Be More Chill: The Graphic Novel

The groundbreaking story by New York Times best-selling author Ned Vizzini that inspired the Tony-nominated Broadway musical--now adapted in a graphic novel by #1 New York Times best-selling author David Levithan.
Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork. Day after day, he stares at beautiful Christine, the girl he can never have, and dryly notes the small humiliations that come his way. Until the day he learns about the "squip."
A pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow, the squip is guaranteed to bring you whatever you most desire in life. By instructing him on everything from what to wear, to how to talk and walk, the squip transforms Jeremy from geek to the coolest guy in class. Soon he is friends with his former tormentors and has the attention of the hottest girls in school.
But Jeremy discovers that there is a dark side to handing over control of your life--and it can have disastrous consequences.
From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-In this graphic adaptation of the 2004 YA novel (which spawned a cult musical), Jeremy, an unpopular teen with a crush on Christine, a castmate in his school play, decides to get a SQUIP, a brain implant that will help him "be more chill." SQUIP makes all of his decisions and directs his social interactions, ordering him to dump his uncool best friend Michael, teaching him how to attract teen girls through manipulation, and using lies to attempt to sway Jeremy (when Michael calls Jeremy a dick, the SQUIP tells Jeremy that the word means "liked and powerful"). Jeremy sees another SQUIPenhanced teen lose his mind, but it's not until a SQUIP-directed grand gesture designed to charm Christine backfires that he decides it's time to make his own decisions. The concept of this work may have seemed advanced in 2004 but feels dated now, despite references to dependence on Siri and Google and a desire to have them implanted. The story isn't futuristic enough to engage today's teens, and the 2004 pop culture references may not connect. The book relies on well-worn high school tropes, where popularity comes from treating so-called uncool people like garbage and blowing off old friends until one is popular enough to allow them into one's new circle, which may not resonate with contemporary teens. The art supports the story well, with grayscale illustrations that use shades of blue to highlight elements of the dialogue and different parts of each panel. Most characters are white apart from Michael, who is dark-skinned with black curly hair. VERDICT An additional purchase for large libraries.-Carla Riemer, Albany H.S., CAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.