MORE HAPPY THAN NOT by Adam Siveria

More Happy Than Not

Agent: Brooks Sherman

Genre: Young Adult

Soho Press, Fall 2015. World English.

Manuscript available.

16-year-old Aaron Soto is growing up in the present-day Bronx in New York City, a couple months past a suicide attempt after his father's own fatal encounter with a razor blade. While his mom is checking out brochures for Leteo, a controversial new institute that performs surgery to erase harmful memories, Aaron is busy reconnecting with his devoted girlfriend Genevieve (who was there for him) and his neighborhood crew (who weren't).

Then Aaron meets Thomas, a kid from the neighboring projects. The two of them strike up an instant close friendship, and Aaron finds himself sharing things with Thomas he's shared with no one else, not even Genevieve. It soon becomes apparent to everyone around Aaron that he is falling for Thomas, which is a problem—things are getting serious with Gen—and dangerous: "gay" is not something you should be while growing up poor in the Bronx.

Then, when Aaron's old friends jump him to teach him a lesson (for his own good, of course), he hits his head and something snaps...and new memories start pouring in. It appears Aaron has already undergone the Leteo procedure. But to forget what?

This story is a young adult Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for readers who loved Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

"Adam Silvera explores the inner workings of a painful world and he delivers this with heartfelt honesty and a courageous, confident hand. Combine these with a one-of-a-kind voice and a genius idea, and what you have is absolutely, hold-your-breath mesmerizing."—John Corey Whaley, Printz and Morris Award-winning author of Where Things Come Back

"Adam Silvera is a voice missing in YA fiction. The honesty of his words and his ability to tell a story make you realize that we've been waiting for him. I'm blown away." —Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7's and I'll Be There

Adam Silvera’s Bio:

Adam Silvera is an independent bookseller and a reviewer at Shelf Awareness for children's and young adult novels. He was a content writer for Figment before moving over to Paper Lantern Lit, where he handled marketing and assisted with editorial development of multiple titles. He is also tall for no reason.