Be More Chill

Product Information

Another issue this book runs into is that though infidelity is dismissed when males commit it, girls are continuously and pervasively labeled "sluts" and "whores" and have every insult in the book thrown at them (by both girls and boys). Thus, at the end of the novel, though the Squip is realized to be a bad and immoral influence on the main character, no comment is made whatsoever about his behavior with the female characters. Jeremy is just portrayed as a tragic hero.

Nobody pays much attention to Jeremy in high school, other than to make fun of or spread rumors about him. He's so used to this occurring that he keeps score of the insults and jibes he sustains in each class. The only person who really talks to him is his best friend and fellow misfit, Michael. Jeremy doesn't think any of this is possible until he learns about the "squip." A supercomputer that is swallowed as a pill, the squip implants itself in the user's brain and gives that person instructions as to how to behave and how to reach their goals. Soon, Jeremy finds himself working out to become buff, socializing with people who used to make fun of him, and transitioning from geek to...Cool. They bring distinctive singing voices to their parts, particularly Michael and Jeremy. Some songs work better than others and the best of Joe Iconis’s lyrics contain fantastically funny lines alongside bathos. The score has a deliberately dissonant sound – with edges of emo and rap – that conveys a high-pitched teen angst, while Alex Basco Koch’s graphic projections distort or light up garishly to mirror Jeremy’s altered mind states. Jeremy has a crush on Christine, but of course she’s dating a popular boy and Jeremy will never have a chance with her. He can barely sustain a conversation with her half the time. But somehow he hopes that things might change someday.

Become a Member

After a successful off-Broadway run, Be More Chill graduated to Broadway itself in 2019 and swiftly received a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. The arrival of the production in London earlier this year has only seen its impact grow, with the young cast portraying the challenges of growing up in the digital age. When the main character hesitates to be in a sexual situation or start a relationship, the character is continually accused of being homosexual by the Squip. Be More Chill was a really funny book. This book is about a boy named Jeremy, who is the stereotypical geek in high school. Jeremy has a crush on a girl and he wants to become cool. Then he figures out a way to become cool. The way to become cool is to ingest a micromachine called a squip. The squip lives inside your brain and tells exactly what you need to say to sound cool in any given situation.

Every character in this book "slutshames" or shames girls for being sexually active or having multiple partners -- this is a serious matter. And then he gets a “squip”—a pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow. The squip transforms Jeremy into a confident, handsome heartthrob. It tells him how to dress, how to act, what to say, and whom to avoid. Suddenly Jeremy is cool and can have any girl he wants—but he still only wants Christine. There are some aspects of the novel that couldn't be conveyed outside of text, but it's so clearly inspired by comic books and manga that it begs for an graphic novel adaption.I've been listening to the Be More Chill original musical cast recording and enjoying the sound of the music while not necessarily understanding all the words yet. (Living with me is a hellish experience of hearing songs sung with the lyrics I think I heard or improving the lyrics to what I think they should be.) Since I probably won't have a chance to see the actual show for quite a while yet, I thought I'd read the original book to help me understand the plot. Also, there's a graphic novel adaptation I want to read next. A girl physically harms herself due to mental illness, but she is portrayed as a manic-pixie girl. The main character treats her with skepticism, and just says, "weird." (196) At the end of the novel, as you might expect, the boy sheds the chip/pill from his system and feels regretful of his actions. However, this isn't brought on by the realization of his terrible treatment of girls or his old friends, but by a freak accident that injures his new friends. And, he regrets the decision of taking the chip because his crush ultimately rejects him.