Be More Chill: The Graphic Novel

by Ned Vizzini, David Levithan, Nick Bertozzi (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368061162
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/05/2021
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Ned Vizzini began writing for The New York Press at the age of fifteen. At nineteen, he had his first book published, Teen Angst? Naaah…. He was also author of three other books for young adults including The Other Normals, Be More Chill, the first young adult novel ever chosen as a Today Show Book Club pick, and which is the basis of the musical of the same name, and It's Kind of a Funny Story, which NPR named #56 of the "100 Best-Ever Teen Novels" of all time and which is the basis of the film of the same name. The last novel published before his death, House of Secrets, was a middle-grade fantasy novel co-written with filmmaker Chris Columbus; it debuted on the New York Times best-seller list.David Levithan is the author or co-author of many novels about teen life, including Boy Meets Boy, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (written with Rachel Cohn), Every Day, Two Boys Kissing, 19 Love Songs, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (written with John Green). By day, he's a publisher and editor, working on other people's novels and graphic novels. This is his first graphic novel adaptation, which he did out of his love for Ned Vizzini and his admiration for both the novel's and the musical's many enthusiastic fans. You can find him on Twitter at @loversdiction.

Nick Bertozzi is an award-winning cartoonist. Some of his most notable works include The Salon, Lewis & Clark, Persimmon Cup, the New York Times best-selling Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey, the New York Times best-selling Jerusalem: A Family Portrait (written by Boaz Yakin), and Becoming Andy Warhol. He has received the Ignatz Award and multiple Harvey Awards, and teaches cartooning at the School of Visual Arts. Nick lives in Queens, NY, with his wife and daughters. Visit him online at nickbertozzi.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2020

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 SQUIP-enhanced 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., CA

School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR BE MORE CHILL

" Be More Chill updates the classic nerd-who-yearns-for-popularity story by adding a sci-fi twist."—The New York Times

PRAISE FOR BE MORE CHILL

"Bitingly funny."—Booklist

PRAISE FOR BE MORE CHILL

"Quirky, Funny, and Dead-on…imagine Holden Caulfield with internet access."—New York Post

PRAISE FOR BE MORE CHILL

2004 Today Show Book Club Pick 2005 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers—Judy Blume

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

"A book about depression that's not the least bit depressing."—Teen Vogue

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

"Funny. . . . [Vizzini] supplies personal insights and a clever, self-deprecating tone that make the book an entertaining read."—The Washington Post

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

"Insightful and utterly authentic. . . . This is an important book."—The New York Times Book Review

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

"It's terrific: funny, incisive, disarming."—New York Magazine

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

"The wise, witty narrator and sensitive handling of a hot topic should win over older teens—and their parents."
—People

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

* "Filled with humor and pathos."—School Library Journal (starred review)

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

* "Highly readable and upbeat."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

PRAISE FOR IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

* "Intimate, real, funny, ironic. . . . This book offers hope in a package that readers will find enticing."—Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

2020-10-22
Doesn’t every teenager want to be more chill?

Jeremy feels left out of the high school social scene. He has one male friend (also dorky) and no girlfriend. He records insults he receives from other students on checklists. Then a classmate tells him about the squip, a pill that installs a supercomputer in your brain, guiding you to become cool. Jeremy invests $600 and soon the squip is giving him instructions (in blue speech balloons) and he’s on his way. Jeremy, who has already landed the role of Lysander in the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, starts to change his persona and quickly becomes more successful in the relationship department. Although the squip technology tries to rule the situation, Jeremy and dream girl Christine still manage to keep the human element front and center, with Christine’s insights keeping their relationship grounded and Jeremy expressing his love by writing this book. This graphic adaptation of the popular 2004 novel and later Broadway musical is not as raunchy or humorous as the original, but it tells the same story, and some teens will prefer this format. The illustrations in blue, black, and white are drawn from varying perspectives, and, in an amusing twist, Jeremy’s best friend, Michael, is portrayed as the artist. Most characters are White; Michael is Black.

A boy’s pipe dreams, enhanced and destroyed by modern technology, blossom into creativity and love. (adapter’s note) (Graphic fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews