Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

Reviewed by Leah H.
Grade 12

Be More Chill is told from the perspective of Jeremy Heere, a high schooler, whose one wish is to date Christine Caniglia. The only issue is that Jeremy is tragically awkward and unpopular and Christine is witty and decently popular.

Jeremy only has one friend, idolizes the popular people, and gets bullied. All his attempts to fit in only exacerbate his ostracization, until one of his tormentors, Rich, tells him about his SQUIP. SQUIP, a Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor from Japan, sits in his brain and tells him how to be cool. Seeing this as his opportunity to date Christine and finally fit in, Jeremy follows Rich's instructions and gets his own SQUIP. The SQUIP helps Jeremy learn how to talk to girls and turn his former tormentors into friends, but it also strains his relationships.

The characters are a little 2D and cliche in the beginning due to Jeremy idolizing them, but they become more well-rounded once Jeremy stops putting them on a pedestal and becomes friends with them. Rich is an excellent example of this because he’s just a bully to Jeremy at the beginning, but it’s revealed that he used to be dorky, and his SQUIP made him bully Jeremy to become popular, and they end up becoming friends. Christine is also a well-rounded character. She’s sensible, witty, determined, and doesn’t fall for all the cliche things the SQUIP has Jeremy do and say.

Although some parts at the beginning are painful because of how much Jeremy overthinks things, I would still recommend Be More Chill to people who struggle with social anxiety because it teaches a great lesson of self-acceptance. I would also recommend this to those who are fans of the musical based off of the book. I would however not recommend this to anyone under the age of 13, as it is a YA book.

Game Over by Andrew Klavan

Reviewed by Matthew C.
Grade 8

What if the border between your dreams and reality was shattered? What if everything in your nightmares became real? That's what the main protagonist, Rick, has to deal with in Game Over.

The story begins in the MindWar Realm; the same place some of the previous books in the series visited. This cyber-universe was created by the deranged inventor Kurodar in an attempt to wreak havoc on the real world.

Rick is a Mind Warrior: someone who goes inside the realm to try and shut it down. However, this time's different - he was dreaming. When he wakes up, a scratch on his right arm is still there. Kurodar has connected himself to Rick and is using him to open a portal between the worlds. Now he has to work to stop the madness that Kurodar started - once and for all.

At times, this book is creative with the creatures that lurk in the Realm - ranging from boar soldiers to a water spirit. It also has an interesting conflict - can Rick bring himself to tell one of his fellow warriors is nothing but a machine? However, this book also has some flaws - it can be overly descriptive at times, such as when the Golden City was first described. But its main flaw is that it doesn't accommodate new readers of the series: it's designed like a "third act"' and the plot reveals itself too fast to hold suspense.

Although this would not be my first pick to read, I encourage readers who like stories about virtual realms to read the series. If you want an enriched reading experience, try reading the earlier books before you read this one. Although it isn't perfect, it can still be a fun read!