Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

12 reviews

melist6's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Medical content

Minor: Pregnancy

thriftedghost'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

dododenise's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

3.75

I almost stopped reading the book in the beginning but then Thomas showed up and I was hooked. Aaron is not an easy protagonist, and I never really liked him. What I thought most when reading this book was “Thomas and Genevieve deserve better”. 

This book does a surprising amount with the number of pages it has. Yet, as someone who enjoys speculative fiction and dystopia I do wish the mind altering aspect of the story was explored more beyond the scope of what it could and could not do for Aaron. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

savage_book_review's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Adam Silvera's trademark style of sensitively exploring the discovering and acceptance of sexuality through the lens of a teenage boy, complete with a sci-fi twist is on full display here, and it makes for a beautifully written, heart-wrenching, terrifying-and-yet-completely-relatable read. 

Aaron is a fairly typical teen on the surface - always playing ridiculous games with his mates, taking the girlfriend who adores him out on dates and writing his own comic book. But his life hasn't been easy - he has the scar on his wrist to prove that. I cannot fault the characterisation; Silvera's writing perfectly captures that balance of a person being "normal" on the outside and yet struggling with trauma and their own demons on the inside. His is definitely not a sugar-coated existence, and Silvera has a real knack for making his lead characters so incredibly real, which just makes the 'fantastical' element that much more engaging.

In this case, it's name-dropped a few times early on in the story, and if you've read the author's other works it's not hard to take a stab at guessing what might be on the horizon. But likewise, he's all about giving you hope. And in this case, the twists and turns are perfectly timed to keep you engaged and to keep that hope burning in your chest. 

The secondary characters are also well drawn, but ultimately the more central they are to the story, the more fleshed out they are. This does mean that people like Aaron's mother, brother and his old friends are there and interesting, but they just don't have the same depth to them. In turn, as Aaron's interactions with them are important catalysts in the story, it does leave the whole work feeling just a little bit 'thin' for me. I could have done with perhaps another hundred pages where the background story was developed and explored in more detail. That being said, I can potentially see this issue as perhaps being a writing device, as it does sort of fit with the POV. Nevertheless, I still feel like I needed more. 

In a roundabout way, this story explores what might happen if a person could be "cured" of homosexuality. IMO, what's there to cure?! It's a beautiful illustration of what the struggles people go through when discovering their own preferences might feel like, and how the temptation of 'normality' might appeal, but that who you are will shine through no matter what. It's also a study in acceptance; even the harshest of days contribute to who you are. I can't say it's an uplifting read, but it holds a powerful message.

Absolutely worth the read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

kim_lommaert's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Outing

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Infidelity

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Car accident, and Pregnancy

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

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

anton13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Wow… just wow. Once again Adam has written a sob story and it’s amazing. Like almost better than they both die at the end. I do have to warn that it’s got a lot of content that can be triggering to people so pls check tw before reading it. But Omg over all an amazing read. One of the best books I’ve read! And the end… I was not expecting that. Everything seemed to be a mess so the fact that Adam was able to tie it all together like that in the end and give a satisfying end was just wonderful. I laughed and cried with these people, just an amazing book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, and Medical trauma

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

sarahcothron's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy

pippat25's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

More happy than not is so cleverly written by Adam silvera, the plot leading up to the plot twist really makes you completely oblivious to what’s going to happen. It was totally unexpected. This book covers so many important issues we face in society and I think it’s a very good read. 

Favourite quotes (potential spoilers) :

- “it sucks that a word that’s supposed to mean happiness can somehow feel warped”

- “happiness comes again if you let it”

- “he loves me without being in love with me and that’s all I can ask of him”

- “I will do my best to always find the sun in the darkness because my life isn’t one sad ending - it’s a series of endless happy beginnings” 

- “sometimes pain is so unmanageable that the idea of spending another day with it seems impossible”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, and Pregnancy