HappyHead by Josh Silver: A Review

Title: HappyHead (First in series)

Author: Josh Silver

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Queer Fiction

Quick Review: I found myself compelled to continue to read. Once I finished it, I really wanted to read DeadHappy straight away. The writing style is brilliant and the characterisation is so well formulated. I enjoyed this book so much and highly recommend it.

I do not agree it is better than Hunger Games, but I can see why there is somewhat a comparison as young people are ranked against each other…. as part of a disgusting experiment to conquer ‘problems’.

HappyHead was another book that my library had suggested for me. I didn’t know anything about it, and I read a quick snippet of what it is about and realised it is a Dystopian book. The Dystopian genre is my favourite and so this is how it came within my grasp.

Synopsis

Young Seb has been offered a place at a radical retreat at HappyHead. His parents, particularly his mum, is really proud of him for this and they drive him there. HappyHead is an institution, designed to solve the national crisis of teenage depression/ unhappiness after years of research. Seb wants to prove to his family and friends and strives to do well at HappyHead. Seb is challenged, confused, has a love interest, and begins to question the nature of Happyhead’s true intentions. Then one discovery changes it all and uncovers HappyHead’s not so happy intentions… (next book).

Review

HappyHead is a brilliant read. I enjoyed how Silver brought so much life and humour through Seb’s character. His internal remarks to the leaders of HappyHead, what is said, and his thinking process towards each challenge is so well curated. It has been a long time since I wanted to do nothing but read a book and find out what happens next.

Silver’s writing style is sleek, I found it silky in the way that each stitch (word) is expertly woven together that there isn’t a flaw to be noticed. Every word had it’s purpose and brought to life my own video scene in my mind whilst reading, with a clear picture to follow. You can really escape reality and dive into this fictional world.

The general content is around self-help to cure an epidemic of unhappy adolescence. There is a strong therapy theme as the young people make their way through their challenges, which may be uncomfortable for some readers. There is also a huge, unethical, form of control which brings to light the darker nature of HappyHead.

This character driven and plot-driven book is so well crafted that you glide effortlessly through the pages and feel that sense of thrill, yet disappointment at the end. But, you still feel good because you know there is another to read, so you can climb back up and start the next slide.

Overall, a fantastic read that I highly recommend. I suppose if you like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner then you will like this too, although it is less violent.

Recommended reviews:

The Maze Runner