Named a Best Book of 2026 So Far by The New Yorker

A tender, witty, and sharp debut novel about the passions and peculiarities of modern love, by “an extraordinarily gifted writer” (Sally Rooney).

Chuck and Joey meet in a bar. He’s in his mid-thirties; she’s twelve years younger. He long ago abandoned his ambition of being a novelist and now works as a copywriter at a big ad agency. “Lead copywriter,” he corrects himself. Joey is living paycheck to paycheck on her barista wages and privately dreams of making it as a poet. They go back to Chuck’s luxury flat—a world away from Joey’s cramped house-share and the crumbs in her bed. All too soon, Joey is imagining a future between them, while Chuck struggles to move on from a mistake in his recent past. It’s amazing how meeting a new person can make you feel so new.

Vibrant, funny, and excruciatingly true, I Want You to Be Happy is a sharp-eyed tale of two people searching for meaning and connection in modern times—missing the mark, maybe, but still trying.