More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: More Happy Than Not
Author: Adam Silvera
Recent Release Date: June 2, 2015

Synopsis: 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?

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Review: Remember that time...I won this book (signed!!!) in a twitter giveaway from the author himself (@adamsilvera)! I had already heard so many great things about it and it was on my goodreads tbr shelf already. 

I absolutely loved this book. I had some issues with the first half of the book. I was a little confused. But, it all made sense in the end. If you are reading this and aren't sure if you want to continue, you must! It will all come together! It comes together in a marvelous way. It reminded me of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close in that sense. Reevaluation and a different perspective completely enriches the story. 

This book is structured so well. I even thought I predicted the ending, but it was far more intense. The thing I predicted happened, but there was a big OMG moment in addition. 

This book is a great take on what makes a friendship. There are a lot of different types of relationships in this book. The characters all have good and bad qualities. They are fully realized people. 

This book takes place in a NYC neighborhood. There's kind of a Hey Arnold feel to it, except much more adult. There's definitely more violence in this book than there was in the 90's cartoon. 

I wouldn't really call this a sci-fi book, but the premise is based on a fictional scientific procedure so I guess it technically is. The Leteo Institute introduces such an interesting question. If you could forget specific parts of your life, would you?  It adds an interesting layer to a lgbt coming out story. 

There are a lot of geeky references in this book and I loved them all. There's a stand-in for Harry Potter that is wonderful to read about. 

I give this book a 5/5! I am so tempted to go back and reread it knowing what I know now. This is a great addition to the LGBT YA books out there. We need more interesting books like this!


--PAUL