Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

30 reviews

thriftedbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

if you’re looking for a book that will leave you feeling happy, this probably isn’t the book for you (despite its name). a beautifully written novel about wanting to forget the bad parts in life, but realizing that is a part of what makes you human. we live in a world that is messy, filled with ugliness and beauty, and silvera’s work brings that out wonderfully. while it was a bit slow to start, by about halfway i couldn’t put it down and wanted to cry for aaron by the end of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Dementia, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy

yeeel's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

lamanda_quiring's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

This book had such an interesting plot. The beginning started out slow and I was wondering where the story would go or when certain things would come into play. At the halfway point the story really picked up and got more interesting. I got a version with the extended ending and I liked how everything tied up. (the OG version published in 2012 kind of had a sad ending but Adam Silvera wrote an additional chapter to tie things up with a happier ending later)

I will say I didn’t feel totally connected to the characters so that’s why I only rated it 3⭐️ but this was a really unique story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Suicide

kylebook's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Self harm

ottolee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Deadnaming and Fatphobia

All of the graphic content feels “earned”. It’s part of the exploration of homophobia in the Latinx community, esp internalized hatred and shame. But it is very intense and,

while the MC survives it,

the ending being “more happy than not” is up for interpretation. The deadnaming comes across like the cis MC not realizing he’s deadnaming/being transphobic, not being malicious. Perhaps another facet of the casual ignorance of the community. Still, was kinda off-putting and not necessary. And idk if the author is also unaware he’s being transphobic.

telliot's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was really obvious that it was Silvera's first book. A lot of the characters and their dialogue was really unrealistic, there were some paragraphs where it felt like information was missing. 
I liked the concept, but I felt like it was not executed very well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and Outing

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

tragicgloom's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

"And while I wait, happiness exists where I can get it. In these notebooks, where worlds of memories greet me, almost like a
childhood friend who moved away for years and finally came back
home.
I’m more happy than not.
Don’t forget me."

I won't forget you Aaron ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying and Medical content

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

frqnc22's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Taking such a long break from this book clearly wasn’t good, but as soon as I grabbed the book months later, I dived right back into this dark and emotional world. 

To sum everything up, I loved how real this book was and how it presented parts of everything Aaron had to go through in *painful* detail. I connected with his character and cried for him probably more than I expected.

(Aaron: “I’m sorry my past is so terrible I couldn’t live in it anymore.”)

For some time I thought Aaron and Thomas were gonna be endgame. I’m not good at predicting what’s gonna happen in books, movies or TV shows, so I didn’t really expect them to not get together. But, in the end, I actually like this aspect of the story (Aaron: “He loves me without being in love with me.”) Their relationship developed so nicely through the book. They deserve each other, because of how supportive, understanding and helpful they are. And I think this counts as a happy ending for them, since their friendship remains. 


As for the topics showed in this book, I truly didn’t expect the memory erasing procedure and the great amount of pain that came with it. I expected the story to leave me with a bittersweet feeling, but clearly didn’t expect such an introspective look on depression, homosexuality or memory loss. I’m glad I didn’t figure out what was gonna happen, because I was amazed by the storytelling. It is worth mentioning that I loved the flashbacks and where they were placed!

The sad reality depicted in the book, homophobia, was hard to read, especially all the fights and slurs. (Aaron: “This is what death feels like, I think.”) It’s hard to even imagine something as traumatic as Aaron’s life, and learning to accept yourself in a situation like his sounds nearly impossible. His whole life changed drastically just because he was brave enough to show his family the real Aaron. The fact that this also happens in real life makes everything worse.

All relationships broke my heart at some point, and some weren’t healthy for the people involved, but they were significant to Aaron’s personal growth. 

He constantly seeks acceptance and comfort (what we all deserve from those we love) from right people (Thomas: “Just remember that I love the hell out of you, okay?”) or sometimes from the wrong people (like Collin, who called crying “little-b*tch tears because guys don’t cry”), but he realized that he deserves to be at peace with himself.

He made mistakes, but the most important thing is learning from them and understanding what he did wrong in the first place. Fortunately, he understands and tries to do better

(Aaron: “The problem was that I didn’t know any better because I forgot my life. And now I know I can’t forget.”) I’m glad he is on good terms with Genevieve after everything that happened between them. He shouldn’t have been with Collin behind her back and she shouldn’t have stayed with him just to pretend he wasn’t gay. They’re both aware of their mistakes now. 

As for the ending, I didn’t expect another traumatizing experience for Aaron, but I learnt that this is not a happy book👍🏻

However, he is so strong for dealing with his amnesia in the way that he does, by living each day however he can (Aaron: “My life isn’t one sad ending - it’s a series of endless happy beginnings.)

His way of thinking is truly inspiring, even though I was crying while reading the final pages. Truly an emotional rollercoaster, but Aaron’s development is everything! Being “more happy than not” seems difficult to achieve, but he’s doing his best, after going through the worst.

“Don’t forget me.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity

caro_las's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

badmom's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Adam Silvera’s first novel shows his talent for creating teen characters who are authentic in both their immaturity and depth. This story blends elements of speculative fiction with very real issues that young adults (and grown-ups, though in different ways) face, and it’s done with love + care for all of the characters. Find the edition with Silvera’s follow-up chapter; it shows the growth of not only the main characters but the author as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Emotional abuse and Pregnancy