As I mentioned last week, I'm going to posting more reviews in the coming weeks thanks to a YA class I'm taking for my Master's in Library Science. This week I read a book that has been sitting on my shelf for years. One I wish I'd read when I was first given a copy of it shortly
after it was published. I met Ned a few occasions.
Both of us being young authors in NYC, we crossed paths here and there.
Right after this book came out, we spent a few days together at a
conference and shared the same panel. I make it a point to rarely read
books by people I know, or books that resemble books I've written. This
fell into both, being subject matter that overlapped my novel at the
time, Pure Sunshine. I decided to read it now, a few years after Ned
passed away, and wish I'd had the chance to tell him how much I
appreciate it.
(Miramax, 2004)
Except for the lucky few, every teen struggles with trying to be 'cool'. The lucky few are those who are naturally blessed with the right attributes that assure a level of cool, or those who simply have no interest in being cool, which is a blessing in itself. Jeremy Heere does not fall into either of these two groups. He is desperately 'uncool' by the standards of others in his High School. He spends his time in class obsessing over his social interactions and the social interactions of groups he's been left out of, recording his failures and faults daily on Humiliation Sheets. He spends his time at home in a way that way a lot of teens (especially boys) spend their time; masturbating to porn on the internet.
Like many people in his situation, Jeremy seems unable to break out of the social niche he's been placed into. Despite the elaborate plans he comes up with to change his circumstances, he always ends up right back where he started...that is, until he learns about squips. Squips are supercomputers, ingested in pill form, that attach to the user's brain, access their memories, analyze the world around them, and advise the host on how to achieve their goals.
Jeremy's goals are relatively easy ones. He wants to be cool. He wants to be cool, because being cool will get him girls. More specifically, being cool will get him Christine. Communicating with Jeremy telepathically, the squip instructs him on what to wear, what to say, and how to say it. Initially, this arrangement produces promising results. Jeremy becomes substantially 'cooler' in the eyes of his classmates, and far more attractive to girls. But there are always consequences to pretending to be someone you are not, and Jeremy learns the hard lessons there are no shortcuts to achieving your goals and that being yourself is frequently the best approach to life. The saddest thing about this novel is that Jeremy is just fine as he is and the biggest obstacle to being 'cool' is our own self-doubts and our desires to be something we aren't.
An outstanding novel, one I wish I had read when I was a teen.
Like many people in his situation, Jeremy seems unable to break out of the social niche he's been placed into. Despite the elaborate plans he comes up with to change his circumstances, he always ends up right back where he started...that is, until he learns about squips. Squips are supercomputers, ingested in pill form, that attach to the user's brain, access their memories, analyze the world around them, and advise the host on how to achieve their goals.
Jeremy's goals are relatively easy ones. He wants to be cool. He wants to be cool, because being cool will get him girls. More specifically, being cool will get him Christine. Communicating with Jeremy telepathically, the squip instructs him on what to wear, what to say, and how to say it. Initially, this arrangement produces promising results. Jeremy becomes substantially 'cooler' in the eyes of his classmates, and far more attractive to girls. But there are always consequences to pretending to be someone you are not, and Jeremy learns the hard lessons there are no shortcuts to achieving your goals and that being yourself is frequently the best approach to life. The saddest thing about this novel is that Jeremy is just fine as he is and the biggest obstacle to being 'cool' is our own self-doubts and our desires to be something we aren't.
An outstanding novel, one I wish I had read when I was a teen.
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