education” on Netflix and laughed my head off. Nope, I did not. The book is just that stupid.

So why not a much lower star rating? Because they tried to address teen angst and teen depression. That stuff is no joke, and books need to continue to address them, even if I don’t agree with the approach.

From the library ( )

David Levithan takes a chainsaw to the most offensive sexist crap from the awful novel and sands off sharp corners to deliver a thin and bland, PG or PG-13 adaptation that is probably intended to appeal to fans of the musical (though it keeps the book's original ending). Frankly, I wish I had just stuck to listening to the album and not bothered with any of the books. ( )

Rating is based on the average rating from Good Reads. There are 339 ratings and reviews of this book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358304-be-more-chill?from_search=true&... ( )