In the genre-bending YA novel by former bookseller Adam Silvera, Aaron Soto is coping with his father’s recent suicide with the help of his loving girlfriend. At the same time, a new friend, Thomas, begins to awaken feelings that the Bronx teen doesn’t quite understand. When the opportunity arises for Adam to undergo a procedure that will alter his memories, Aaron must choose which path will make him More Happy Than Not (Soho Teen, 2015). SLJ chats with the debut author about his inspirations, struggles with identity, and teens' capacity for happiness. Would you consider this book autobiographical? And how would you categorize this as a former bookseller? Sci-fi? Magical realism? Semi-autobiographical, yes. The book originally fell more along the lines of a memoir with the addition of the Leteo Institute [where the memory procedure takes place], but my life doesn’t necessarily translate to interesting fiction, so I rewrote the book until my story became Aaron’s story. I’ve always categorized the novel as speculative fiction, but since there isn’t [such a] section in any of the bookstores I’ve been to, I would treat it as a contemporary novel—with a slight sci-fi kick. Your debut novel has been hailed as The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the Now Generation. Were you inspired by that film? I hadn’t even heard of the film when this idea first came to me. I pitched my book idea to a coworker one day and he asked, “Like Eternal Sunshine?” I had no idea what he was talking about. The inspiration for the novel was born from thinking about the nurture versus nature argument, and how homosexuality for me has always fallen into the nature side of things. But I wanted to explore what life could look like if sexuality were a choice, and if a teenager who’s gay were presented with the option to be straight, if he would take it or not. Aaron Soto navigates issues of sexual identity, belonging, and depression in this searing work. Why do you think these topics are so important for teens read about? I didn’t have an easy childhood and I’m still struggling with depression as an adult. It’s rare for me to even take my own problems seriously, sometimes. Whenever I’m venting about very horrible things going on in my life I speak about it with the cadence of someone gossiping with his best friend. If I’d been exposed to more fiction in my youth that was addressing the hard corners of life I would probably feel more open today to an honest conversation with honest emotions. And while I’m very happy to be gay now, that came much later in life after I had some distance from the Bronx, because seeking out those literary windows as a gay youth in the Bronx scared me. A big twist late in the book, flashbacks, and fuzzy memories—how did you keep track of the plot details without revealing too much early on? There is a quick detour in the narrative that possibly qualifies the book as non-linear, but I originally wrote everything chronologically, so that helped. Details revealed early in the novel are spare, which is intentional, because I think some mysteries are served better when you’re not looking around for clues —then suddenly something game-changing is introduced into the narrative and the fun—or tragedy, as is the case with this book—begins.

Photo by Margot Wood

Memory is a tricky thing to pin down here and it plays such a huge role in the story. Can you share a memory that you would never want to be erased by the Leteo Institute? When I received my finished copies I was able to give the very first signed hardcover to my best friend, to whom the book is dedicated, and I would arm wrestle giants to retain that memory forever. (I didn’t say anything about winning, just that I would arm wrestle them.) There’s such a rich cast of complex characters in this title. Which one is your favorite? Which one do you identify most with? Aaron is my homeboy, truly, and I totally identify with what he’s going through. Our histories don’t mirror [each other] but [I] absolutely find an emotional resonance in him. My favorite characters outside of Aaron are Genevieve, who was so challenging I almost wrote her out of the story several times, and Thomas, the boy that we spend the [whole] novel trying to figure out if he’s gay or not. Reading the last page of More Happy Than Not, I was left with an almost bittersweet feeling. Why did you choose to keep the ending somewhat unresolved? I’m not someone who had life figured out at 17, the age Aaron is when the book ends, and since he’s been through more than I have, it would’ve been wildly unrealistic for him to have a fairytale ending. Aaron’s life is hard, but it’s not hardening him, and he’s constantly learning from his mistakes; I love that about him. Can you share some words of advice for teens of color who are thinking of going into publishing or writing as a profession? Be brave and honest in your writing, and make sure you’re never writing with a checklist in mind to cushion your narrative for someone. I’m Puerto Rican and my narrator is Puerto Rican but we don’t do “traditionally” Puerto Rican things like dance salsa or even speak Spanish—this doesn’t make us any less Puerto Rican, and that’s such an important lesson for outsiders who view you as “alien.” Tell your story as you know it. Who are some of the authors you look to for inspiration? [John] Corey Whaley taught me so much about telling a complete story in less than 300 pages, which was so valuable during my editing process, because this book was once close to 100,000 words. Lauren Oliver taught me about discipline. I applaud Benjamin Alire Saénz and David Levithan for telling honest stories, even though homosexuality in fiction is hardly a booming trend. Jason Reynolds is a new favorite of mine, and A.S. King owns everything she does. What are you working on next? My next novel with Soho Teen is called History Is All You Left Me and is narrated by 17-year-old Griffin whose childhood love Theo has recently drowned. Griffin then enters into a destructive friendship with Theo’s boyfriend in an effort to cope with his loss. It’s about grief, lying, OCD, and gay culture, and it’s really pushing me as a writer.

See also:

SLJ's starred review for More Happy Than Not

Dig Into the Past and Soar to the Stars: Diverse Genre Fiction for Teens by Joy Fleishhacker