Happy Head

 By: Josh Silver

Location: FIC SIL

Genre: LGBGT, Young Adult, Dystopia

We are in an epidemic. An epidemic of unhappiness. 
…

Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer.

 When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges they must undergo. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there may be no escape...

Review by Kelly

 was very grateful to be gifted a copy of Josh Silver’s Happy Head in the lead up to Rock The Boat’s 2022 showcase with the Tandem Collective. Immediately my attention was piqued by its premise so I had to pick it up straight away. My only issue, I’ve got to wait over a year for part 2!

HappyHead is an incredible dystopia. It’s been likened to Squid Games meets They Both Die at the End, but Silver also threw in meets Love Island during the showcase. If you enjoy YA dystopias you must put this one on your radar for next year - it’s out in March.

HappyHead is the story of Seb, who has been offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness. A chronic people pleasure, Seb is determined to finally make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges that he and the cohort are being pushed to undertake. The deeper into the program the boys get, the more disturbing things become and the more they fear there is no escape…

HappyHead is a desperately hard book to put down. It’s the kind of book where the further into it you get the more impossible it is to stop reading. Written in the first person, we are immediately drawn into Seb’s world and are able to really feel his sense of growing unease the further into the program he finds himself. Along with his conflicting emotions relating to his place and everything that is going on, we are also witness to the conflicts he feels around Finn. Whilst Seb feels he needs to prove himself at HappyHead he can’t help but be drawn to Finn, the same person who continues to act out and rebel. I want to avoid any spoilers here but I loved some of the private moments between these two. Though following the cliffhanger I’m desperate to know what comes next!

This is a story rooted in its exploration of the prescribed notions of what it is to be happy, well and successful, and what happens when those who are telling you they’ll make you ‘better’ have much more sinister plans. That Silver is writing this story as a mental health nurse himself is fascinating and I urge the reader to read his Q&A at the end. I also greatly appreciate that in Seb, he’s given the reader a gay hero, along with an LQBTQ love story, that though secondary to the actual story is still significant.