"How to be Happy" is an interesting memoir of the author's life during high school. It's a story about identity and relationships, about navigating our identity and stories throughout the most turbulent and weird time in life: our teenage years. David has a lovely and very straight-forward writing style, and deals with very heavy subjects with grace.

This book was an okay read. It wasn't completely engrossing, and I had a hard time finishing it. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it just wasn't really much.

Oh, the difficulties of adolescence! in HOW TO BE HAPPY, Burton does a great job of showing what life is like before we become fully integrated human beings. But the book could have used some serious editing and perhaps another draft or too. Bur Burton's voice is completely authentic and I really look forward to the next book.

1.5 stars. I don't remember the last time I read a memoir where I disliked the author this much.
This appeared to be marketed as an LGBT book but it's absolutely not clear whether the author is bisexual, or just thought he was gay because he liked theatre?
For a book that is supposed to deal with mental health, the author is extremely flippant and insensitive about the self harm of multiple teenage girls, I would be absolutely furious if someone I went to school with years ago wrote about my mental health this way.

I loved this! It's a good pick for those who are in their teens, but also for the parents of those teens (in my humble opinion). I'm really glad stories like this are being written respectfully (and accurately).

It took me a long time to read this book because it just wasn't very captivating. I put it down for a long time and recently finished it. Meh. It wasn't for me. I won't post a negative review though. Thank you.

I loved the introduction from David Burton and it definitely piqued my interest and kept me reading. It quickly turned into the memoir that the cover suggests but it was not necessarily interwoven with 'tips' on how to be happy. Like Robert Webb's "How Not to be a Boy" I'd expected him to go from micro to macro and evaluate or comment on how to be happy like Webb commented on gender politics, but that didn't really happen. I had no prior knowledge of Burton and I definitely feel like I know him now as I obviously just read his memoir of his teenage years. I enjoyed it to a certain extent I just don't think the title fits, otherwise it was fine. My favorite part was definitely the introduction and David exploring his sexuality; coming out as gay but still struggling with being attracted to women and how he deals with it.

Trigger warnings for suicide, suicidal thoughts.
Buzzwords: diversity, exploring sexuality, coming of age

How to Be Happy is the kind of book that has a cover and blurb that you love. You request it and think, yep. This is what I want. This is what I need. I am so smart. I am so wonderful. This book will take me out of my reading slump.

But then you read it and you're like, no. You're not what I need. Stop telling me this stuff. My god, why are your pages so boring.

Blah. Blah blah. Blah.

And then you close the cover and you're done.

I think this book should be read by a young adult/older teenager. It left me feeling nostalgic for the past but it had some very sad moments that I had to push past to continue reading.. I am a middle aged mother now and would recommend as a YA memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Interesting approach and narrative, resulting in an innovative and dynamic memoir, which becomes entertaining and easy to read.-

Im not so into YA, but I always love a memory that reminds me how was my teenagers years, so this book is great if you want to feel a little nostalgic.

I think that the first thing I should mention in this review is that, being the first memoir I've read, this book was quite different from what I'm used to. Since the events and characters were real, I can't say much about the way the plot unravels or the choices made by the people portrayed. I can, however, share my opinion on the way it was told to us, the readers.

First of all, the register in this story is a very conversational one. You feel as though you're sitting across from the author while he's telling you his life story. At the beginning, I enjoyed this casual tone, but around the middle of the book, it felt very fake and for some reason very uncomfortable too. I'm sure this was not only because of the tone, but also because of the content, but I'll get to that in a minute.

This book deals with very heavy subjects, among them hereditary depression, stigma surrounding psychological help, self harm, sexuality, and suicide. It sheds some light into the thoughts and feelings that go through a depressed and anxious person, in this case a man, which is an idea that society just seems to ignore. (Yes, men can be mentally ill too. It's not 'girly' or 'weak', it's literally a medical condition.) The main character also comment on how society's beauty standards and the toxic masculinity of porn are the cause of some of his problems, as is the lack of representation of himself in the world. Overall, I think this book gave a true testament to how it feels like to live with mental illness.

Notwithstanding, the main character/the author, did a lot of things that weren't to my liking. As I've stated, I don't exactly feel like I have the right to comment on someone's personal choices, but taking in consideration that David decided to put his life on the page for the whole world to see, I guess I can make a few comments.

The actions of teenage Dave, as wrong as they might seem, could potentially be forgiven or disregarded as teenage mistakes, depending on your level of tolerance for intolerance. These mistakes include: him bullying someone even when he was bullied himself, believing the stereotypes about gay men, such as loving musicals, dancing, cooking, wearing feather boas and having lisps and limp wrists, and considering having feelings as being 'effeminate'.

Nevertheless, the actions of adult Dave, the one writing the book, aren't as easy to overlook. David somehow confesses previous racist thought or actions (which, good for him, we are all works in progress), but not homophobic and biphobic ones. Not only does he state that bisexuality is 'more perverted' than gayness, he also uses the f****t slur a few times, along with its deprecating meaning. Moreover, he seems to think that sexuality depends on moods and that he 'let down' the community for being with a woman. Along the story of Dave figuring out his sexuality, the word 'bisexuality' is used once (not good, see above) and never again mentioned as one might expect, if not from the thought of young Dave, from the author looking back at his life and his identity. All of this bothered me and prevented me from connecting to the character/author.

As for my reading experience, it was not the best. I felt like the structure of the book needed some work, as the ideas and memories shown were from different timelines (and it didn't seem to be done deliberately, so the reader would be confused on purpose, thus my dislike of it). The story itself was able to hold my interest at the beginning, but unfortunately it didn't last for long.

I could not relate to David in high school, battling his anxiety and depression, probably because that section of the story seemed to be more focused on his actions than on what he was feeling. Maybe I'm wrong, but it did feel that way to me, like an indistinguishable jumble of 'just stop for a minute, please.'

The part when he was attending university was a little better. The ending, however, was very pleasant, the narrative felt genuine and grounded, even if at times it seemed like there had been a sudden recovery. I wouldn't have opposed to seeing a bit more of the fight to regain control of one's life.

I believe it must have taken a lot of courage for the author to open up and let people 'pry' into his brain at his darkest hour and for that I think he deserved some recognition.

I liked how this book was written, and I really admire how open and honest the author was while sharing about his experience.

This book shows every aspect we go through in the most difficult stage in our lives: puberty. I'm still going through mine and I will tell you: I recognised a lot! How To Be Happy is a quick read full of anecdotes which really stuck with me!

It took me an embarrassingly long time to finish this book. I boil that down to one thing: despite being titled How to be Happy, this book is honestly one of the most depressing stories I've ever read. And the fact that it is actually a memoir made it even more difficult to read. Quite honestly, if I didn't know it was a memoir I probably would have had a very different reaction to the book. If it had been written like a fiction based in reality, I have a feeling it would have been easier to get through. Instead, I have just been carrying around the weight of Burton's story in the back of my mind for months.

That being said, if you are at one of the lowest moments in your life, I would not recommend this book. Give life time to level out a bit and revisit the idea of this book when you are in a better head space. If it doesn't send you spiraling into depression, at the very least it might help you in knowing that you aren't alone.

Growing up is a struggle in far more ways than one. This memoir highlights only a few of the way things could go wrong. Things get blown out of proportion and eventually you are stuck having to believe your own lies and carry on in the world you've built for yourself even though those terms or interests aren't what you identify with anymore.

I think one of the main themes of this book is that life and people are fluid. You can never just be happy because without sadness and depression how can you ever know what happiness feels like? Additionally, much how your emotions change day to day or even situation by situation, so does your personality. You aren't the same person you are five years ago, or even five minutes ago for that matter. Humans are constantly evolving so there is no point in beating yourself up over not fitting the mold you boldly proclaimed you fit into when you were young. People grow with new experiences, and that's okay.

In the end, this isn't a light book. It is deep and dark and overly depressing. No, I wouldn't recommend it for casual reading. However, if you feel like you are the only one struggling or like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, maybe give this book a read. It won't provide you with answers on how to be the happy and likable person you always dreamed of being, but at the very least it is a well written example proving that you aren't the only one feeling low or going through rough times in your life.

Actual Rating: 3.5

The book is a memoir about David Burton's life as a teenager. The books features anecdotes that deals with depression, anxiety, and sexual orientation confusion to name a few.

I connected with David and his story during several anecdotes because he has twin bothers that have Asperger's. I could relate to how he was feeling during these stories as my brother as Asperger's as well.

The writing was very easy to read and straightforward. Even though it covers very real and serious issues, it feels very honest and manages to still be funny at times.

I recommend this memoir would be perfect for any middle school or young high school student who feels like they are lost or no one understand them.

Don’t be fooled by the title – this is not a ‘How To…’ guide, nor is it the story of someone who figured out the secret to living a fabulous, meaningful life. It’s the story of a young man coming to terms with his own insecurities, sexual confusion, depression and general angst that I’m sure anyone thinking back to their teenage years can relate to on some level. The story Burton tells is interesting, funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, with periods of pretty severe depression and suicidal thoughts thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the bit about it being a memoir of sex is also misleading – rarely have I read an autobiography where the author is so truthful about how they found pulling someone completely, painfully difficult.

A lot of what I read in this book reminded me of the way that some of my friends seem to be constantly searching for some external thing that will make them happy – whether that’s a hobby, a partner, a successful career etc. when really what they’re doing is projecting their own insecurities. At some points I just wanted to hug David Burton and tell him that it was ok to be sad and confused, and that it would get better. Luckily, Burton comes to this conclusion on his own and How to be Happy has plenty of great examples of how building a support network is soooooo important for anyone who is suffering from depression/anxiety/low self esteem.

Burton is also very honest about his experiences and initial negativity towards therapy. I think it’s incredibly important to discuss this issue because I know that a lot of people still feel that they’re admitting defeat by seeking professional help for their problems. Happily, Burton finds a therapist that he’s comfortable with and the book shows how perseverance with counselling can have life changing results – but only if you’re prepared to really work at it.

The other thing that I really liked about this book was the way that Burton experienced confusion about his sexuality (to the point where he came out as gay to his parents) but then ended up having to rethink this. I’ve never seen this mentioned in a book before and it was really refreshing to see someone being so open about their changing feelings. This is clearly a very emotive topic and I applaud Burton for his honesty in saying ‘this is what happened to me and how I felt at the time’. I guess some people will see it as fuel for the ‘you’re too young to know how you feel…this is just a phase’ argument but I saw it as an example of how nuanced sexuality and sexual attraction can be and how completely confusing and difficult to understand it often is.

I did, however, find How to be Happy a little tedious in places. As a memoir of a fairly ordinary (albeit depressed) teenager/young adult there aren’t any explosions, zombies or natural disasters and the book is set in Australia, not in a post apocalyptic future.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and applaud Burton’s honesty in portraying a very difficult period of his life. I think that anyone suffering from depression could benefit from reading it as it is ultimately an uplifting tale of triumph over
personal demons.

What a gem of a book! I thoroughly enjoyed David Burton's memoir that shines a light on depression, sexual identity and the general hassle of adulting.

Having a history of clinical depression, Dave just tries to climb the social ladder by pretending to be someone else. By creating different identities for himself - the drama kid in high school, the gay activist in college, and a caring boyfriend in his twenties - he desperately tries to earn love and affection. Pretense should become his method of distracting himself from this big void inside him. And it should almost kill him. His story is not a recipe for happiness, on the contrary, it's a plea for facing your demons and allowing yourself to feel something. It also offers an intriguing insight into sexual identity and illustrates how quick we are in attaching labels. How to get a girl to date you? How to have straight sex? How to have gay sex? How to be the model gay man? How to make a woman happy? In desperately trying to live up to either of these expectations, Dave fails epically.

The book's ultimate message is: be kind to yourself. At the same time Burton's voice never comes across as condescending or smart ass. He does not claim to have all the answers. He just tells his story with raw honesty, optismism and an incredible sense of humour. Teenagers, as well as adults, will adore Burton's compelling style that is thoughtful and detailed where needed and holds back where necessary. In short, a page-turner whose sheer authenticity will keep you up at night and whose hopefullness is a light in the darkness.

Loved this book. It will stay with me for a long time