A review by terranstorm
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Hm. I liked this one more than They Both Die at the End, as several recs claimed I would. I sped through it really quickly (audiobook while crafting), it's definitely a light read despite some of the heavy subject matter. Trying to put my finger on why there's this needling sense of disconnect for me after finishing, something I was feeling all along as well.

The story wrestles with a lot of internalized homophobia (in addition to blatant homophobia from family and friends), someone choosing essentially
sci fi conversion therapy
, finding out that burying all that accomplished nothing and ultimately has to adapt and live with the consequences of that choice... but I'm not sure I found the conclusions/answers satisfying. I'm often quite okay with an open ending and I think it really fit the message here, but it also left me feeling uneasy. Maybe that's the point.

This is the kind of story where I'm glad it exists for teens today, queer and traumatized and wrestling with all these feelings that feel like the end of the world at that age. In the end this probably just wasn't for me.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings