Book Title: More Happy Than Not
Author: Adam Silvera
Publisher: Soho Teen
Number of pages: 295
Genre: young adult, contemporary, LGBT, romance, fiction, mental health
Advanced Readers Copy: Book Expo America 2015
Release Date: January 17th 2017
Favorite Quotes:
“- I have to push ahead with the people who don’t take the easy way out, who love me enough to stay alive even when life sucks.”
“Not everyone can afford to go to Leteo to have life undone and I wouldn’t if I could. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to re-create big life moments like today without the memories to remember.”
“But I don’t know if I want to fill her in on how someone who doesn’t have much direction in life is seriously disorienting me.”
“It’s important for me to remember this- the asking-out part-because it means Genevieve saw something in me, the life of someone she wanted to lose herself in, and not someone whose life she wanted to see thrown away.”
…” It sucks how a word that’s supposed to mean happiness can somehow feel warped.”
…“Thomas isn’t just someone I want in my life- I need him to stay happy, to keep the death out of my life, to make being who I am easier. “It sounds stupid, but I think you’re my happiness…””
…” I ignite the wick, and the firework takes flight. In that moment, I wish my existence were as simple as being set on fire and exploding in the sky.”
“This is one of those times where you swear you have to be sleeping and living a nightmare because it’s so impossible that your life can only be a string of bad things until you’re completely abandoned.”
“Like him, I’m here because I don’t want to be who I am anymore. I want to be so happy that bad memories aren’t following me around like unwanted shadows.”
“The memories are still rattling around my head, twisting into me like a knife. I don’t want to see what comes next for me in this tragic story I’m living.”
“It all came together like connect-the-dots, revealing a boy who understood the impossible things ahead of him.”
“The boy with no direction taught me something unforgettable; happiness comes again if you let it.”
“I’ve become this happiness scavenger who picks away at the ugly of the word, because if there’s happiness tucked away in my tragedies, I’ll find it no matter what. If the blind can find joy in music, and the deaf can discover it with colors, I will always do my best to always find the sun in the darkness because my life isn’t one sad ending-its a series of endless happy beginnings.”
“They’re my history. But I slept okay last night knowing I chose the person who agrees with the happy ending I’m building toward, not the ones who would punch in a face or demolish it.”
“But I kept going forward, step by step, until I reached a familiar corner. Sometimes you just have to push ahead to find what you’re looking for.”
“Happiness shouldn’t be this hard.”
Goodreads Synopsis:
Part Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, part Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Adam Silvera’s extraordinary debut confronts race, class, and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx.
Sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto is struggling to find happiness after a family tragedy leaves him reeling. He’s slowly remembering what happiness might feel like this summer with the support of his girlfriend Genevieve, but it’s his new best friend, Thomas, who really gets Aaron to open up about his past and confront his future.
As Thomas and Aaron get closer, Aaron discovers things about himself that threaten to shatter his newfound contentment. A revolutionary memory-alteration procedure, courtesy of the Leteo Institute, might be the way to straighten himself out. But what if it means forgetting who he truly is?
My Review:
4.75/5 stars
I was initially holding off reading this book since it was an ARC I got from the 2015 BookExpo. However, since its past the original release date I went for it. I was definitely surprised by this book and almost wished I had read this first BEFORE reading History is All You Left Me (sidenote: they are unrelated).
In the beginning, I couldn’t seem to keep track of all the characters/friends of Aaron. I also had a difficult time following what was going in Aaron’s head. Of course, looking back, it makes complete sense why the author wrote the story in this manner. Obviously I can’t reveal when the story changes, but like me, you will be shocked and saddened all at once.
This author gives readers a sense of what those may experience when coming out and the fear of revealing who you are to another or the pain of hiding who you truly are. You see how there are people in Aaron’s life who love and accept him for who he is, even when he couldn’t. The book teaches one how important it is to accept yourself because you will meet people in your life that will accept you and stay in your life while others are there to simply teach you something about your life. You cannot escape who you are meant to be. Sometimes it takes time and patience to get there, and vice versa, sometimes there is no running from who you are meant to be.
This book rendered me speechless and I hope that after reading this review, you will also read More Happy Than Not
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