Josh Silver's thrilling YA debut, HappyHead, follows a teenager with an anxiety disorder as he takes part in an experimental mental health program that offers participants "the opportunity to find enduring happiness."
Seventeen-year-old Sebastian (Seb) Seaton's mum thinks he has "always had a bit of a sensitive nature." Seb, an anxious, queer kid from a religious family, thinks he is misunderstood by most everyone in his life. When he receives an invitation to take part in the HappyHead Project, his parents and teachers see it as the perfect chance for Seb to "equip [himself] for the Next Phase of Life." After a long journey from Woking to the remote Scottish coast, Seb finds himself in a sterile facility governed by the imperious Madame Gloria Manning and her squad of overalls-wearing, garishly smiling Assessors. Seb and his "teammates"--fiercely competitive Eleanor, athletic and resourceful Ash, and skeptical troublemaker Finn--must work together to complete a series of tasks, designed by elite psychologist Dr. Eileen Stone. But as time progresses and the participants' tasks become more extreme, Seb begins to wonder whether something sinister lies behind the smiling faces of the staff at HappyHead.
Silver, who is a mental health nurse, writes realistic teens who grapple with adolescent anxieties around social acceptance and self-expression--anxieties that are especially acute for the novel's queer characters. Central to the novel is an interrogation of formulaic approaches to mental health and the search for happiness which, Silver argues, depends on one's ability to express themselves openly, love whom they wish, and to feel safe. --Cade Williams, freelance reviewer.