Annotated: More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

 

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera


 

Author: Adam Silvera

Title: More Happy Than Not

Original Publication Date: June 2, 2015

Number of Pages: 293

Geographical Settings: New York City

Time Period: “Near” future

Subject Headings:

-       Memory

-       Memory loss/ alteration

-       Suicide and Suicide Attempts

-       Romance

-       Homosexual fiction

Plot Summary: In the near future, a revolutionary new procedure exists that can suppress and remove memories. Aaron Soto is a teenage boy in the Bronx, New York, trying to recover emotionally and mentally from his father’s recent suicide. Aaron himself bears the scars of self-harm. He takes solace in a girlfriend, Genevieve. But when Genevieve leaves town for an extended trip, Aaron soon finds himself with feelings for a fellow teen named Thomas. As their friendship skirts the line of romance, Aaron’s memory soon begins to become jumbled and conflicted. What is causing this? Who is Aaron Soto?

Appeals:

-“ ‘You blazing or dealing?’

Brendan checks his watch. ‘Dealing Customer is coming in a minute.’

‘I’ll be fast. I need to know how to have sex.’

‘Let’s hope it’s not fast for your sake.’

‘Thanks, asshole. Help me not fuck this up.’” (p.18) – Fast paced, snarky, teenage vernacular dialogue allows the young adult reader to identify closer with the teenage characters. Though, as is always the case, the author being an adult when the work was written may mean the dialogue is dated to the reader. Allows adult readers to better put themselves back into the mind space of being a teenager again, if they can allow themselves to be immersed.

-“ ‘Okay, yeah… I think I might… I like guys, okay?’ And then I sit here, unable to take the words back. I wait for the world to spin out of control, or worse, for Thomas to get up and walk away.

‘That’s it?’

‘Kind of maybe sort of.’

‘Okay. So what?’

I look up and the sky isn’t bleeding. I hear cars honking and drunk people shouting. Birds are still flying and stars are coming out of hiding, like me.” (p. 134) – “The gay experience” as many American teens experience it, with strong themes of overcoming fear, seeking acceptance, confusing romance, acceptance of identity, and coming out, is prevalent throughout the entire novel. Readers will be able to identify with these themes or empathize with the experience.

 

-“We’re in her office. It’s 4:09 A.M. I’ve been keeping my eyes pinned to the clock for my own sanity, though I can’t really tell if there has been any other crazy skip in time like a few hours ago.

‘It’s an inability to form new memories,’ she adds.

The clock reads 4:13 A.M.

‘What’s anterograde amnesia?’ I ask. It sounds familiar…

‘It’s an inability to form new memories,’ Evangeline replies, exchanging looks with my mother, who’s crying.” (p. 263) – Memories, memory loss, memory manipulation are the hook of the novel, layering experiences and emotions on top of one another, suppressing others.

3 Terms to Describe the Book:

-       Teenage romance and relationships

-       Bittersweet and nostalgic

-       Queer

Similar Authors and Works (Fiction):

The Elizas (2018) by Sara Shepard – Unreliable memory, gaslighting and mixing of fiction and reality haunt author Eliza Fontaine as she attempts to find the identity of the one who almost killed her.

Autoboyography (2017) by Christina Lauren – Teenage romance, a “coming out” narrative, following Tanner Scott, a teenager who has recently moved from California to Utah, feeling a need to hide his sexuality again. A school program for writers and authors finds him falling head over heels for another boy in the program.

Shutter Island (2003) by Dennis Lehane – A personal favorite of mine, for those looking for a book outside the Young Adult grouping of works. Unreliable memory, gaslighting, mid-20th century psychiatric healthcare, all haunt a detective being called to a psychiatric hospital on a remote island to investigate the sudden disappearance of a murderous inmate.

Similar Authors and Works (Non-Fiction):

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2009) edited by Christopher Grau – An examination of the psychology and philosophy of the eponymous film. An intersection of romance, heartbreak, nostalgia, and painful memory.

True Love: Real Girls, Real-Life Stories (2007) published by Seventeen Magazine – Stories of romances by real teenagers for other teenagers offers the reader a peer-to-peer story-sharing experience, for those people to identify with. Could offer parents or caregivers insight into the experiences of those teenagers.

The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets (2019) by Gayle E. Pitman – An examination of queer history in America and New York, leading up to the eponymous demonstrations and violent reactions against police raids of gay institutions in 1969.

Comments

  1. TarynApril 7, 2024 at 6:25 PM

    This story sounds a bit sad, but super interesting. To not be able to form new memories is something that some people deal with, and having that happen to a character in a book who is growing sounds so hard. Especially in their formative years. And having to take the time to learn about yourself over and over again, about who you like and what your favorite foods are, it sounds so awful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Erin CataldiApril 8, 2024 at 7:39 PM

    Love the appeals and the quotations you used to illustrate them! Fantastic job on these appeals!

    ReplyDelete

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