I somehow did not even know that the word “chillax” was still a thing. I was unaware that people still used it seriously, given that it was cool when I was in high school like 10 years ago. I mean, we would put up AIM away messages (LOL, remember those?) saying things like “just chillaxing with my girls – hit me up”. So, yeah I guess just hearing some old slang causes me to ramble on and on and on. It also causes me to pick up a book, Zits: Chillax by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman in particular. Another thing which fed into my picking this book up? There were like all these goodreads ads for it, including a giant block, so every time I logged into update my status I was triggered by the ads to look at the book and eventually read it WHILE THE ADS WERE STILL RUNNING. I really am that person that ads work on. Anyways, it turns out that Zits: Chillax is a quick, fun experience that I would recommend to even the most reluctant of readers.
Jeremy Duncan is a high school sophomore. He’s essentially average, in that he’s not popular or a jock or anything. From what I remember from reading this in July 2013, he doesn’t get super high grades or anything. However, Jeremy does have something that makes him unique, he is in a band with his best friends. He loves obnoxious loud, rock and roll music. When his favorite rock band Gingivitis comes to town, Jeremy finds himself determined to go to the concert, along with his bandmates Hector Garcia and Tim. ONLY! Tim can’t go because he is donating bone marrow for his mother’s cancer treatment. So then, Jeremy and Hector make it their mission to go to the concert FOR Tim and while yes, it does kind of sound like a selfish move at first (and kind of is), you’ll see how it blossoms into an unselfish thing by the end. YOU WILL SEE.
The main character of Zits: Chillax, Jeremy Duncan, is kind of a weirdo or maybe even a magical unicorn, in that he sort of is your typical teenage boy. He has acne. He is lazy. He is not exactly sensitive. AND OMG, he is quite self centered. Yet, he manages to have a girlfriend, whom he does piss off at a few points in the book — which also strikes me as normal. At first, I wasn’t too into Jeremy as a character, but by the end I was won over and rooting for him to enjoy the concert and do good things for Tim.
There are a TON of illustrations in Zits: Chillax which are interspersed with the prose. See, this isn’t entirely a comic book, it’s more like a book with lots of illustrations. I am okay with that. I thought Jim Borgman’s illustrations really added a nice dimension to the story and helped me to better visualize what was going on. The illustrations really aid the storyline. Also, I did laugh a lot while reading this book. I hate to be kind of cliche in this recommendation, but I think that if you’re looking to catch the attention of readers who have outgrown the Wimpy Kid books, Zits: Chillax by Jerry Scott might just be your in.
Disclosure: Review Copy Provided By Publisher
Other reviews of Zits: Chillax by Jerry Scott:
A Reader Of Fictions – “a light, fluffy read”
Books With Bite – “Fast and easy to breeze through book”
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I love this comic strip. It’s adorable and, yeah, Jeremy is seriously the stereotypical adolescent male. How cute that there’s a Jeremy book spin-off!
NGL, I’m not sure if this book saying Chillax is proof it’s still a thing. I mean, this comic strip was popular when we were in high school and it might just be dated. But also I was still amused by it. Not sure that I’ll read any more of the book series unless they show up, but defs entertaining so good enough.