Stealing Happy

by Brian Conaghan

Loan shark Chick Lennon is notorious around Sonny Gilmour's way, and not for anything good.

So when Sonny discovers his mum has borrowed money from Chick to pay the rent, he finds himself in need of the quickest of get-rich-quick schemes.

With the help of best mate Jonah and quiet genius Carolina Swift, he hatches a plot – to pay back what Mum owes using Chick's own ill-gotten gains. It's not a fool-proof plan, and it's not helped by Sonny's Tourette's making him blurt out 'ROB CHICK LENNON!' at the top of his lungs every time things get dicey.

But with his dad suffering from long Covid and his mum already struggling to cope, Sonny knows it's down to him to keep his family out of Chick's clutches ...

An authentic, funny and heartfelt contemporary YA by multi-award-winning author, Brian Conaghan. Perfect for fans of Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Elle McNicoll

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2025

About the author

Brian Conaghan lives and works in the Scottish town of Coatbridge. He has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow, and worked as a teacher for many years. His novel When Mr Dog Bites was shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal. The Bombs That Brought Us Together won the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers won the 2018 Irish Book Award for Teen/YA Book of the Year, and We Come Apart, a verse novel co-authored with Carnegie Medal-winner Sarah Crossan, won the 2018 UKLA Book Award. Cardboard Cowboys, Brian’s first middle-grade novel, published in 2021 and is full of his trademark heart, humour and crackling dialogue. Swimming on the Moon is his second middle-grade novel. @ConaghanAuthor

@BrianConaghan

Reviews

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

STEALING HAPPY is a funny, big-hearted tale about an unlikely hero finding a way to pay off his family's debts.

There is so much heart to this book as it discusses the impacts of long Covid and unemployment on families, the predatory nature of loan sharks, and how it can be so hard to break out of these reinforcing spirals.

This is such a voicy book. Brian Conaghan really manages to capture that young teen voice with authentic sounding slang (which also is a local dialect for Glasgow - and it is so nice to see a contemporary YA set outside of Southern England!) It's also a funny book - Sonny does want to be a comedian, after all.

This is a Lower YA novel, that much needed (and overlooked) teen space. The focus here is friendship rather than romance (though there is a minor crush happening) and how friendships can be strained by the pressures of life.

The book has Tourette's representation. I've never seen this before in YA. I loved how the book engaged with stereotypes to push back against them, showing what life is really like with it. It also interfaces nicely with the plot as Sonny blurts things out at inopportune moments, particularly stressed. And the entire situation is stressful, which intensifies all the effects of Tourette's.

[whatbooknext · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sonny Gilmour has a problem. Well, he has a few at the moment, but the biggest one is money. To be specific, the lack of it.

He and his mum and dad live on the 13th floor of a council building, and despite the building’s lift not working (and smelling of pee or vomit when it does), it’s not been a bad place to live.

He’s used to the trek up the stairs when the lift’s out, and the neighbours are mostly nice, and looking out from the 13th floor over the city is good too. Lately however, there’s been a problem. Sonny discovers that his mum has struggled to pay the rent.

Dad is in bed 98 percent of the time, suffering from long covid. His postal run is impossible, and his bosses haven’t paid him out yet. Mum’s cleaning jobs have all but dried up, and there is hardly any money coming in.

When the local gangster knocks on their door, Sonny knows something’s not right. Learning that mum has borrowed money from Chick Lennon to pay the rent is bad enough, but the interest he’s piled on has made the debt impossible to repay.

Threats lie over the Gilmour household, Dad is still in bed, and Sonny is scared.

He wants to be able to help, and goes through all the things that he could do in his head. Do a stand-up comedy routine and charge people? No. He’s a budding comedian, but he’s got a long way to go. Sell his drum kit, that he’s not allowed to play anyway, because of the thin walls and the neighbours complaining? No. That’s only going to bring in a few quid?

He asks his best friend Jonah, who suggests that the smartest girl in the class might be able to help? Carolina is Sonny’s secret crush, so he’s keen to get her involved.

Her solution involves a hold-up, a balaclava and lots and lots of courage. Sonny thinks he might be able to find them. But his TS (tourette syndrome) will give him away for sure. What use is a balaclava if he can’t prevent himself blurting out the strangest things? He always does when he’s stressed, and a hold-up will definitely be stressful. How will he get the money to get Chick Lennon off his mum’s back, pay the rent so they’re not homeless, and get back to normal life again?


Stealing Happy is a story of a 13-yr-old boy trying to solve a money problem. He wants to be a comedian, so he’s quite a character, his tourette syndrome making him even more so. The author himself has TS, so is writing from personal experience about how the tics, barks, and random outbursts are all part of Sonny Gilmour’s everyday.

In 1st person, Sonny describes the obsessive behaviours he must go through, his wariness of anything with odd numbers, and what his body feels like when the TS is in control. But Stealing Happy is much more than a boy with TS. Sonny is such a genuine character, with a crush, a best friend he loves to hang out with, and worries at home.

A great character within the story is a supportive and understanding school councillor who helps Sonny with his self-esteem, problems in school, or is just an ear when Sonny needs one.

Sonny might be a long way from his stand-up-comedian dream, but he is certainly funny in this heart-felt, authentic novel for early teen readers.


Author – Brian Conaghan

Age – 12+


Publisher – Bloomsbury UK

Set – UK city / Present

Viewpoint – 1st person

Violence – Threat of

Sex – No

Real Life – Yes

Fantasy – No

Blend – Real Life / Humour / Poverty

[OniReadsBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stealing Happy is a young adult novel about a teen boy who tries to save his family from a gang leader who has lent money to his mother, who's struggling to pay the rent, by creating a "get rich quick" plan with his friends.

To be honest, I found this book an interesting, quick read, however I have dropped this book from 3 stars to 2 for these reasons;

The referring to women and girls as "birds", which I found really shocking. There's this scene where the main character invites his female friend around his house, and his father says to him "is that yer bird". Even though a character tells him not to "speak like that", it isn't seen as sexist and unacceptable comment.

Also there's a bit where the main character is told by his father that he's the "man of the family" and he has to answer the door and be brave. Seriously? This book is saying that a 13 year old boy must handle family business and answer the door for dangerous people, over his mother, who's an adult just because he's male?! This attitude just puts pressures on young men to act/be tough and gives the message that women shouldn't handle important business and stand up for themselves and their family.

I really want to recommend this book to people but honestly I find some of these unchallenged attitudes in this novel completely sexist and unacceptable for a YA novel published in 2025.

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something of a return to form for Conaghan. Here he writes for younger teenagers and tweens, revisiting Tourettes, and the lives of working class kids of that age. It’s funny but with a serious edge. Poverty, long Covid, food banks mirror the real lives of plenty of people up and down the county. The story concerns a boys attempts to fix his own family problems after they fall into debt with a local loan shark. There’s lots of Scottish colloquial language but not too much to make it impenetrable. Pretty decent stuff. Away from the book itself and having read a good bit of Conaghan’s work, he’s a massive 90s indie kid from the references in this and other books. Netgalley arc.

[Camilla Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Sonny and his voice was right on the money. I found the writers depiction of Tourette Syndrome really well represented and sensitively done. I can see how this would be a book highly endorsed by the community.

I also loved all the other characters and the writing was fresh and funny. 🤣 I cracked up a lot and found the book really entertaining and engaging.

My only tiny issue was with the story of the robbery itself. The confidence in plot delivery seemed to waiver and I lost faith a bit in the storytelling.

Great book though. Recommend!

[A.K. Adler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the unique voice of the main character, an autistic teen who expresses his anxiety in the most unhelpful ways! Reading this gave me insight, and although it was humorous it delved deeply into the challenges he faced.

The plot wasn't bad, but there wasn't quite enough of it for a book of this length, so it started to feel rather drawn-out and couldn't hold my attention.

[Bookish Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! Would never have picked this up myself but I'm glad I got to read it anyway - excellent neurodiversity rep, very funny and fast read.

[Sere Inkblood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice reading, should be more than 3 stars but there a couple of rushed moments.
Overall very good one.
COVID really affected our lives.

[Caitlin Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up!

UKLA 2026 longlist.