Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

Vizzini, Ned. (2005). Be More Chill. NY: Disney-Hyperion.
ISBN: 978-0786809967
Awards/Honors: Today Show Book Club selection
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2007.01|What’s so Funny?, 2007)
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2005)
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Fitting In, Popularity, Being Cool, Friends, Love, Sex, Drugs
Genre: Science Fiction
Annotation: Jeremy Heere is not cool. But he wants to be and will do just about anything to be more popular - even swallow an illegal technology that melds with his brain and tells him how to be more cool.
Summary: Jeremy Heere is probably the least cool guy in high school, but he longs to be more popular and catch the attention of beautiful Christine. When he hears about a new technology that can help him look and act cool, he becomes determined to get it, even though it is illegal. Jeremy does find a place to buy a Squip, which turns out to be a small pill encoded and able to meld with the swallower's brain. But, he has to steal his aunts beanie babies and sell them in order to get the money. At first, everything goes great. Jeremy learns to stand tall, be a smart ass, and wear the right clothes. This new attitude gets him attention from Christine, and other girls, but also the disgust of his old best friend. Then, even when the Squip starts giving questionable advice, Jeremy continues to do what it says.
Evaluation: I both liked and disliked this book for the same reason. Jeremy seems to have a one track mind - sex and girls. His whole motivation for getting the Squip in the first place is so he can get with Christine. So, while I am not a boy and perhaps because of this, I was a little turned off by the focus of Jeremy's life (pun intended). However, it was also interesting to read a book from a point of view so unfamiliar.