Be Yourself; Chill Out  

By Shylah Hansen, Staff Writer

Be More Chill

Ned Vizzini

Ned Vizzini’s, 2004, novel Be More Chill takes on an interesting and intriguing perspective of teenage life, a tale that New York Post describes as “quirky, funny, and dead-on.” Vizzini’s book covers the overwhelming teenage struggle of wanting to fit in with society and its standards. 

The story executes the feeling of not fitting in amazingly, as it describes in the beginning how the main character Jeremy Heere feels he is being constantly made fun of and being stared at, like a crow in a crowd of doves. While the story progresses, stereotypical views on highschoolers are seen as the characters in the book develop in ways of immaturity with the want of what’s beneficial to oneself.

The interesting twist in this story is when there is a new technology introduced, called a “squip.” Essentially, a squip is a small device that you swallow, like a pill, that travels to the brain to track your social status and how people view you to ensure what you have to do to belong in the crowd. The squip is quite crucial to this story’s plot as it controls the main character and his actions.

The narrator of this story, Jeremy Heere, states near the beginning of the story, “I pull out one of my preprinted Humiliation Sheets, write the date up top and put a tally mark next to the Snicker category.” This being a small, yet significant, part of the book due to these “Humiliation Sheets” being the reason Jeremy decides to get a squip for himself.

Jeremy Heere goes through multiple situations of making, what he deems, tough decisions. Although this small device is now helping Jeremy, it’s also ruining him at the same time. The whole idea of the story I find to be quite aggravating until the ending, nevertheless that does not mean it is not a good book. The struggling pull that the main character has to go through and how he is told to interact with other characters, despite what he wants to do, is provoking, yet intriguing. 

The book covers a variety of ways teenagers are “supposed” to fit in, and the cover itself speaks a good amount on its own. Although filled with mostly typical words, some can be seen as provocative, yet eye-catching; the words on the book are significant to the story as a whole, as they would not be there, plainly, for no reason. Simply put, this adventure brings in readers to come to realize something that they may have been questioning: “Do I fit in?” The answer may not be crystal clear, but everyone has their interpretations, so- don’t be afraid to Be More Chill.

Be More Chill

By Ned Vizzini

Can be found:

Amazon - Paperback: $7.69; Hardcover: $30.00

Barnes&Noble - Paperback: $8.99; Hardcover: $10.69

Morrill Memorial Library