I enjoyed HappyHead much more than I enjoyed Dead Happy. Not a bad thing, just a thing. I have some experience being institutionalized, so HappyHead hit me a little more on a personal level. Dead Happy, while bringing together all the bits and pieces of the first novel, seemed to try and do more than needed. Adding Ares and Artemis and this outdoor adventure camp, survival thing was a bit much. Do I think people will go to any length to see their vision through (Ask me that again in 40ish days)? Yes, I do. Do I think Manning was trying to make up for something that went awry in her own life? Absolutely. Do I think Eleanor was the best by the end of the book? Totally. Was the Seb and Finn storyline okay? Yes, it was fine. Everything was fine. While I think that what went down in HappyHead is more realistic, or rather possible, than Dead Happy, there were still some elements that I could see happen (I've gone on Outward Bound as well, and the intention there is very similar to that of Dead Happy, minus the near-death experiences...). Overall, the book was a good sequel and one that I would encourage everyone who read HappyHead to read. It's worth the time and finishes things up nicely.

I really loved the first book, and this one followed pretty closely. It seemed a little slow at first- many of the trials felt too similar to the first book and since we already knew the point (the Never Plan), it felt unnecessary to keep taking us through more of them. Adding the numbers later did shake it up a little bit, but I felt like I was reading another iteration of the prison guard experiment. The last 25% of the book was insane and I literally could not figure out how it could end. I did love Seb and Finn’s love story. They are adorable and you can’t NOT root for them. The number’s trauma challenges and the animal “trials” were all a little much for me and really made me so upset. Also, I didn’t like the absence of the real villains within this book, and having most of the story led by two new characters who we didn’t even really get closure about. Nevertheless, I think this says a lot of important things about mental health and being ourselves, and what it means to be happy.