Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - More Happy Than Not

First of all, I feel sorry for those who've read this without the new final chapter. Just thinking of myself finishing this book without it, I knew I would have given it one star out of spite. I never wanted (needed) a character to actually have a break from all the shits life is giving him.

Second, as always, I'm here for the sad and intense feelings that I get from Adam Silvera's books, and I'm heartbreakingly satisfied. The twists in his books never failed to shock me.

Third, why not five stars? I would never ever tolerate cheating. I would have let it slide if it was done once due to poor decisions, but it happened for so long and happened again when the characters saw the chance to do so. I know the author tied the loose ends, but I just can't let that go. It does happen in real life, and one of the most things I hated is that.

Fourth, another reason why I didn't give this five stars? It's because I found myself skimming the first few and some middle chapters, which means it didn't give any impact at all. Also, I'm considering what I would've given this without the new final chapter, and for a debut book, this is surprisingly good.

CW: Gun Violence, Drugs, Mention of Armed Robbery, Suicidal Ideation, Grief, Suicide, Death of Parent, Self-harm, Homophobic Slur, Toxic Relationships, Toxic Friendships, Hate Crime, Homophobia, Cheating, Assault, Blood, Depression, Hospitalisation, Physical Abuse, Profanity, Teenage Pregnancy, and Violence (search it up for more specifics or correct CW as mine is what I thought was triggering while I read it)

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writingcaia's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

It’d probably be 4⭐️ if I had read the first version of this novel which didn’t include the new ending chapter. Like the author I definitely believe Aaron deserved more happy endings, and I’m glad he wrote them.
Aaron is young adult boy living in a poor Bronx neighbourhood with his mom and brother, trying to find love and friendship and who he is, and to forget his dad’s suicide and his own attempt at the same.
In a world where technology can erase traumas and past pains, people will make choices that will reverberated, in not always a great way, throughout their lives.
This is a coming of age story with a fantasy twist.
It was a very touching tale of the need to forget, of the need to remember, of crippling memories, of choices that are not choices at all, and those that are but seem to be taken from us.

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rynaissanceenby's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I have really mixed feelings about this book. I think the most important thing to know going into it is that it's problematic in a lot of ways, but the intention is to sort of dismantle the misconceptions that lead to those problematic takes. The problem is that it takes way too long to do that, and even once it gets there, it leans too hard into the misconceptions. It makes them feel like reasonable ways to think.

I also felt that a lot of interpersonal relationships felt unrealistic, but this might be a product of my relatively sheltered upbringing. At several points I found myself thinking, "This is ridiculous, nobody would ever get into a physical fight over this" or thoughts along those same lines, but the reality is that I don't understand why anyone would get into a physical altercation over just about anything. So maybe that's just my white suburbia upbringing talking.

Finally, I found the sci-fi-ish premise to be really dissatisfying. We were simultaneously given too many and too few details in order for me to sustain my disbelief. The basic idea is that Lateo can bury specific memories for you, but the idea that memories rarely resurface even with the triggers of being in familiar surroundings where the original memories happened is just a bit too far fetched for me. The pacing of this part of the narrative was a bit odd too. Lateo was hardly mentioned at all in the first half of the book, and it was absolutely crucial to the second half of the book. I think a little more foreshadowing would have done this book well.

All that being said, I considered DNFing this one, but it did get better in the second half, so I think it was worth my time. Especially since it was an audiobook, so I listened to it while cooking.

On that note, I felt that the choice of audiobook narrator was questionable. This story is told from the perspective of teenagers, and having a middle-aged dude narrate it...did not sound right. Furthermore, the voices the narrator did for the different characters were spotty. I was expecting to be able to tell who was talking from the different sorts of cadences and accents he was giving the different characters, but, especially when two characters were having a back and forth dialogue, their voices started blurring together and it go difficult to tell them apart.

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kataleena's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

I thought I knew how this book would play out and maybe I just didn’t read enough reviews but I was somewhat blindsided by the events that transpired. I think what made me sob my eyes out was that I could see parts of myself in Aaron’s story and I really felt for him. The only issue - if I could even call it that - with the book was that the only characters I liked were Aaron and Genevieve, everyone else was just okay, if that. I think the book would have hit that much harder if Aaron’s friends were actually likeable and characters that you can grow attached to. Regardless, I loved this book and I will be reading it again :)

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tan_wayne's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is so heart-breaking. The story is written beautifully, and the characters are all so well-developed. I kept growing so attached to the main characters, I begin to feel so sad when things started to fall apart. It deals with so many issues like homophobia, depression, and suicide.

I think this is a beautiful blend between “Girl In Pieces” by Kathleen Glasgow and “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. The former having a similar sombre tone throughout the book. The latter having a shocking twist that could almost be dethroned by this book.

I love how this book started out as a nice romance story. Everything from the cute dates t the interactions felt so romantic and genuine, it gave me the butterflies. The story slowly evolved to be darker and sadder, similar to a mystery. We were slowly given the missing pieces of the story that were heart-breaking.

I came into this book expecting only one ending I will be happy with. But somehow it had a much more satisfying and fitting ending (view spoiler), which shows how much I adored this book. It somehow broke me in several pieces and pieced me back together.

☆5 Stars☆

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pond_newt's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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jennsp's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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maryy_r0se's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

"Memories: some can be sucker punching, others carry you forward; some stay with you forever, others you forget on your own. You can't really know which ones you'll survive if you don't stay on the battlefield, bad times shooting at you like bullets. But if you're lucky, you'll have plenty of good times to shield you."

**note: I read this as part of an ongoing project to read and critique young adult books that include themes of mental illness**

High schooler Aaron Soto is on the path to recovering from his father's suicide and his own suicide attempt. With Gen, his free-spirited and loving girlfriend at his side, he is ready to move forward, even when the pain feels overwhelming. His progress gets derailed when he befriends Thomas, a quirky kid with a love of movies and no real direction in life. Aaron feels connected to Thomas in a confusing way that seems to transcend friendship. Add to that his community's mounting tension over the Leteo Institute, a controversial medical practice that claims to suppress distressing memories, and Aaron begins to find himself in a freefall that may very well be his undoing.

There is a lot to like about this book. I don't regularly read young adult novels, so it took me a while to adjust to the writing style. However, Silvera achieves at writing a main character who is deeply flawed and yet the reader can still root for. The pacing was inconsistent at parts, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the first half, but the second half really picked up for me.

I found myself genuinely shocked at the plot twist.

The comparisons to Eternal Sunshine are certainly warranted, and at times I did wonder if it felt close enough to the movie to dull my enjoyment of the book; it is not a rip off by any means, but didn't fully grip my attention because of the occasional inkling of "haven't I heard this before?" I kept waiting for Thomas, the book's resident movie buff, to bring up the Eternal Sunshine connection. That said, I have very little experience with sci fi content, and perhaps if I did I would simply see this as a common enough trope that it wouldn't stand out.

I read the version with the altered ending, and while I think I personally would have appreciated the original ending a tad more, considering it is a teen book I think adding the extra chapter was the right move. I was left with a major question at the end:

was the Jordan that Aaron met in group therapy somehow supposed to be the same Jordan that shot and killed Kenneth? It could have just been a different character with the same name, but it seemed a bit odd that Silvera would have two characters with the same name and no explanation. Group Therapy Jordan also mentioned his sister at least twice, which seemed relevant because Other Jordan killed Kenneth because of his sister. And while Group Therapy Jordan's backstory didn't align with Other Jordan's, both Group Therapy Jordan and Aaron had been given the Leteo procedure so maybe their memories were still corrupt in some way? But in that case, wouldn't someone like Eric or Gen have recognized Jordan when he came to the birthday party? I kept waiting for another twist or at least some sort of explanation, but it never came. This was especially confusing to me because the author went out of his way when explaining the two Daves and the two Aarons.

I read this book to screen it for a library booklist I am making regarding teen mental health books, and I have decided to approve it for the list. Despite some flaws, I think it shows a nuanced perspective on familial suicide and mental health, while also providing representation to often unrepresented groups.

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