This is the novel that inspired the Tony-nominated Broadway musical by the same name.

Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork*. Day after day, he stares at beautiful Christine, the girl he can never have, and dryly notes the small humiliations* that come his way. Until the day he learns about the “squip.”

A pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow, the squip is guaranteed to bring you whatever you most desire in life. By instructing him on everything from what to wear, to how to talk and walk, the squip transforms Jeremy from geek to the coolest guy in class. Soon he is friends with his former tormentors and has the attention of the hottest girls in school.

But Jeremy discovers that there is a dark side to handing over control of your life — and it can have disastrous consequences*.

This book is full of teen spirit. Most of the characters are likeable. It’s more interesting in the “post-squip” sections, which is roughly halfway through the book. It explains how hard it is to be a teenager in a society filled with judgement, anxiety and fears holding them back.

Author Ned Vizzini began writing for The New York Press at 15. Vizzini’s stories often drew on his struggles with anxiety and depression, yet they had a strong comic bent. His fans appreciated his honesty and sense of humor.(SD-Agencies)