Happy Head
Book of the Week
‘Happy Head’ by Josh Silver
Reviewed by our young reader, Natalia 📖
‘I have read and heard many positive opinions about this book, most of them claiming it to be one of the most anticipated and bestselling YA books in 2023. Besides that, the mysterious summary of the plot on the back immediately got me invested, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it as soon as possible.
The book is about a young man, Sebastian, who is offered a place in the ‘Happy Head’ program whose goal is to solve the “epidemic of unhappiness” that is affecting today’s teens. He joins the program to prove to his parents that he’s more than just a sensitive boy. And so, out of the many that have been accepted to Happy Head, he is grouped with three other teens with their own motivations that are yet to be discovered.
Though at first the challenges they go through seem to make sense, each day they get more rigorous, mentally and physically, which pushes Seb to question the program’s real goal. I admit that originally, I expected a thriller with a strong, mysterious lead, hiding as many dark
secrets as the program itself. Sebastian, however, is just a misunderstood teen, with anxiety and self-esteem issues. While the theme of insecurity sometimes was obvious, what I enjoyed the most were the details, such as Seb noticing the most trivial things about his appearance when everyone else’s focus was on trying to survive.
Silver beautifully portrays the teenage mind, where sometimes logic is insignificant when you’re desperate to feel accepted. I also adored the romantic subplot. Why can’t we have a story about two boys falling in love while taking part in the Hunger Games-style challenges invented by a mad scientist that will dispose of anyone who does not obey their mad rules?
Overall, Happy Head was definitely worth reading. I would not necessarily recommend it as a thriller, but as a YA action novel- for sure! The ending is a cliffhanger, so hopefully there will be a second book coming.’
Happy Monday and Happy reading 📚