HappyHead is a YA dystopian novel with a frightening concept aiming to solve the epidemic of teenage unhappiness. Check out my full thoughts below. Thank you to NetGalley, Rock the Boat and Josh Silver for my early copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Title: HappyHead
Author: Josh Silver
Genre: Dystopian, Thriller, YA
Publisher: Rock the Boat
Release Date: 16th March 2023
My Rating:
Since reading HappyHead I’ve not really stopped thinking about it which says a lot. I was immediately intrigued by this novel and the concept behind it. Happyhead is a ‘camp’ created to try and solve the epidemic of unhappiness within teenagers by teaching them the skills to become resilient and happy within themselves. There was definitely a Hunger Games vibe to the novel with the way in which the candidates were chosen and arriving to the facility. It’s not long after Seb arrives that he starts to feel a little uneasy about it all but this is also combined with the good feeling he gets from completing the tasks and receiving positive feedback.
I immediately liked Seb, our main protagonist, and could easily root for him in his ventures. I did find that most of the other characters were quite unlikeable although I did develop a soft spot for Finn along the way.
As the story developed, it didn’t take long before the challenges and tasks started to make me feel a bit queasy and it was so clear that this system was designed to manipulate and control vulnerable young people. This developed into full blown repulsion for me as the tasks got more and more challenging! Not with the book, but the idea of this ever happening – which I guess is the whole point! My only issue really is that it ended very abruptly and I felt like the end of this novel had been already given to me earlier in the book. I’ll still revisit a book 2 to see what happens next to Seb!
Will you be adding HappyHead to your TBR? Tell me more!
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