Sebastian who is now 17 has been selected to go to a retreat for a project called Happyhead. Sebastian is unhappy and sensitive and his parents are not sure of the cause. This is a two week inhouse retreat which is supposed to make you centre your potential and feelings. Professor Manning who is in charge of the project purports to have the answers and can make changes in a very short time hence why his parents are encouraged that this will help. He arrives at the retreat after a long journey and feeling stressed. This gets worse when he is met at the gate of the retreat and walked to his new home in the middle of nowhere for a couple of weeks. Once he arrives he meets the other teenager. They all have to go through certain assessments which are set to find out what they are suffering with i.e depression, low self esteem etc and the story progresses from here in a weird way and reminds me of Squid Game which I have recently watched on the TV. This book is like this in a lot of ways and is something you really enjoyed or thought, no surely this is not happening. The tension goes from nothing to full on very quickly and the characters were so different from one another and I enjoyed reading about every one of them. Eventually some of the teenagers begin to ask questions about how the retreat is working and some begin to challenge the treatment and he gravitates to Finn who is the rebel in the pack. I could carry on with this review but feel I should stop before giving too much away. READ THIS IS ALL I CAN SAY

Dr Stone is seeing more and more teenagers appearing on her mental health wards struggling with life, with social media, with expectations to conform, with pressures on all sides and troubles of many kinds. She comes up with this plan for 17 year olds to be taken to HappyHead for a fortnight, phones are removed and they will have to interact with one another, bond over activities, talk, play, find their inner happiness.
But, things don’t turn out quite as planned. Sebastian is a loner, not used to bonding, he’s been sought out by Eleanor to be the winners in the challenges. Sebastian would rather be with Finn. But who should he believe, what’s really happening, what’s true…
This powerful story starts with you thinking that this is a good idea, it’s a great, compelling read. I was left wanting to know more….
Loved it.

Thank you to Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for the arc of HappyHead by Josh Silver in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
January has continued to be a great month for books and this book is no exception, I read it in one evening! This looks to be a thrilling and well paced start to a new dystopian series, and I’m definitely here for that.

HappyHead is set in a Scottish retreat that a ‘randomly’ selected group of 100 disenfranchised teens are invited to, with the aim to help them find their happy and move away from the emotionally challenging unhappiness of their current lives.

The story is told from the perspective of Seb (Sebastian,) invited to join HappyHead, he accepts the invitation in the hope that it will help him to become more confident in himself and happier in his life. Then there is the mysterious Finn (Finnian,) who initially appears to be your textbook wayward teen, covered in tattoos and rejecting authority in all its forms. There are a number of other interesting characters but, I will leave you to meet them when you read HappyHead.

Josh Silver delivers a debut that definitely fills the current dystopian gap, on more than one occasion I had a chill down my spine as he describes the retreat, set in a remote part of Scotland, the characters and the initial engagement, and subsequent exercises that the teens must engage and participate in.

The pace of the story itself is definitely fast from start to end, from the initial introductions and seemingly innocuous assessments and therapies at the start, and then the darkening of the story as trust becomes suspicion, and fear. In parallel, there is the development of the relationship between Seb and Finn, this in itself is beautiful, the emotions are such a counterpoint to the callousness viciousness of the world our protagonists find themselves embroiled in.

My only disappointment in this book was the ending, yes I totally get that it’s leading into a series of books but, it was such a sudden ending that totally left me hanging on a cliff edge, however, despite this, if you are looking for your next dystopian series I highly recommend HappyHead. It has all the elements of a great plot, worldbuilding and strength of characters that will have you joining them in therapy.

3.75 stars from me.

I really enjoyed this book, it was so well written and is a great book for both the young adult and adult market, I didn’t feel like this had to be exclusively marketed at young adults. The writing was great and I really liked the setting and the story idea.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I had high hopes for this book but was left a bit disappointed by the ending - what really happened? It left me questioning but not in a good way. I don't feel like I got closure.

Also, I was hoping for more backstory on a lot of the characters but I feel like I hardly got any. It felt more like world-building than characterization.

Really enjoyed this YA psychological thriller. Sort of a cross between Nine Perfect Strangers and Squid Games, but for teens., I’m sure people will compare to Hunger Games but I think it’s more psychological and aimed for a slightly older audience.

Really fascinating premise. Felt the ending was slightly rushed - but there’s a cliffhanger so obviously I’m now desperate for the sequel. Some good mysteries still to be unravelled and some big questions left to be answered. Love a good queer lead, really enjoyed some of characters.

Good read. Looking forward to seeing more.

An engaging and digestible YA dystopia that promises an enjoyable series. Teenagers are sent to a mental health facility that proves sinister. So far there isn't much justification or backstory from the villain so I would hope to see this explored in future sequels.

Gripping, action-packed and with a really interesting premise. The LGBTQ+ representation adds even more of a depth to the plot, as we see how that plays out in the HappyHead facility.
Through a shy but observant, quietly intelligent protagonist we get to gradually uncover the mysteries of the place and people. I really liked Seb, and he provided a great counterpoint to the more dark and enigmatic Finn. It's great to have a "hero" who is not all-action, traditionally brave and daring.
This book is a fast-paced frenzy of questions and cliffhangers that keep you wanting to read on. Definitely one I will be recommending to our teens who want books with a darker edge to them.

What a fantastic start to my 2023 journey of reading. I have been waiting for many years for a new dystopian concept to emerge which truly captured my imagination, the last being Cecelia Ahern's fantastic 'Flawed' duology back in 2016. 'HappyHead', Josh Silver's debut novel, is doing a lot to fill the dystopian void with its chilling narrative and smart commentary. Teenager Seb is invited to join the HappyHead retreat, designed to support teenagers with their emotions and chronic unhappiness. A series of group 'assessments' are given to Seb and his team in the remote Scottish retreat. Seb is determined to be successful for once and win the approval of his family, but finds himself increasingly distracted by the enigmatic and rebellious Finn.

There was a lot to enjoy in this book with its addictive pacing. At first, the assessments seem innocent and genuine therapies to support Seb with tapping into his emotions. It soon becomes clear that some of the assessments are a lot more threatening than they appear as the teenagers are seemingly pitted against one another. My transition from blindly trusting the therapists to deep suspicion and then disgust was quite the journey to go on with Seb. Silver has created a bizarre dystopian world where the only respite is the growing romance between Seb and Finn - it was a relieving counterpoint to the brutality of some of the other sections of the book.

Overall, I loved Seb and Finn's relationship, the twisted assessments were absolutely gripping and the ending made me gasp (partially in frustration! Sequel now please!!). This is a must-read - 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a superb take on the "Hunger Games" concept. It considers mental health, sexuality and friendships. It is delivered with pace and twists, leading to a what happens in the next book ending! Fast paced and involving.

I found this to be a page turner. I think it would be great for the younger YA reader. It ends on one big cliffhanger.

I can see why this book receives comparisons to other YA dystopian fiction such as The Hunger Games. However , for me I found it difficult to become truly involved in the characters and found some of it too predictable. Whilst it sets itself up for the sequel it made the ending too open and unresolved to be satisfying for me.

Whilst I enjoyed this book overall I felt like the ending left things too open ended for me. I appreciate that this is being lined up for a sequel however I did not feel like the book delivered enough of a resolution to the story it sets up, and this was disappointing