Review: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (eProof) - Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question...

Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever. From Goodreads.

I wanted to read The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig from the moment I heard about it on Barnes and Noble's Blog. I was elated to hear Hot Key Books would be publishing it in the UK, and that we'll get to read it soon without ordering it from the US. As soon as I saw it was available on NetGalley, I snapped it up, and oh my god, it's so, so, so good!

Nix lives with her father, Captain Slate, and their crew on the time-travelling ship, The Temptation. As long as they have a map of a destination from the time they wish to travel to, they can go anywhere and anywhen. Slate is obsessed to the point of distraction with finding a map from 1868 Honolulu, Hawaii, when his wife died, to try and save her life. The only problem is, she died during childbirth when Nix was born. If Slate manages to save his wife, what will happen to Nix? When Slate discovers there is a map that may very well take them to 1868 Honolulu, he needs Nix's help to get it. She can help her father, and risk her very existence, or she can refuse - but Slate is threatening to abandon Kashmir, Nix's best friend, in a place and time she can never return to, if she doesn't help him. It time for Nix to decide what's more important; trying to please a father who seems barely interested in her until she can help him; Kash, for whom she's beginning to have feelings for; or her own life.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved this book! I was absolutely gripped by this story, dying to know where it would it lead and what would happen, but more than that, I was taken in by the sumptuous storytelling. The Girl From Everywhere is a treasure trove of beauty, when it comes to describing the wonderful island of Oahu, and detail; given her home is a time-travelling ship, Nix has nurtured a love for history and mythology, and there is so much information woven into this story, I was completely swept away by it all. And with Heilig's master storytelling, it didn't feel like an info dump or a dry history lesson, it was all delicately woven in to the plot of the story. Although The Girl From Everywhere is sci-fi meets historical, it had a magical realism feel to it, where myths and the magical are real, as long as you had the right map.

I was completely taken by the cast of characters, and loved how diverse they were. Half Chinese and half American, Nix is a brave, smart, and resourceful young woman, who has quite a modern voice despite when she was born - due to the fact that she's been brought up by a father from present day New York. She's quick and clever, and I just loved her. She's also stubborn, and determined to work out how to navigate and flee to time-travel away from her father, for the safety of her existence, and because of the unintentional hurt she's always caused by a father who is obsessed with a woman who died 16 years ago. I wish we had more of Bee and Rotgut, two of the other crew members, because they were so interesting! Bee is an African woman from a long ago past, part of a tribe that believed that those who die are still with their loved ones, and so she is forever talking about and to Ayen, her deceased wife. Rotgut is a Chinese man who used to be a monk before running away and joining the crew of The Temptation. Bee is friend and an almost-mother-figure to Nix, and offers advice and friendship, and kind words when her father is present but absent. Rotgut... we got less of him, and I can't tell you much about him other than that he does the cooking and loves fishing for the food he cooks, but I really liked him, too!

And Kashmir! Oh, Kashmir! A young Persian man from a mythical Iran, he is quick witted and flirty, hugely self-confident, and one of the most talented thieves I've come across in fantasy. I loved him! And his relationship with Nix was so beautiful! Theirs is a slow blossoming romance, it's all under the surface and subtle, but they're hints and flirty banter that might be more than banter, and it's just so gorgeous! He doesn't push it though, he doesn't force Nix into a conversation she's not ready for. Because Kash is her best friend, and she loves him and what they have so much. Yes, she's coming to realise feelings are slowly but surely developing for him, but she doesn't want to risk or complicate what they already have. And so Kash kind of gently places hints about how he feels, and leaves it up to Nix to decide what to do with them, whether that's choosing not to read more into what he's saying, ignore the fact that there might even be more to what he's saying anyway, or face exactly what he's saying head on, and respond. The ball's in Nix's court, and he gives her the space to work things out - both that he feels something for her, and to work out what it is she feels for him. It's the sweetest damn thing ever, and oh my god, I want a Kash of my own! All this sweetness doesn't take away from just how hilarious he is, with his quips and self-confidence. I just love this boy, and I would like more of him. And, with how this story is set up, with all it's different times and places and history, I think it would be perfectly do-able if Heilig ever wanted to write a short story from his point of view of when he first joined The Temptation. So a The Girl From Everywhere 0.5. Or maybe one set between The Girl From Everywhere and the as yet untitled sequel, The Girl From Everywhere 1.5, from his point of view on an adventure with Nix, but where we get into his head and get more of what he feels for her. Or just any kind of short story from his point of view, because I just love him so. Just putting that out there.

And now Slate. He is such a complicated character. I kind of loathe him and feel so unbearably sorry for him at the same time. He is so desperately lost without his wife, Lin, that even 16 years on, his every waking thought is about trying to find a way back to her. He is obsessed - the bad kind of obsessed where he thinks of little else, least of all his own daughter who's very existence is on the line. When Slate has hope, he is so deliriously happy, so unbelievably euphoric. Nix finds it difficult to say no to him when he's like this; yes, helping him is hazardous for her, but despite how he treats her, he's still her father and she loves him, and wants him to be happy. And when he's hoping and needing her help, she has her father back, if briefly. But when hope is dashed - as they have found various maps of Honolulu in 1868 in the past that have just failed in getting them there - Slate falls into the depths of the darkest despair. His only way of coping is to shut himself in his quarters and get so high on opium, he's completely out of it for days at a time. I suspected throughout the novel that Slate might be bipolar, but this is never discussed, so I couldn't say for sure.

Although the stories are very different, the experience of reading The Girl From Everywhere was a lot like my experience of reading Harry Potter*; it evoked the same feelings of wonder, excitement and awe! And despite the fact I read all the time, The Girl From Everywhere reminded me of what reading is all about - those feelings, the wonder, excitement and awe, are what I hope for every time I open a book. Reading this book was like discovering reading for the very first time, again. I have a feeling that The Girl From Everywhere - and subsequent books - are going to be books I read over and over again.

The Girl From Everywhere is perfect and wonderful, and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel! It's such an incredible debut novel, and I am so excited by the thought of all the books she'll write. I cannot praise this book enough! I need you all to read it, so we can rave about this gem of a book together.

*Please note, I am not saying The Girl From Everywhere is like the Harry Potter books. These books are in no way similar when it comes to plot. I'm saying The Girl From Everywhere made me feel the same way as I felt when reading Harry Potter. Do not read this book and expect Harry Potter, because that isn't what you're going to get.

Thank you to Hot Key Books via NetGalley for the eProof.



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Published: 3rd March 2016
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Heidi Heilig's Website

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (proof) - Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. From Goodreads.

I've had a proof copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer since before it was published, and although it sounded really interesting, it's taken me until now to read it. This series has been raved about far and wide, but I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, and a retelling of Cinderella where she's a cyborg mechanic... it made me nervous. But as I set up the Retelling Reading Challenge 2016 for the sole purpose of finally getting down to reading these books. And I really wish I hadn't waited so long; Cinder was bloody amazing!

Cinder is a mechanic in New Beijing, and all of her earnings go straight to her lazy stepmother. She was in an accident when she was 11, and the only way to save her was to make her a cyborg, which, by law, makes her the property of her stepmother. She has no rights to own anything. When Prince Kai, heir to the Eastern Commonwealth, stops by her booth in disguise, asking for help fixing his android, and soon after her youngest and favourite stepsister catches the plague, her life is changed forever. She is soon sent off to the palace by her stepmother to be involved in the cyborg experiments to find a cure - experiments involving injecting her with the plague, with only one real outcome. Only she doesn't die. Meanwhile, Prince Kai is thrust into politics when his father, the Emperor, dies from the plague, and must continue to try to form an alliance with Queen Levana, the evil queen of Luna, who controls her subjects through magical brainwashing. But the only alliance she will agree to is marriage to the Prince, to become Empress. But Prince Kai has bumped into Cinder a couple of times at the palace, and he seems to have more than a casual interest in her.

Oh my god, this book was incredible! There are a few elements of the original Cinderella story within Cinder - she slaves away for her stepmother, there is a pumpkin coloured "carriage" of some kind, there's a ball and a prince - but there is so much of this novel that is new! Although the elements of the original fairytale story are there, and some of them you expect to appear in someway, you never know how they're going to appear, or how Cinder will get from one moment to the next. Cinder is so gripping, and I was completely absorbed in this story.

There was an element of this story that I guessed at as soon as it was mentioned, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Although it's sci-fi-esque with androids and cyborgs, and an humanoid aliens from the moon, it felt a lot like a high fantasy to me, with all the royal and political intrigue and manoeuvring. Though the story focused more on Cinder and her story, we did get some chapters from Prince Kai's perspective, so we knew what was going on inside the palace walls and with Queen Levana.

I want to rave, and rave, and rave about this book, but I'm really not sure if there's more I can talk about plot-wise without spoiling the story. So on to the characters. Cinder is wonderful. She is a whole lot spunkier than the Cinderella we've all been brought up with. She argues and stands up to her stepmother, even when it's likely to get her into trouble. She's no walkover. I love that this story took the element original element of her slavery and made it into something different, something that also challenges gender roles. Cinder has to work, because her stepmother needs the money, and she doesn't work. But she's not slaving away for hours doing chores, she has an actual job and it's in something she's not only good at, but something she enjoys! Cinder is also pretty damn clever and resourceful, and she's just brilliant.

Prince Kai was really interesting. The romance is a slow burner in Cinder; they're attracted to each other, but there are other things going on in each others' lives. Not only is Kai having to deal with the sudden death of his father, but also the fact that Queen Levana decides to make her way to Earth the day after, to show give her "condolences" in person, and be there for the coronation. I loved how Kai had to deal with politics of trying to keep the Queen of a stronger planet happy so that another war is started, but at the same time, doesn't want to give his planet over to the Queen on a plate by marrying her. She is a threat, but it's difficult to find a way around the threat without marriage or war - a war they can't win. I really, really love political intrigue, so this side of things was right up my alley.

Queen Levana is the best kind of villain. Oh my god, is she sadistic. She glamours everyone into seeing her as beautiful, and has all the people of Luna worshipping her. There's a sign of uprising? Well, just fiddle with their minds and make them love you instead. Or kill them. She's a complete dictator who strives for power, and only has her throne by killing her sister and niece. She's vicious and cruel, and wonderfully, wonderfully evil. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other abominable things she'll be behind in future books.

I absolutely loved Cinder, and I am so excited to read the second book in The Lunar Chronicles, Scarlet. If you've not yet read Cinder, don't leave it as long as I did. Pick this book up now!

Thank you to Puffin for the proof copy.



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Published: 5th January 2012
Publisher: Puffin
Marrisa Meyer's Website

Blog Tour Review: Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper

Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Alison Glock-Cooper (eProof) - Changers Book One: Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life.

Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl.

Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever--and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began.

Ethan must now live as Drew Bohner--a petite blonde with an unfortunate last name--and navigate the treacherous waters of freshman year while also following the rules: Never tell anyone what you are. Never disobey the Changers Council. And never, ever fall in love with another Changer. Oh, and Drew also has to battle a creepy underground syndicate called "Abiders" (as well as the sadistic school queen bee, Chloe). And she can't even confide in her best friend Audrey, who can never know the real her, without risking both of their lives. From Goodreads.

I was really interested in Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper when I first heard about it; but I'm sad to say I found it quite disappointing.

Ethan wakes up the first day of high school to discover that he's a girl. Absolutely terrified, he has no idea what's going on. Then his parents tell him; he is a Changer. With a Changer parent, he has been chosen to undergo a mission in empathy, to make the world a better place. Every year of high school, he will become someone new. This first year, he is now Drew. Drew must start school in a new town, make friends, and face the usual challenges that come with starting high school, while she has no idea who or what she really is.

My main problem with this book is the world building. I still have no idea why there are Changers and what it is they're supposed to do - and neither does Drew. It's all cloaked in secrecy, and there's enough to know that there is something to being a Changer other than changing bodies for four years, but I've no clue as to what. Except that it's not all the Changer Council claims it is. Which we find out from the very, very beginning, before the Prologue, when we're kind of told, in brief, about the amazing things Drew (or whoever she will become) is involved in, in a "before all this stuff happened, he was a normal boy" way. But it's a hint that there's a huge amount of stuff to come. But in this first book? Nothing major, in the great scheme of things. It's like it's setting up the story, without giving you much to go on.

However, there are a lot of elements to this story that were really interesting. As you can imagine, there are some trans themes; before she gets used to who she now is, Drew felt a lot like her body didn't match up who she was - at the time, a boy. What's different is the sudden change from being male, having known being and feeling male, to then being female. What was really interesting about this was a guy seeing how girls are treated, the other side of the coin. There are some really feminist moments; Drew realising what it's like to receive unwanted attention, expecting to look and dress a certain way by society, and so forth. It was really interesting for her to realise just what it's like to be a girl, and I would have loved if there were more moments like this. For this book, it's where the empathy comes into play.

When she was Ethan, Drew was attracted to girls. Now as Drew, that hasn't really changed, and she is kind of confused when she starts falling for her best friend Audrey, because she's now a girl. At the same time, when she starts finding herself attracted to a boy, she reacts even worse. She still feels like a boy, and now she's finding herself feeling things for a boy, and she's so confused. Drew's feelings and her sexuality are developed as the story goes on, and it's really interesting to see how this element to the story, and her coming to terms with this new side of her and her feelings.

The book did take me a really long time to read, though. I found I didn't emotionally connect to Drew, and she was quite a young character. I didn't care enough about her or her story to keep picking it up, I just wasn't interested, and would find other things I was more interested in doing. Saying that, as the story was starting to end, there were hints that the story would progress into something more interesting, so I might have a look at the second book, Changers: Oryon. For the general premise of the story of waking up as a different person, it was fascinating, but as a story with a sci-fi element, I was pretty disappointed.

Thank you to Atom via NetGalley for the eProof.



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Published: 12th January 2016
Publisher: Atom
#WeAreChangers' Website

Review: The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew

The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew (eProof) - A startling coming-of-age novel set in a contemporary Nazi England.

Jessika Keller is a good girl: she obeys her father, does her best to impress Herr Fisher at the Bund Deutscher Mädel meetings and is set to be a world champion ice skater. Her neighbour Clementine is not so submissive. Outspoken and radical, Clem is delectably dangerous and rebellious. And the regime has noticed. Jess cannot keep both her perfect life and her dearest friend. But which can she live without?

THE BIG LIE is a thought-provoking and beautifully told story that explores ideas of loyalty, sexuality, protest and belief. From Goodreads.

I cannot even begin to tell you how incredible The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew is. An alt-history novel about what the world would be like today if the Nazis won World War II, this book is extremely thought-provoking, and unbelievably scary.

If you really think about, WWII wasn't that long ago. It ended only 70 years ago, no matter how far in the past it might seem to some of us. The Big Lie shows us the possible present world we could be living in had the Nazis won, and the world we're shown is terrifying - not just because of how awful it is, but because this could be our lives. It's not a dystopian novel set in very distant future, it's set now. Present day with a different past.

I don't want to talk too much about the plot, because this is very much a story whose horrors you shouldn't be prepared for, but I will talk about the important aspects of the book. The book is split into two parts. The first part - the only part I feel comfortable discussing without spoiling the story - shows us the history of Jess and Clem's friendship, and just exactly who these two girls are. Jess does her best to be the very best daughter of Germany she can be. She's passionate about doing what's right, and has such a huge love of Germany. Even though they live in Britain, it is now a German country, which is governed by the Fuhrer, who is worshipped like a god-like figure. The amount of brainwashing that has gone on through the years since the war is astounding. Britain is not a country "suffering" under the rule of the Fuhrer, but a country that was saved from it's corrupt government before Hitler freed it. The devotion Jess feels to her country and her role in society - as a young woman who will eventually be wife and mother, and who will keep her home and raise her children while her family works.

Clem, on the other hand is from an outspoken family who haven't been so brainwashed by all they've been fed. They have strange ideas that step outside the rules. Clem's family want change, and have brought up their daughter to think for herself and to question what she's told. So whereas Jess is blindly led by her authority figures - her parents and the leaders of her Bund Deutscher Mädel (the Nazi female youth organisation) - Clem can see what's not being said. And when she becomes victim to the rules of Nazi run Britain - having been given her date for the removal of her womb, as there's a chance she might produce "defective" children because her mother gave birth to an "imperfect" son who was taken away and killed (we're never really told exactly what problems their son had) - the whole family, and Clem in particular will not be silent.

The Big Lie has huge themes running throughout, and covers feminist issues, morality, deep female friendship, and questions about loyalty - to country, to your beliefs, to your friends. One wonderful aspect covered is Jess' questions about her sexual identity. I think I might be safe in saying Jess is a lesbian, but a label is never given, and Jess doesn't think about "homosexuality" in any real words. It's just her feelings and who she's attracted to, and who she falls in love with. Without spoiling the story, there is the possibility that Jess is bisexual; as I said, no labels are given, and there are moments with male characters, but I read those moments as Jess trying to be "normal", fit in, and stop feeling ashamed. There may be others who may have read it differently, though. Either way, the look at sexuality, discovering what and who you like, on it's own and in the world Jess lives in, was dealt with brilliantly.

What I also found really difficult to deal with was the Historical Notes on The Big Lie that comes at the end of the book. Mayhew talks about the various elements of the book that are true; the beliefs and actions of the Nazis being as they were back in WWII, but also the elements of the book that comes from present day world events. These appalling and disturbing events aren't from a period of history, they're happening today. We might think we live in a different world now, but we do not. Yes, we might be more accepting than we were, we might be, in some ways, better, but there a lot of things that simply have not changed, and there are injustices people are having to live with everyday. I implore you to read The Big Lie, and also to read Historical Notes on the Big Lie afterwards, and have your eyes opened to what is happening in the world, if you didn't already know, and think about this world we live in. I said at the beginning that this book is terrifying because this could have been our lives, but the truth of the matter is, in some parts of the world, for some people, this is their lives, this is their present.

An incredible and harrowing novel, The Big Lie is not a book to pass up, and not one, once read, you'll be able to ignore.

Thank you to Hot Key Books via NetGalley for the eProof.



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Published: 27th August 2015
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Julie Mayhew's Website

Review: More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera - In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard? From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: Suicide.

I have wanted to read More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera for ages, but for some reason the cover, and the fact that it has been likened to the movie Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, which I didn't like, put me off a little. I knew I would read it eventually because of the rave reviews, but it was always "later". I finally picked it up as it was part of Dahlia Adler's November Book Club, and oh my god, I wish I had read it so much sooner! This book is incredible!

A few months ago, Aaron's father committed suicide. It was completely out of the blue, and he has no idea why. Dealing with his grief and sadness has been tough. The only person he can really talk to is his girlfriend Genevieve; his friends don't really do real talk, his mum is almost always working to keep a roof over their head, and he's not that close to his brother Eric. The grief was too much for him, and now he's left with a smiling mouth scar on his wrist from a failed suicide attempt. He's now trying to piece his life back together. He's made a new friend in Thomas, a guy who lives not too far away, and he starts spending most of his time with him. Thomas allows Aaron to be himself, to talk about the sadness he still feels without judgement, and soon Aaron develops feelings for Thomas. But being gay is causing him more problems and more unhappiness. Maybe his only chance is to get the Leteo procedure, which will alter his memories and make him forget his feelings for Thomas. But can altering memories stop you from being who you are?

Oh my god, this is so, so brilliant, I can't even tell you! It's so clever, complex, deep and sad, but completely wonderful! I was completely engrossed in Aaron's story, which is such an interesting one, and had this huge twist I wasn't expecting at all. More Happy Than Not is set in the not too distant future, and feels very much like a contemporary novel; the Leteo Institute, where people are having memory-altering procedures to forget difficult times is the only sci-fi aspect of the story, and for a good long while, it's something that's going on in the background. Aaron knows someone who had the procedure and then moved, and he sees adverts for it and protests at his local institute, but it's not something that affects him. He's just a teenage boy living in the Bronx, trying to get over his father's suicide, experiencing firsts with his girlfriend, and making a new friend. It's not until much later, when Aaron realises he has feelings for Thomas, and Aaron starts to feel those feelings are problematic that the Leteo Institute comes into play.

'I know not being me will be a lie, but I know I'm doing myself a favor in the long run if I can somehow book a Leteo procedure. Because as I stand now, I have so much bullshit to look out for.
Happiness shouldn't be this hard.' (p157)

What adds to the contemporary feel are all the pop culture references we're all going to recognise. Aaron is a bit of a geek, and one of his favourite places is his local comic book store, so there are a lot of Marvel and DC references. I was a tiny bit annoyed by the fake Harry Potter - Scorpius Hawthorne, a demonic boy wizard. All the references are so close to the real books (book three is called Scorpius Hawthorne and the Convict of Abbadon, and Emma Watson plays Scorpius' friend Lexa in the movies), it just seemed a little weird to not use the real books, but I guess there must have been some issue there.

I also loved how gritty and real this book is. It's set in the Bronx in New York. I don't know much about the Bronx, but I have this idea that it's a rough kind of place, and Silvera makes it feel that way; Aaron lives in a one bedroom apartment, with he and his brother sharing the front room as a bedroom. It's the summer and all three of them work - his mother has two jobs - and yet there is still very little money around. Aaron is living is such poverty, but it's so normal for him, that's it's not even really a major part of the book, but it's there in everything. His sort of best friend Brendan is a drug dealer, another friend in his group who is known as Me-Crazy (and actually talks in the third person about himself, calling himself Me-Crazy) can fly of the handle at any second and will beat the crap out of anyone, and his group is known to get into fights with the teenagers from the nearby group of apartments. They also have this street way of talking, that thankfully isn't too full of slang, because I don't understand it. It's also a diverse community; there are very few people in the cast of characters who are white. There's one character I assume is white because she has red hair and green eyes, and there are a few characters who's skin colour is mentioned, but for the most part the race of most characters isn't brought up at all, but there is the feel of a very diverse community. And with Aaron, we have an intersectional protagonist as a gay person of colour.

One of the things I loved about this book is how, even though Aaron is so severely unhappy for most of the book, it's not a book that drags the reader down. I find most books about such sadness are emotionally draining and exhausting, and leave you feeling empty, all the while being a book I'm wowed by. With More Happy Than Not, I was wowed without being pulled into Aaron's sadness, which is surprising, since suicide comes up a fair bit, either when Aaron is talking about his dad's suicide, his own suicide attempt, or suicidal thoughts that come up over the course of the story. I was still emotionally involved; I cared about Aaron, about what would happen to him, about where his life would go, and I was sad for him, but not the exhaustive sadness that leaves me feeling completely wiped out.

'Sometimes pain is so unimaginable that the idea of spending another day with it seems impossible. Other times pain acts as a compass to help you get through the messier tunnels of growing up. But pain can only help you find happiness if you can remember it.' (p270)

I can't really go into much more detail about the plot without spoiling things, but believe me there is a lot going on! Silvera has woven this incredible story that completely blew me away, and has such a turn of phrase; at times poetic, and at others so poignant.

'From the shapes cast by the green paper lantern, you would never know that there were two boys sitting closely to one another trying to find themselves. You would only see shadows hugging, indiscriminate.' (p136)

I must say that Silvera writes about pain and sadness in such an exquisite way, but in a way that, having read Silvera's post, Happiness Isn't Just an Outside Thing (trigger warning: he discusses suicidal thoughts), made me feel so sad for him and what he must have drawn on for the story. You can't read that post then read this book and not go, "Woah." It just makes this story mean a whole lot more - not plot-wise, but sadness-wise - and I feel like we've been given something very special. I know this is a review, but I'd like to add that I sincerely hope that Silvera gets through his dark times. We're better off for his talent.

An unbelievably beautiful novel, and I'm so excited to read whatever Silvera writes next. He's most definitely one to look out for.



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Published: 2nd June 2015
Publisher: Soho Teen
Adam Silvera's Website