Be More Chill
Encyclopedia
Be More Chill is a science fiction novel published in 2004 by American author Ned Vizzini
. It features a fictional pill named the "squip". This story is supposed to take place around 2010.
The protagonist. In the beginning of the book, Jeremy is bullied by the "cooler" kids at school, but after purchasing a squip he becomes one of the most popular teenagers in school and has the attention of the most attractive girls. Jeremy acts for the most part like a normal teenager, and is inherently a nice guy. Although he acts like a tough guy and disrespects people on the squip's advice, he is cowardly and has no self-confidence when he can't receive instructions from it.
Rich
Rich is the only other main character with a squip. Rich used to be a loser like Jeremy, but after getting a squip, he became cool. On the squip's advice he bullied Jeremy. Rich is shown to be confident and has a nice personality when he isn't taking the squip's advice, despite his slight arrogance.
Christine
Jeremy's love interest. Christine is to be deep, compassionate, intelligent and beautiful. Unlike most of the girls in the book, Christine has a more intellectual personality and favors confidence and kindness over looks and social status. Christine is the only girl that Jeremy has a crush on, although he hooks up with two others.
The Squip
A supercomputer that resides in Jeremy's mind. It speaks to him telepathically with Keanu Reeves' voice, and gives him real-time social advice. It can be "very soothing" when it wants to, and is very persuasive when it is telling Jeremy to do something he doesn't want to do (such as instructing Jeremy to blow off Michael at the mall). At the party, Jeremy does some drugs and the squip instructs him to turn it off. Later on, he is chased by Chloe's boyfriend Brock for making out with her and turns the squip back on for instructions, but because of the drugs, it only babbles in Spanish.
Chloe
Although Christine is Jeremy's love interest, Chloe is the main girl that Jeremy hooks up with. After he gets the squip and acts differently around her, Chloe becomes attracted to Jeremy. For the most part, she is shallow, although secure in her social status. She is best friends with Katrina and Stephanie, and she smokes crack with her mom.
Michael
Michael is Jeremy's best friend and has been for a long time, according to the book. He is never seen without his big headphones, and often stays home from things to listen to Weezer. He tells Jeremy a false name for the squip, knowing that Jeremy would want one. At the party, Michael gets a girlfriend named Nicole. He knows what the squip is all along without telling Jeremy because of his brother, who is paranoid and delusional, thanks to a defective squip that helped him ace his SAT's.
Ned Vizzini
Edison Price "Ned" Vizzini is an American writer who is the author of books for young adults. He is best known for his novel Be More Chill. He has been a columnist for the New York Press since his teens.-Life and career:...
. It features a fictional pill named the "squip". This story is supposed to take place around 2010.
Plot introduction
Be More Chill is written in the first person, from the perspective of high school student Jeremy Heere. Jeremy is a teenage loser, who can't get with any girls and is frequently tormented by bullies, usually Rich, a short-statured, but well-built popular teen. After hearing from Rich about the "squip"--a quantum computer in pill form that can communicate directly with your brain once ingested—Jeremy purchases the pill at the back of a Payless Shoes, and transforms from a klutzy loser to a member of the social elite.Characters
JeremyThe protagonist. In the beginning of the book, Jeremy is bullied by the "cooler" kids at school, but after purchasing a squip he becomes one of the most popular teenagers in school and has the attention of the most attractive girls. Jeremy acts for the most part like a normal teenager, and is inherently a nice guy. Although he acts like a tough guy and disrespects people on the squip's advice, he is cowardly and has no self-confidence when he can't receive instructions from it.
Rich
Rich is the only other main character with a squip. Rich used to be a loser like Jeremy, but after getting a squip, he became cool. On the squip's advice he bullied Jeremy. Rich is shown to be confident and has a nice personality when he isn't taking the squip's advice, despite his slight arrogance.
Christine
Jeremy's love interest. Christine is to be deep, compassionate, intelligent and beautiful. Unlike most of the girls in the book, Christine has a more intellectual personality and favors confidence and kindness over looks and social status. Christine is the only girl that Jeremy has a crush on, although he hooks up with two others.
The Squip
A supercomputer that resides in Jeremy's mind. It speaks to him telepathically with Keanu Reeves' voice, and gives him real-time social advice. It can be "very soothing" when it wants to, and is very persuasive when it is telling Jeremy to do something he doesn't want to do (such as instructing Jeremy to blow off Michael at the mall). At the party, Jeremy does some drugs and the squip instructs him to turn it off. Later on, he is chased by Chloe's boyfriend Brock for making out with her and turns the squip back on for instructions, but because of the drugs, it only babbles in Spanish.
Chloe
Although Christine is Jeremy's love interest, Chloe is the main girl that Jeremy hooks up with. After he gets the squip and acts differently around her, Chloe becomes attracted to Jeremy. For the most part, she is shallow, although secure in her social status. She is best friends with Katrina and Stephanie, and she smokes crack with her mom.
Michael
Michael is Jeremy's best friend and has been for a long time, according to the book. He is never seen without his big headphones, and often stays home from things to listen to Weezer. He tells Jeremy a false name for the squip, knowing that Jeremy would want one. At the party, Michael gets a girlfriend named Nicole. He knows what the squip is all along without telling Jeremy because of his brother, who is paranoid and delusional, thanks to a defective squip that helped him ace his SAT's.