mrmarshall591's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I did not expect this to be a 5 star for me as I had not liked It’s Kind Of A Funny Story as much as I thought it was (I loved the movie which I had seen years prior to reading the book) but I was so impressed by this book- specifically the 2019 audiobook recording. I was shocked this was written in 2004 although it made sense with much of the references. I agreed completely with the afterword by David Levithan and how this book and Feed both got so much right about what we needed to be worried about in the future of technology years before smart phones even became a thing. Also, as a complete showtune lover, I now am going to listen to the cast recording in full- instead of just randomly hearing some of the songs when shuffling through a playlist of so many different musicals… that also made me expect this book to be completely different as the songs I heard suggest the musical is very different. But I digress! Be More Chill is a very enjoyable read.
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Sexism
Moderate: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Vomit, Body shaming, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
boburnham's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This is somehow the most terrible ass book I have ever read and also very comforting, I annotated it when I read it for the first time, and those annotations are very personal now and I’m almost emotionally attached to the book?!?! Like it means so much to me especially because of how much the musical means to me. But from a unbiased standpoint? This book is the worst thing I have ever read. The weird self harm thing at the party, the slut shaming, the borderline childporn, and the zero character development. There was not one redeemable character. I would say rich but I fucking hate him after the childporn scene at the party. Micheal mell (book) is the worst character I have ever read about, he is absolutely disgusting.
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Self harm, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexism and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racial slurs
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Drug use, Bullying, Body shaming, Alcohol, and Ableism
Use of the r word, the m word, and the n word. Extreme amounts of sexism and misogyny. THERES a chapter in the book who goes to party and takes photos of girls. He takes photos of two teens having sex and posts them online. Calls himself palsy like in appearance. What does that even mean!!!! And there’s also driving under the influence of drugs without a drivers license or any driving experience. Arson/a fire. Just every aspect of this book feels like a violation.
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