Be More Chill Review

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

I first found this by the musical over on YouTube. I was very excited because I'm on a musical high, starting with Hamilton, moving to Heathers, parts of Hadestown, a but of Dear Evan Hansen, 21 Chrump Street somewhere in there and finally Be More Chill. Yesterday, at about 12:30 (and it's also 12:30 the next day when I'm writing this) I found the book at my local library as an ebook. So I picked it up and finished it in less than 24 hours.

So let's try to just review the novel, not compare the two forms.

Be More Chill is about this junior named Jeremy Heere who wants to be more Cool to get the girl. Once he learns of a pill he could take that will help him become more Cool, he pays the 500 dollars and is given a SQUIP, (Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor). From here he is able to learn how to become more chill.

If there is one thing I loved about this book, it was how much it felt like high school. High school isn't pretty, I know this personally. I love Jeremy and his whole being in the beginning. He is realistic and so relatable. His comments on the actions of other characters and how he sees the world is fun and I feel that within me.

One thing I would change was the end. I don't feel like it was very climatic. There wasn't much of an ending. I love the ending that will get my heart racing and fear for the characters. There were so many places Vizzini could have taken it. This is like one of my only complains.

I don't have much else to say about the book other than it was a quick fun read and I think everyone show try to read it once.

Soooo, can I compare the musical and the novel now as I listen to the musically again? I'm going to do it anyway.

The opening:

The musical starts off with Jeremy waiting for his porno to load while the book starts off with math class. I'm going, to be honest, I prefer the porno one because it shows a big part of the musical theme and who Jeremy is. The math class starting does this as well but I just liked the musically more.

Michael:

This one is going to the musically again because of two things, the friendship between Michael and Jeremy, and Michael's role as a whole. In the book, Michael is more of a side character and we don't get to see much growth between the two. I questioned how close friends they were. In the musical, it showed their friendship in so many ways. They show the two playing videos games together, the two making plans and the whole boyf reind thing. In the book, Michael doesn't have much of a role other than getting Jeremy to where he needs to be for the plot while in the musical he is part of the action and knows what's going on. It's more proactive and I like it more.

SQUIP:

This one is a bit hard. They were good in both the musical and novel. I think I liked the SQUIP more in the novel because of how much more we learned about them. I liked how it didn't have a different plan that went against Jeremy. It wanted Jeremy to reach his goal and worked everything to be in his favor. The musical was nice because it was able to show it better but I did enjoy both versions.

Christine:

This whole reason for the plot was something I didn't like in both. I don't care for her. I think in the novels he had more character and that will take the win for this case. She doesn't grow much the play and it takes the lost here. I don't have much to say about her.

So, the tally score:

Musical: 2
Novel: 2

The winner...depends on you.

Personally, I loved the musical and I will add this to my daily fix of music. The novel is a great way to get the story if you're trying to watch it on YouTube and your lost.

Oh, wait there is one more thing to bring up, the ending.

The musical wins, no question in my mind. It was more dramatic and emotionally filled on my end. The novel was just okay.

What do you think?

The Stolen Kingdom Review

The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh

The Stolen Kingdon is a loosely based retelling of Aladdin. Following Princess Aire as she finds a way to take back her kingdom from a king who uses his powers against people. She is thrown into a fight or die situation where she meets a band of thieves and learns more about the world she lives in.

From the start, I was pulled in. The writing is simple and clean in a way that I feel apart of the story. I would find myself lost in the world as time passed. The prose is what can draw me in or pull me from the story altogether.

Atazadeh's characters were something I strive to write myself. She is able to create characters I feel in love with the moment I meant them. I fell in love with Arie the moment I read her first pages.

She is a character that knows her place but also will hold her opinions when tested. I love how she grows from chapter to chapter. She is able to flex and bend to her situation in a way that felt realistic and something I would do myself.

I would like to take a second to touch on the romantic subplot between Aire and the leader of the group of thieves, Kadin. I was worried, as I do with all romance subplots, that the story would somehow appear even though the characters didn't speak even two words to one another but I was amazed by this story. I was able to route for the two and when things flowed on, I was begging for the first kiss, for something.

Even though I've only just read the very first few pages of Evanena's Number, I know that world building is something that Atazadeh puts much time into. I love the way she is able to add details here and there about the world to pull me in and give me the sense I'm living the story right along with the characters.

As this was an ARC of her novel, I am refraining from any spoilers, but that doesn't even matter. I loved this novel so much that I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you. This story had me from the beginning and was a beautiful read.

It is worth the time and money to own a copy of this novel.

I can't wait for the new book in the series!

~ Kimberly