Saturday 11 March 2023

Happy Head by Josh Silver (mild spoilers in review)




We are in an epidemic. An epidemic of unhappiness.


Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer.


When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges they must undergo. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there may be no escape...

Well, this was not what I was expecting! I thought maybe it was a secret conversion camp, but most of the participents appear to be straight, so that was wrong.

The writing is fantastic, tense and immediate. I was desperate to know what was going on. Be aware, as I wasn't, this is the start of a series! There's no resolution here, it cliffhangs terribly at the end instead. 

I am surprised, though, with everything the programme was able to dig up on people, that they aren't aware of Seb's orientation! He seems to be (accidentally) out to everyone at school, so it shouldn't have been too hard to find out, with everything they appear able to find out about other participants.  Given the ultimate goal of the programme, it feels like a big thing to miss.

I'm looking forward to reading the next volume and finding out what happens to everyone, and I can see this starting some very interesting conversations!



HappyHead publishes on the 16th of March, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

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