Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

18 reviews

pond_newt's review against another edition

dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

jennsp's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

katsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-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

3.0

“It’s okay how some stories leave off without an ending. Life doesn’t always deliver the one you would expect.” 

“I’m more happy than not. Don’t forget me.” 

“Happiness shouldn’t be this hard.” 

This book was a complete roller coaster. One of my students recommended it so, of course, I had to follow through and let them know how I felt about it. I'll be real, I thought I was going to get an angsty teen novel, and it was that, but it was also so much more than that. It was fast-paced and angsty, like I said, but it also included so much more about relationships and trauma. So definite trigger warnings for suicide (attempted and successful), emotional abuse, grief, death of a parent, hate crimes and medical trauma. There are probably more that I'm forgetting but those are just the rapid fire ones I could think of off the top of my head. I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and I am definitely going to give Adam Silvera's other work a try. This was his debut novel and, again, it was good, it just felt a little lacking to me. There were times when the writing felt a little clunky and awkward. There were some points where I feel like it dragged on just a bit too much because of all the different elements. But for a debut, it's pretty solid. I may even put my copy in my classroom for my other students to enjoy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Abortion

maryy_r0se's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

"Memories: some can be sucker punching, others carry you forward; some stay with you forever, others you forget on your own. You can't really know which ones you'll survive if you don't stay on the battlefield, bad times shooting at you like bullets. But if you're lucky, you'll have plenty of good times to shield you."

**note: I read this as part of an ongoing project to read and critique young adult books that include themes of mental illness**

High schooler Aaron Soto is on the path to recovering from his father's suicide and his own suicide attempt. With Gen, his free-spirited and loving girlfriend at his side, he is ready to move forward, even when the pain feels overwhelming. His progress gets derailed when he befriends Thomas, a quirky kid with a love of movies and no real direction in life. Aaron feels connected to Thomas in a confusing way that seems to transcend friendship. Add to that his community's mounting tension over the Leteo Institute, a controversial medical practice that claims to suppress distressing memories, and Aaron begins to find himself in a freefall that may very well be his undoing.

There is a lot to like about this book. I don't regularly read young adult novels, so it took me a while to adjust to the writing style. However, Silvera achieves at writing a main character who is deeply flawed and yet the reader can still root for. The pacing was inconsistent at parts, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the first half, but the second half really picked up for me.

I found myself genuinely shocked at the plot twist.

The comparisons to Eternal Sunshine are certainly warranted, and at times I did wonder if it felt close enough to the movie to dull my enjoyment of the book; it is not a rip off by any means, but didn't fully grip my attention because of the occasional inkling of "haven't I heard this before?" I kept waiting for Thomas, the book's resident movie buff, to bring up the Eternal Sunshine connection. That said, I have very little experience with sci fi content, and perhaps if I did I would simply see this as a common enough trope that it wouldn't stand out.

I read the version with the altered ending, and while I think I personally would have appreciated the original ending a tad more, considering it is a teen book I think adding the extra chapter was the right move. I was left with a major question at the end:

was the Jordan that Aaron met in group therapy somehow supposed to be the same Jordan that shot and killed Kenneth? It could have just been a different character with the same name, but it seemed a bit odd that Silvera would have two characters with the same name and no explanation. Group Therapy Jordan also mentioned his sister at least twice, which seemed relevant because Other Jordan killed Kenneth because of his sister. And while Group Therapy Jordan's backstory didn't align with Other Jordan's, both Group Therapy Jordan and Aaron had been given the Leteo procedure so maybe their memories were still corrupt in some way? But in that case, wouldn't someone like Eric or Gen have recognized Jordan when he came to the birthday party? I kept waiting for another twist or at least some sort of explanation, but it never came. This was especially confusing to me because the author went out of his way when explaining the two Daves and the two Aarons.

I read this book to screen it for a library booklist I am making regarding teen mental health books, and I have decided to approve it for the list. Despite some flaws, I think it shows a nuanced perspective on familial suicide and mental health, while also providing representation to often unrepresented groups.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy

19becky97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

thebisexualbooknerd's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is probably my least favorite of Adam Silvera's (that I've read) but it is still phenomenal. The first 2/3 dragged a bit, to the point where if I wasn't so familiar with his endings I probably wouldn't have finished reading it. I didn't love any of the characters. There's so much introspection that the plot stagnates in a handful of spots. But I'm so glad I pushed through. The twist hit me hard, and the commentary is excellent. It's easy to forget that this is technically scifi because the themes on conversion, the closet, and procrastinated identity are so realistic. It's heartbreaking, but there's a faintly hopeful note at the very, very end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Outing

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fatphobia and Pregnancy

lish_e's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

It turns out that this isn’t just a story of finding acceptance and love as a young person. Because I thought that’s the way the plot would go. I was interested in the concept of the Leteo procedure and how it would play a part in the plot. 
 I didn’t like Thomas to be honest. So I wasn’t really fond of the way the story seemed to unfold at first.
 …And then the plot twist hit and it started to be more captivating. 

 

From that point on it got really sad. Because Aaron just wanted to forget. And as he decides he wants to remember all of the bad events and his sexuality he can’t anymore. It made the story so much better in a heartbreaking way. Because this isn’t just a story where the main character ended up with a partner and everyone remained friends. That made it more realistic and therefore bittersweet because Aaron tries to find happiness within himself and not by getting together with one of his friends in the end while he forgets more and more about his life. 

 

 “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.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse

puzzledbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Medical content

Minor: Murder