More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera Published by Soho Press on 6/2/15
Genres: LGBTQ+, Love & Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 295
My content rating: YA (Characters have sex, but it's not shown)
My rating:
In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving debut—called “mandatory reading” by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.
In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.
When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.
Why does happiness have to be so hard?
More Happy Than Not was such an incredible surprise to me. I apparently didn’t read the blurb very carefully (or the reviews – I just saw that they were glowing and knew that the main character was gay) because I didn’t remember about The Leteo Institute before I started reading, so that bit of sci-fi element to the book (some people are calling it fantasy, but I’d say it’s more sci-fi – the idea is that scientists come up with a way to make you forget parts of your life) took me by surprise. Once you get to the point that involves that, the book takes a very interesting turn!
What I LOVED:
- The setting. This book is set in the Bronx and has a definite inner-city feel to it. Right from the start you find out that one of the neighborhood kids was shot and fights are pretty much a part of the norm. They run a bit wilder than is typical in the buttoned-up suburbs, and that raises the stakes when Aaron is questioning his sexuality – it’s not the type of environment where being gay is accepted (in fact, pretty much any time the boys touch each other they have to declare “no homo.”) Not that being gay in the suburbs is easy, but in this urban setting it seems downright dangerous (I suppose the same is true is certain rural settings as well, but I digress.) At any rate, the gritty setting created a unique backdrop for this story that shaped it in many ways. The setting in this one wasn’t just an afterthought – it might as well have been a character. (I wasn’t at all surprised to read in Silvera’s bio that he grew up in the Bronx himself.)
- Friendships. This book really focused on the relationships between Aaron and his friends and girlfriend. These relationships were crazy and funny and, at times, sweet. Aaron and Genevieve form a bond that can only be forged out of both joy and pain, and Aaron’s relationship with Thomas is endearing and humorous in a world that could easily be all about pain. The fun moments with friends kept this book from being too dark. (I should also mention that Aaron’s relationship with his mom is refreshing too!)
- The struggle for identity. Once Aaron realizes that he’s having feelings for his best friend, he doesn’t immediately want to go to The Leteo Institute to forget. It’s through a series of pretty painful events that Aaron comes to that conclusion – that being gay is just too hard and that it would be easier just to forget that part of himself. He’s sure that Leteo can change him into the person he wants to be. This part of the story was intriguing, but then there are some HUGE revelations that turn the whole thing upside down – I really don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that Aaron’s journey is way more complex than I ever imagined. In fact, the second half of the book (or maybe just the last quarter?) is almost a completely different book as it moves into the realm of the fantastical – but all still grounded in Aaron’s very painful reality.
The negatives:
- The ending. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the ending to this book. It was very strange and completely open-ended, which some people love, but I usually don’t.
This book is different from anything else you’ll read, and for that alone it deserves praise. It’s a surprising novel about accepting who you are – or forgetting it completely. But trust me, this is not a book you will soon forget. I give it 4.5/5 stars.
About the Author
Adam was born and raised in the Bronx and is tall for no reason. He was a bookseller before shifting to children’s publishing where he worked at a literary development company, a creative writing website for teens, and as a book reviewer of children’s and young adult novels. He lives in New York City.
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32 responses to “More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera – Review”
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I’m really glad you liked this one because I won an ebook copy of this! I’ll be sure to watch out for the ending though, since I also don’t like open endings. Great review! 🙂
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I think open endings are a little easier to handle when I know they’re coming, so hopefully this helps you. The ending to this book is artfully done, but definitely a bit mysterious.
Glad you liked this one, Nicole. For me, the ending was incredibly haunting, and while I’m not a big fan of open-ended endings, I do think this one was done so perfectly that I couldn’t argue with it. It’s dark and just right for the book. I’m SO looking forward to reading Adam’s next book, this one was incredible.
I do agree that the ending was haunting. I wanted more, but Silvera’s choice definitely makes sense for this book.
I won this book last month and still haven’t read. I obviously need to. Great review, you make me want to pick it up right now!
Took me a little while to get to it to because of my vacation, but I knew I definitely wanted to get to it sooner rather than later!
Awesome review. I have this one on my Kindle and I think I will be reading it next week. And thanks for the warning about the open ending. Sometimes I like them and sometimes I hate them. I think it depends on how well it is done. 🙂
Hopefully knowing it’s coming will help you be okay with it. Silvera does do it well!
I saw Adam in one of the lines at BEA. I really need to read this one – STILL. I didn’t know about the sci-fi aspect until a few months ago either, but it sounds pretty intriguing!
BEA is great for that – I love getting to meet authors – sometimes even in lines where you can get to know them a bit more!
This is one on my TBR I would love to get to sooner rather than later. Thanks for the open ending warning. I sometimes can deal with them but I like that going into it I can be prepared. Great review!
Yes – prepared helps when it comes to open endings (at least for me).
I like this one as well, but can’t find it for Amazon Kindle.
Any idea/link Adam?
If you click on the Amazon link in the post (the icon just under the book blurb), you’ll see options for both Kindle and hardcover!
I have only heard positive things about More Happy Than Not so I think I really need to read it soon! I love seeing a focus on friendships in books alongside the romance, so that sounds good to me, but I’m not sure where I stand with open endings. Often I like a definite conclusion so the ending might not be my thing… but I still can’t wait to read this 🙂 Great review!
The friendships definitely take center stage in this book (sometimes in a negative way but usually very positively), so you’ll love that!
I’ve heard so many great things about this one! My secret sister gifted me a copy last month! So i’m excited to read it. The open ended ending kind of makes me a little worried because I tend to really dislike that but we’ll see!
I got mine from my secret sister as well!! Hopefully knowing that the open ending is coming will help you (I always do better with them when I’m prepared).
This pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly! I DID really like it, and I think it’s one of those “everyone needs to read this book” books. The diversity is so GENUINE too, it isn’t just thrown in as an afterthought- Aaron and Adam have a lot in common! But I do agree with you about the ending- I do wish there was a little “more”. I have never loved an open ending, really! Great review!
I know – once I read Adam’s bio I realized why it all felt so genuine!
Great review. I have this book sitting on my TBR shelf right now. I can’t wait to read it.
Yay! Hope you enjoy it!
I’m glad you liked it! I’ve been intrigued with this one for awhile, but I haven’t had a chance to get to it yet! I didn’t realize that it had a sci-fi/fantasy component either!
Well, it’s thanks to you that I got to read it! Want to borrow it?
This sounds fantastic. Great review!!!
Well, I was so disappointed with the ending and expected more. Anyway, great review!
Great Review.. I liked everything starting and ending too unlike JASAON.
Cheers
Great review I can’t wait to read it.
Oh wow this sounds so good with rich complex charachers. It has been on my TBR for ever, but is one that sliped underthe radar. I will bump it up to the top again. 🙂
There are so many amazing books out there that it’s impossible to keep track of them all. I hope you manage to get to this one!
I’d been looking for a unique novel that will keep me hooked from start to finish. I think the review of this novel simply caught my attention and that I should purchase a copy for myself soon. Aside from its LGBT theme, it seems to be surrounded with emotional turmoils that will make the readers relate to how they perceive the act of pursuing happiness.
So very true! I highly recommend this one.