More Happy Than Not
by Adam Silvera
Publication details
ISBN: 1616955600Hardcover
293 pages
Silvera, Adam. New York, NY: Soho Teen,
2015.
Aaron Soto, a teenage Puerto Rican boy living in a
near-future version of Bronx projects, hasn’t exactly had an easy life life.
His friends are dysfunctional and homophobic, his family is poor, and his
father just committed suicide.
The world Aaron inhabits is almost indistinguishable from
our own but for an organisation known as the Leteo Institute. The Institute offers
a unique medical procedure. Aaron thinks he has no connection to the Leteo
Institute until his friends attempt to “beat” him straight and unknowingly
reawaken his repressed memories. Although the plot owes a lot to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Silvera
uses it to great effect as a social commentary on homophobia.
This is an intense, gripping read, offering a picture into a
future that is at times all too scarily real. The author’s voice is accessible,
candid and direct, drawing you immediately into Aaron’s world. Bleak, gritty,
and hard-edged, More Happy Than Not offers
very few opportunities for reprieve, and will haunt you long after you close
the final page.
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