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Happy Bad: A Novel
"Nolan is a skillful satirist, and one whose aim is extensive, wickedly funny and true."—New Orleans Times-Picayune
"A self-assured debut that is also a warning."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Delaney Nolan has written a brutal, joyful, surprising, and gorgeous novel of human contradictions. It’s a stunner."—Julia Phillips, author of Bear and Disappearing Earth
Hernan Diaz meets Ottessa Moshfegh in this madcap road trip chronicle; a moving display of human connection in the face of violence and climate destruction from a remarkable new voice in fiction.
Beatrice works at Twin Bridge, a chronically underfunded residential treatment center in near-future East Texas, teeming with enraged teenage girls on either too many or not enough drugs. On a normal day, it’s difficult for Beatrice and the other staff—Arda, Carmen, and Linda—to keep their cool in dust-blown Askewn. But when a heat wave triggers a massive, sustained blackout, Beatrice and the other staff and residents must evacuate. Facing police brutality, sweltering heat, panicked evacuees, the girls’ mounting withdrawal, and the consequences of her own lies, they search for a route out of the blackout zone. A catastrophe novel by turns tender and hilarious, fueled by a low-simmering political rage, Happy Bad is a rocket arrived on Earth.
"A self-assured debut that is also a warning."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Delaney Nolan has written a brutal, joyful, surprising, and gorgeous novel of human contradictions. It’s a stunner."—Julia Phillips, author of Bear and Disappearing Earth
Hernan Diaz meets Ottessa Moshfegh in this madcap road trip chronicle; a moving display of human connection in the face of violence and climate destruction from a remarkable new voice in fiction.
Beatrice works at Twin Bridge, a chronically underfunded residential treatment center in near-future East Texas, teeming with enraged teenage girls on either too many or not enough drugs. On a normal day, it’s difficult for Beatrice and the other staff—Arda, Carmen, and Linda—to keep their cool in dust-blown Askewn. But when a heat wave triggers a massive, sustained blackout, Beatrice and the other staff and residents must evacuate. Facing police brutality, sweltering heat, panicked evacuees, the girls’ mounting withdrawal, and the consequences of her own lies, they search for a route out of the blackout zone. A catastrophe novel by turns tender and hilarious, fueled by a low-simmering political rage, Happy Bad is a rocket arrived on Earth.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
November 28, 2025
Some of the loveliest writing I've read in a long time. My god, this was phenomenal.
September 27, 2025
Since I skim read blurb and tend to pick books by cover I rarely really know what a book will be about. So Happy Bad was a lot more dystopian than I'd like but there's a generous helping of hope in there too.
Our protagonist, Beatrice, comes from a bizarre background - parents abandoned her and her sister, Jemma, then she (in turn) left Jemma, eventually ending up in Edenton working in a girl's group home.
At the time we join the book Beatrice has the girls on a new drug - BeZen - which has wrought miraculous changes on troubled teens. With that in mind Beatrice has "tweaked" the results (quite a lot as it turns out) in order to get her girls moved from a facility in the middle of what is rapidly becoming an unliveable state to a shiny new home in Atlanta. But the climate has other ideas and what should have been a routine road trip turns into an, often comedic, race to find somewhere safe for the girls.
I certainly enjoyed this book more than I usually do a dystopian novel but Beatrice, the other staff and (especially) the girls are extremely likeable characters.
This is not a political novel. It is a look at one version of what the USA might become if global warming continues. But, as I say, its not all doom and gloom. The characters make it worth the read. Its also a look at the increasing problems of drug (ab)use to control behaviour.
There are no big sticks though. Noone is picked on. It is simply a human story about survival, resilience and finding joy wherever you can.
Recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Astra Publishing for the advance review copy.
Our protagonist, Beatrice, comes from a bizarre background - parents abandoned her and her sister, Jemma, then she (in turn) left Jemma, eventually ending up in Edenton working in a girl's group home.
At the time we join the book Beatrice has the girls on a new drug - BeZen - which has wrought miraculous changes on troubled teens. With that in mind Beatrice has "tweaked" the results (quite a lot as it turns out) in order to get her girls moved from a facility in the middle of what is rapidly becoming an unliveable state to a shiny new home in Atlanta. But the climate has other ideas and what should have been a routine road trip turns into an, often comedic, race to find somewhere safe for the girls.
I certainly enjoyed this book more than I usually do a dystopian novel but Beatrice, the other staff and (especially) the girls are extremely likeable characters.
This is not a political novel. It is a look at one version of what the USA might become if global warming continues. But, as I say, its not all doom and gloom. The characters make it worth the read. Its also a look at the increasing problems of drug (ab)use to control behaviour.
There are no big sticks though. Noone is picked on. It is simply a human story about survival, resilience and finding joy wherever you can.
Recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Astra Publishing for the advance review copy.
May 13, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Beatrice is simultaneously detached and profoundly present. Her internal dialogue is irreverent and comically specific. I LOVE this sort of narrator. I also enjoy coming of age stories, and here we get multiple. I recommend to anyone who enjoys the same.
I loved the premise: in an ecologically bankrupt US in the near future (real), a young woman, Beatrice, who works at a home for girls is tasked with moving them cross-state as the largest environmental crisis yet rages. Also, the girls are going through withdrawal from their pre-FDA approved psych meds. 😅
This story alternates between the world and family of Beatrice’s youth, and those she’s found herself a part of in the present. I think there are some incredibly sad and touching moments tempered by humor.
My chief issues were pacing in the second half, which seemed to start to limp towards the end, and the way that the humor sort of drained away. I could see that being intentional, it just didn’t feel that way to me. I also felt that the book ended abruptly.
I still really enjoyed this and am happy I got a chance to read it. The references to Eastern North Carolina really tugged at my heartstrings since that’s where I spent my childhood.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for the eARC.
Beatrice is simultaneously detached and profoundly present. Her internal dialogue is irreverent and comically specific. I LOVE this sort of narrator. I also enjoy coming of age stories, and here we get multiple. I recommend to anyone who enjoys the same.
I loved the premise: in an ecologically bankrupt US in the near future (real), a young woman, Beatrice, who works at a home for girls is tasked with moving them cross-state as the largest environmental crisis yet rages. Also, the girls are going through withdrawal from their pre-FDA approved psych meds. 😅
This story alternates between the world and family of Beatrice’s youth, and those she’s found herself a part of in the present. I think there are some incredibly sad and touching moments tempered by humor.
My chief issues were pacing in the second half, which seemed to start to limp towards the end, and the way that the humor sort of drained away. I could see that being intentional, it just didn’t feel that way to me. I also felt that the book ended abruptly.
I still really enjoyed this and am happy I got a chance to read it. The references to Eastern North Carolina really tugged at my heartstrings since that’s where I spent my childhood.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for the eARC.
September 25, 2025
"Angry young women are the most goddamned resourceful people on the planet."
For an apocalyptic narrative, this was so, so funny that I kept giggling throughout. The characters are, to put it euphemistically, spirited, lively, and creative when it comes to problem-solving. I found them endearing in their ungovernability. As for their minder, she really has her work cut out for her but she miraculously manages to stay above it somehow and stay optimistic even when she's getting battered or endlessly cleaning up bodily fluids.
Beatrice works in a facility called Twin Bridge that is supposed to rehabilitate girls who are considered out of control, either by their parents or by the state. It is often mistaken for a girls' prison and for good reason. The girls there are a mixed bag—some believe in witchcraft, some are a risk to themselves. A lesser person might have despaired and quit long ago, but Beatrice genuinely cares for the girls, even when the experimental mood-stabilising drugs don't work or run out. Beatrice's own unconventional (read: traumatic) childhood provides insight into why she is so suited for the job. Takes a damaged girl to know another, right?
In the background, the world has been slowly going to shit but the shitshow is accelerating by the hour. I liked that the story showed very clearly how it wasn't just the climate getting wacky on its own but that unethical corporations and incompetent (militant) governments have a strong hand in making it hard for everyone who is just trying to survive. Beatrice gets a chance to relocate everyone to a better location but she has no money, no manpower, and the world is literally on fire. But she tries, she really does, and we love to see it. Very entertaining with a lot of heart. I'd watch the film adaptation.
For an apocalyptic narrative, this was so, so funny that I kept giggling throughout. The characters are, to put it euphemistically, spirited, lively, and creative when it comes to problem-solving. I found them endearing in their ungovernability. As for their minder, she really has her work cut out for her but she miraculously manages to stay above it somehow and stay optimistic even when she's getting battered or endlessly cleaning up bodily fluids.
Beatrice works in a facility called Twin Bridge that is supposed to rehabilitate girls who are considered out of control, either by their parents or by the state. It is often mistaken for a girls' prison and for good reason. The girls there are a mixed bag—some believe in witchcraft, some are a risk to themselves. A lesser person might have despaired and quit long ago, but Beatrice genuinely cares for the girls, even when the experimental mood-stabilising drugs don't work or run out. Beatrice's own unconventional (read: traumatic) childhood provides insight into why she is so suited for the job. Takes a damaged girl to know another, right?
In the background, the world has been slowly going to shit but the shitshow is accelerating by the hour. I liked that the story showed very clearly how it wasn't just the climate getting wacky on its own but that unethical corporations and incompetent (militant) governments have a strong hand in making it hard for everyone who is just trying to survive. Beatrice gets a chance to relocate everyone to a better location but she has no money, no manpower, and the world is literally on fire. But she tries, she really does, and we love to see it. Very entertaining with a lot of heart. I'd watch the film adaptation.
October 8, 2025
I got the audiobook for review.
At first I wasn't sure i was enjoyig to story but it grew on me and at the end I was attached to this bit strange group of people trying to manage the dystopian like world. Its funny in parts but at other madr me feel both emphaty and annoyance. (I did not like her parents). I didn't know what to expect from the book and I really liked it.
At first I wasn't sure i was enjoyig to story but it grew on me and at the end I was attached to this bit strange group of people trying to manage the dystopian like world. Its funny in parts but at other madr me feel both emphaty and annoyance. (I did not like her parents). I didn't know what to expect from the book and I really liked it.
September 17, 2025
Equal parts heartbreaking, hilarious, and horrifying I could not read this fast enough. It’s just a snippet of life in the not-so-distant future that feels very realistic and reflective of what we’re living through today. This book made me feel both hopeful and afraid for what is to come, and I loved it all.
Read
May 24, 2025I'm leaving this one about one third in. It's doing nothing for me as I expected something more challenging and got a pretty much straightforward post-apocalyptic narrative.
Read
January 14, 2026I don’t know?
October 14, 2025
I reallyyy liked this novel!! I found it fascinating and eerily believable of a dystopian future America. 😅
Although the story is set in a bleak, apocalyptic world, it’s surprisingly funny. I caught myself giggling, especially in the first half, despite the dark themes.
The story follows Beatrice, who works at a facility in Askewn, Texas. This is a center for girls deemed unmanageable, and let me tell ya, the girls are indeed an interesting and unpredictable bunch. At Twin Brduge, they’re given BeZen, a mood stabilizing drug in the final stages of FDA approval.
Meanwhile, the world is falling apart under climate disasters. When BeZen offers Beatrice a chance to relocate the girls (and herself) to a better facility, and a heat wave triggers a massive blackout, the journey that follows is anything but simple. What a journey!
I found the characters, from the girls to Beatrice and the other supervisors at the facility, both chaotic and unique. There is dystopian, climate change, corporate greed and corruption, incompetence (aham government), drug use, coming of age. I appreciated how the novel alternated between present and past timelines.
This is a human story about survival, and to an extent I think, joy. I could see this as a film adaption! It’s eerie but hopeful, sad but strangely uplifting.
Although the story is set in a bleak, apocalyptic world, it’s surprisingly funny. I caught myself giggling, especially in the first half, despite the dark themes.
The story follows Beatrice, who works at a facility in Askewn, Texas. This is a center for girls deemed unmanageable, and let me tell ya, the girls are indeed an interesting and unpredictable bunch. At Twin Brduge, they’re given BeZen, a mood stabilizing drug in the final stages of FDA approval.
Meanwhile, the world is falling apart under climate disasters. When BeZen offers Beatrice a chance to relocate the girls (and herself) to a better facility, and a heat wave triggers a massive blackout, the journey that follows is anything but simple. What a journey!
I found the characters, from the girls to Beatrice and the other supervisors at the facility, both chaotic and unique. There is dystopian, climate change, corporate greed and corruption, incompetence (aham government), drug use, coming of age. I appreciated how the novel alternated between present and past timelines.
This is a human story about survival, and to an extent I think, joy. I could see this as a film adaption! It’s eerie but hopeful, sad but strangely uplifting.
June 10, 2025
Thanks to Netgalley and Astra House for the ebook. Set slightly in the future, Beatrice works at a center for troubled teenage girls whose behavior has been vastly improved by the taking of a new drug that is doing a clinical trial at this facility. Or at least that’s what Beatrice puts in all her reports. The drugs don’t really seem to help, but she desperately wants the girls and the staff to be transferred to a new facility in Atlanta. Where they currently are, in East Texas, is quickly becoming a climate disaster area, with extreme heat, historic dust storms and ever growing blackouts. The heart of the novel is a road trip across the country with all these fragile characters that is hysterical when it’s not horrific and life threatening.
September 21, 2025
thanks to NetGalley and Astra House for the advanced digital copy. (side note, this was an arc sent to me that i didn't request and wow do those publishers know me.)
this is out October 14th, 2025.
--
this book is a heatstroke hallucination. a dust-choked, blood-blistered, wrenching trip through a crumbling texas, powered by failed systems and girls on unregulated psych meds. and god, i loved it.
the writing is phenomenal. not flashy, not self-congratulatory, just piercing. the kind of prose that slides a knife between your ribs without warning. there's a moment where someone's chewing "a tassel of her own hair," and it tells you more about the tone than anything else i could write. (side note: i laughed out loud when the protag tells us that if someone ever says that money doesn't matter, we should steal their wallet.)
this book's world feels terrifyingly real: climate collapse, privatized healthcare, pharma corruption, capital-run bureaucracy. our protagonist gets vouchers to pay for a moving van and they aren't accepted. cash-only because the government can't be trusted to take care of its citizens and keep its promises.
beatrice, our narrator, is a brilliant contradiction: emotionally numbed out and yet painfully perceptive. there's a throughline here about loyalty and detachment, about what happens to a person who's asked to care in a world that keeps proving it doesn't care back. and also? she's from eastern north carolina. loved seeing that detail woven in since i'm also from there. and having been impacted by devastating hurricanes (florence, my family lost homes in helene), the environmental aspects of this feel less like sci-fi and more like our pending reality.
i do wish we'd spent more time in the "after". i wanted to see the post-blackout pockets of community, especially that glimpse of louisiana. and i think the book could've gone even deeper on the bezen pharma angle. i wanted more bite, more conspiracy, more horror in the way institutional rot gets papered over. but honestly? i didn't want this book to end at all, so this criticism is rooted in my own greed for more.
not for the faint of heart. or maybe especially for the faint of heart. either way, it's incredible. a novel for the ones who see the heat shimmer and know it's a warning. happy bad is blistered and brilliant.
this is out October 14th, 2025.
--
this book is a heatstroke hallucination. a dust-choked, blood-blistered, wrenching trip through a crumbling texas, powered by failed systems and girls on unregulated psych meds. and god, i loved it.
the writing is phenomenal. not flashy, not self-congratulatory, just piercing. the kind of prose that slides a knife between your ribs without warning. there's a moment where someone's chewing "a tassel of her own hair," and it tells you more about the tone than anything else i could write. (side note: i laughed out loud when the protag tells us that if someone ever says that money doesn't matter, we should steal their wallet.)
this book's world feels terrifyingly real: climate collapse, privatized healthcare, pharma corruption, capital-run bureaucracy. our protagonist gets vouchers to pay for a moving van and they aren't accepted. cash-only because the government can't be trusted to take care of its citizens and keep its promises.
beatrice, our narrator, is a brilliant contradiction: emotionally numbed out and yet painfully perceptive. there's a throughline here about loyalty and detachment, about what happens to a person who's asked to care in a world that keeps proving it doesn't care back. and also? she's from eastern north carolina. loved seeing that detail woven in since i'm also from there. and having been impacted by devastating hurricanes (florence, my family lost homes in helene), the environmental aspects of this feel less like sci-fi and more like our pending reality.
i do wish we'd spent more time in the "after". i wanted to see the post-blackout pockets of community, especially that glimpse of louisiana. and i think the book could've gone even deeper on the bezen pharma angle. i wanted more bite, more conspiracy, more horror in the way institutional rot gets papered over. but honestly? i didn't want this book to end at all, so this criticism is rooted in my own greed for more.
not for the faint of heart. or maybe especially for the faint of heart. either way, it's incredible. a novel for the ones who see the heat shimmer and know it's a warning. happy bad is blistered and brilliant.
July 28, 2025
This was weird and hard to understand. I felt like I was just vaguely following the storyline. The most interesting parts were Beatrice's flashbacks to her childhood. I truly feel like I missed the point of this one.
Thank you to Astra House and NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you to Astra House and NetGalley for the ARC.
November 24, 2025
Thank you to Astra Publishing House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.75 stars.
Our narrator, Beatrice, works at a treatment centre for challenging teenage girls. This is the near-future, where climate change is causing devastating heat-waves and other environmental issues.
After an extended powercut she is forced to evacuate the girls along with other staff members and embark on a challenging road trip.
Our narrator is entertaining, and there was a satirical tone running through the narrative, which occasionally made me chuckle.
I enjoyed all the interactions with the girls, and it was a different feeling kind of climate crisis book which felt refreshing.
I was disappointed at the sudden ending, but it was overall an assured debut novel.
3.75 stars.
Our narrator, Beatrice, works at a treatment centre for challenging teenage girls. This is the near-future, where climate change is causing devastating heat-waves and other environmental issues.
After an extended powercut she is forced to evacuate the girls along with other staff members and embark on a challenging road trip.
Our narrator is entertaining, and there was a satirical tone running through the narrative, which occasionally made me chuckle.
I enjoyed all the interactions with the girls, and it was a different feeling kind of climate crisis book which felt refreshing.
I was disappointed at the sudden ending, but it was overall an assured debut novel.
October 11, 2025
A facility for treating and sheltering young women and girls is under pressure to show results of a drug trial, but supply chain issues and power grid failures are making it difficult to provide consistent care. The barely qualified young woman manager makes it her mission to get everyone to the company’s HQ in Atlanta where they will have everything they need…. Not unlike the fantasy of going to Solla-Sollew (“where they never have troubles, at least very few.“). As she tries to move the facility forward, we are given glimpses of her troubled past, including her religious parents who fall into the trap that will trip up all climate change deniers at some point: reality. No post-apocalyptic novel is going to be a happy story (we know what’s coming). It’s the stark description of our soon-to-be everyday struggle of living — even without “the big one” taking out the town — that makes this novel so unsettling.
Well-narrated audiobook.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BrillianceAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook #HappyBad for review purposes. Publication date: 14 October 2025.
Well-narrated audiobook.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BrillianceAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook #HappyBad for review purposes. Publication date: 14 October 2025.
November 11, 2025
The horrors that our characters face throughout this book could absolutely become reality within our existence and I really believe that is what kept my eyes glued to each page of Delaney Nolan's debut novel, set in the dystopian realms of a devastating, ecological nightmare! 🥲
Gripped by the catastrophic uncertainty of their journey and Beatrice's compassion towards the girls, I really enjoyed how the non-linear narrative added that extra layer of curiosity to the book! I was captivated after the first few chapters and couldn't put the book down (which is rare for a mood reader like myself) so if you're looking for that immersive and engaging read that will really make you think twice about the future of our world— look no further! 👀
Thank you Astra Publishing House & NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts of the book!
Gripped by the catastrophic uncertainty of their journey and Beatrice's compassion towards the girls, I really enjoyed how the non-linear narrative added that extra layer of curiosity to the book! I was captivated after the first few chapters and couldn't put the book down (which is rare for a mood reader like myself) so if you're looking for that immersive and engaging read that will really make you think twice about the future of our world— look no further! 👀
Thank you Astra Publishing House & NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts of the book!
May 2, 2025
⭐️⭐️.✨— (2.5/5 stars)
Delaney Nolan's Happy Bad threw me headfirst into Twin Bridge, where the apocalypse outside is less scary than the pharmaceutically loaded teenage residents within its walls. Beatrice and her crew are just trying to keep the chaos contained, barely managing to keep all the girls in line on a normal day.. but when a heatwave-induced blackout hits East-Texas, the power goes out & stays out — all bets are officially off. Think a funny, heartwarming disaster with a sprinkle of righteous fury.
The premise had me doing a little happy (bad) dance. "GIRL, INTERRUPTED" meets "LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND"? Sign. Me. Up.
But our main girly Beatrice, is sort of a wet paper bag, her detached narration made it hard for me to stay interested at times. Some of the chapters were longer than an East-Texas summer. && then it somehow felt like the book just ended, without any actual ending.
I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t love the book — It just... existed. It feels like theres a whole lot of material hiding in the POV of one of those teen girls, (Teresa maybe), begging to be told. Perspective from one of the girls inbetween the adult narrators really could have taken this story to the next level;
————-::TRANSPARENCY:: ————-
I was gifted an #eARC from the publisher of this book in exchange for an honest review via #NetGalley! Thank you @astrapublishinghouse @astrahousebooks & @Netgalley
* The formatting of this ARC made it very difficult to read on mobile, or keep notes /highlight passages. Wasn’t impossible, but definitely took some getting used to and in the beginning really slowed me down.
Delaney Nolan's Happy Bad threw me headfirst into Twin Bridge, where the apocalypse outside is less scary than the pharmaceutically loaded teenage residents within its walls. Beatrice and her crew are just trying to keep the chaos contained, barely managing to keep all the girls in line on a normal day.. but when a heatwave-induced blackout hits East-Texas, the power goes out & stays out — all bets are officially off. Think a funny, heartwarming disaster with a sprinkle of righteous fury.
The premise had me doing a little happy (bad) dance. "GIRL, INTERRUPTED" meets "LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND"? Sign. Me. Up.
But our main girly Beatrice, is sort of a wet paper bag, her detached narration made it hard for me to stay interested at times. Some of the chapters were longer than an East-Texas summer. && then it somehow felt like the book just ended, without any actual ending.
I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t love the book — It just... existed. It feels like theres a whole lot of material hiding in the POV of one of those teen girls, (Teresa maybe), begging to be told. Perspective from one of the girls inbetween the adult narrators really could have taken this story to the next level;
————-::TRANSPARENCY:: ————-
I was gifted an #eARC from the publisher of this book in exchange for an honest review via #NetGalley! Thank you @astrapublishinghouse @astrahousebooks & @Netgalley
* The formatting of this ARC made it very difficult to read on mobile, or keep notes /highlight passages. Wasn’t impossible, but definitely took some getting used to and in the beginning really slowed me down.
January 4, 2026
I am really hoping this becomes a modern classic. That and or I hope someone picks this up to be a horror film. The scientific insights and how they relate to personal research and history and the ideas of feminism when struggling to break through the invisible yet ever present glass ceiling was so brilliant. The way Nolan equates the feminist struggle to break barriers as one not just in the corporate setting but also academic, further promulgated by the war on drugs was so interesting. I enjoyed how unpredictable this was plot wise. All around so brilliant and creative. I did not expect to love this book so much!
November 12, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the book preview. This is a dystopian novel dealing with girlhood, climate crises, and the consequences of our actions as a society. I enjoyed the preview and found it to be relevant to the current climate, both political and environmental.
December 15, 2025
I could not put this down. It feels like Chelsea Bieker and I loved every second of it. A million stars.
January 8, 2026
This is a brilliant romp that sings in the face of ecological fallout. The author has managed to home in on the theme of denial, and how crises grow until they take over the story (or our stories) completely. I thoroughly enjoyed both plot lines in parallel – the narrator’s upbringing, and her time working at a Tender Kare girl’s facility. While everyone seems to be looking for alternatives to the bleak future set in the novel, our narrator has no other choice but to confront chaos head on. In turn, she is an incredibly enjoyable character to read – defined by her grit and sense of humor. The book felt raw in a way that was refreshing, and hit on a darker side of adolescence. I am excited for everyone who finds this new release!
Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
October 11, 2025
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
Thank you to #AstraPublishingHouse and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this FANTASTIC debut #audiobook by Delaney Nolan (narrated beautifully by Elena Anderson). I've mentioned numerous times that one of my favorite aspects of this platform is getting the chance to discover new authors and, in this case, to be able to rave about a DEBUT novel by a truly talented writer. I simply loved this one.
I was taken in immediately by the main character, Beatrice, and she only grew on me as the novel progressed. Delaney Nolan has imbued all of her characters with depth and presence. Beatrice and her older sister, Gemma, are deeply felt and their relationship was one of the best parts of the book for me. The plot drifts effortlessly forward and backward over time: an unfolding of the sisters' shared bond and the state of their parents who have, in desperation, fallen into an "online solution" to the family's woes. These online "revolutionary cures" seem so familiar in our current world. The parents prove to be unreliable leaders so Gemma tries to provide for her sister -- acting as the mother Bea should have had (that they both should have had, actually!).
The plot takes place, primarily, in (near) future Askewn, TX where our planet is rapidly deteriorating under the weight of climate disasters and human greed. Beatrice is employed as a supervisor at Twin Bridge, a residential treatment and pseudo incarceration center. There she oversees a clutch of troubled girls (who "age-out" at 18) being treated for a variety of disorders (including being "oblivion" addicts) via a trial drug called BeZen.
This novel nails everything: climate change, greed, big pharma, our failing social service system, conspiracy theories, and so much more. All of these things are encapsulated into a narrative which amplifies the increasing desperation of humans (their overconsumption, fear, greed). It portrays the amazing beauty and grace demonstrated by some alongside the fear and cruelty of others. It's a world that has been so "venture-capitalized" that there's no longer anything therapeutic or healing about social services -- everything has become commoditized and incentivized.
And while all of these dynamics play out, the planet is fading.
I've been reading a number of books that include climate change and the dire consequences of human behavior -- misused power and unquenchable creed -- and they emerge, in many ways, as a reflection of our current times.
This world has become increasingly bizarre and unimaginably "apocalyptic" and while other readers may be craving escape and retreat into books featuring romances and meets-cute, I LOVE to read a book with some darkness, realism, and high stakes. THIS is one of them. It is obvious that Nolan has intelligently observed the world - ecologically, sociologically, psychologically, etc. - and translated all of these aforementioned dynamics into a compelling story about two amazing sisters and a group of determined people who are forced to make a journey from Texas to Atlanta, GA under very uncertain and dire circumstances. The writing is addictive!
I expect much more from this author in the future and I am HERE for it. This seems like a woman who has taken her wealth of experience and knowledge and, with tremendous talent and care, spun it all into one of the best debuts I've read. SO happy for her.
ALL happy - NO bad!!!! #BRAVA
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
5 stars
Thank you to #AstraPublishingHouse and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this FANTASTIC debut #audiobook by Delaney Nolan (narrated beautifully by Elena Anderson). I've mentioned numerous times that one of my favorite aspects of this platform is getting the chance to discover new authors and, in this case, to be able to rave about a DEBUT novel by a truly talented writer. I simply loved this one.
I was taken in immediately by the main character, Beatrice, and she only grew on me as the novel progressed. Delaney Nolan has imbued all of her characters with depth and presence. Beatrice and her older sister, Gemma, are deeply felt and their relationship was one of the best parts of the book for me. The plot drifts effortlessly forward and backward over time: an unfolding of the sisters' shared bond and the state of their parents who have, in desperation, fallen into an "online solution" to the family's woes. These online "revolutionary cures" seem so familiar in our current world. The parents prove to be unreliable leaders so Gemma tries to provide for her sister -- acting as the mother Bea should have had (that they both should have had, actually!).
The plot takes place, primarily, in (near) future Askewn, TX where our planet is rapidly deteriorating under the weight of climate disasters and human greed. Beatrice is employed as a supervisor at Twin Bridge, a residential treatment and pseudo incarceration center. There she oversees a clutch of troubled girls (who "age-out" at 18) being treated for a variety of disorders (including being "oblivion" addicts) via a trial drug called BeZen.
This novel nails everything: climate change, greed, big pharma, our failing social service system, conspiracy theories, and so much more. All of these things are encapsulated into a narrative which amplifies the increasing desperation of humans (their overconsumption, fear, greed). It portrays the amazing beauty and grace demonstrated by some alongside the fear and cruelty of others. It's a world that has been so "venture-capitalized" that there's no longer anything therapeutic or healing about social services -- everything has become commoditized and incentivized.
And while all of these dynamics play out, the planet is fading.
I've been reading a number of books that include climate change and the dire consequences of human behavior -- misused power and unquenchable creed -- and they emerge, in many ways, as a reflection of our current times.
This world has become increasingly bizarre and unimaginably "apocalyptic" and while other readers may be craving escape and retreat into books featuring romances and meets-cute, I LOVE to read a book with some darkness, realism, and high stakes. THIS is one of them. It is obvious that Nolan has intelligently observed the world - ecologically, sociologically, psychologically, etc. - and translated all of these aforementioned dynamics into a compelling story about two amazing sisters and a group of determined people who are forced to make a journey from Texas to Atlanta, GA under very uncertain and dire circumstances. The writing is addictive!
I expect much more from this author in the future and I am HERE for it. This seems like a woman who has taken her wealth of experience and knowledge and, with tremendous talent and care, spun it all into one of the best debuts I've read. SO happy for her.
ALL happy - NO bad!!!! #BRAVA
August 6, 2025
Wow! Delaney Nolan has created possibly the bleakest, most dystopian world I've encountered in literature - a terrifyingly believable future America where unchecked capitalism, climate devastation, unethical drug trials, underfunded public systems, dangerous cults, police violence, border militarization, excessive bureaucracy, supply chain issues, extreme wealth inequality, and anti-migrant sentiment have created a hostile wasteland that will make you miss the days of Katniss Everdeen fighting to the death in the Hunger Games. The America of Happy Bad is a devasted hellhole stripped of any hope, where most animals are extinct, a failing electrical grid battles with record high temperatures, the landscape is a greenless dust bowl, food is made with "imitation corn," and our protagonist struggles to maintain a semblance of sanity working in a psych facility/prison for "troubled" teenage girls, who are used as human guinea pigs for a private pharmaceutical company. Other reviews have compared this novel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and I think that is apt; it also reminded me a lot of one of my favorite books, The Grapes of Wrath. It's not until the very last few pages that The heaviness of this book definitely required me to take mental health breaks while reading, but I'm glad I stuck it out. The worldbuilding and pacing of this novel are excellent, and while I didn't necessarily like the main character, she was interesting and complex. If I had one critique it would be that the ending As challenging as it was, Nolan has introduced us to a deeply compelling world, and I could definitely see a sort of anthology series of books set in this universe but with different characters and locations. For instance, I want to know more about the , and I want to see what life is like for the elite of this world, who presumably are lounging about in an air-conditioned bunker, or maybe they flew to Mars with Elon? At any rate, this book is worth facing the hopelessness in order to confront the issues Nolan is raising, and she is definitely an author I'll be watching for in the future.
November 16, 2025
Actual Rating 2.5
This read is a bit of a tough one to rate. I really liked the dystopian aspects. Set in the near future, the world is undergoing the drastic effects of unstoppable climate change, and blackouts are increasingly common occurrences. Extinctions have taken place, and most food is made from soybean paste and other ingredients that are easy to come by but lacking in flavor. The idea of a pharmaceutical company using a house of “troubled” teen girls to test drugs on was well incorporated, as were the parts dealing with the absurdness of bureaucracy during times of disaster and need.
The writing style made this one more difficult to enjoy though. There were many, many flashbacks and instances that were deep dives into the narrator’s past. Some of these instances were more relevant than others, and the flashbacks often occurred in the middle of action in the primary timeline. There were also instances when the writing felt out of order. For example, the MC told us about the history of a place from information she read on a plaque in a waiting room. Then the next pages were about her arriving to that place, wrangling the girls, then entering the waiting room and reading the plaque that she got the information from. This way of writing, plus the many flashbacks, made the work feel fragmented and disjointed. Not to mention the pacing of the book was pretty uneven, often straying into feeling stagnant, but then the ending was abrupt.
I think this would have been a stronger read if the MC had been one of the girls at the home rather than Beatrice. Beatrice was somewhat bland and even having all of her background didn’t aid in making her feel much more relatable. Something about her narration felt detached.
I would honestly read more from this author, especially if it’s set in the same world. This work just ended up being somewhat average for me, though. My thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This read is a bit of a tough one to rate. I really liked the dystopian aspects. Set in the near future, the world is undergoing the drastic effects of unstoppable climate change, and blackouts are increasingly common occurrences. Extinctions have taken place, and most food is made from soybean paste and other ingredients that are easy to come by but lacking in flavor. The idea of a pharmaceutical company using a house of “troubled” teen girls to test drugs on was well incorporated, as were the parts dealing with the absurdness of bureaucracy during times of disaster and need.
The writing style made this one more difficult to enjoy though. There were many, many flashbacks and instances that were deep dives into the narrator’s past. Some of these instances were more relevant than others, and the flashbacks often occurred in the middle of action in the primary timeline. There were also instances when the writing felt out of order. For example, the MC told us about the history of a place from information she read on a plaque in a waiting room. Then the next pages were about her arriving to that place, wrangling the girls, then entering the waiting room and reading the plaque that she got the information from. This way of writing, plus the many flashbacks, made the work feel fragmented and disjointed. Not to mention the pacing of the book was pretty uneven, often straying into feeling stagnant, but then the ending was abrupt.
I think this would have been a stronger read if the MC had been one of the girls at the home rather than Beatrice. Beatrice was somewhat bland and even having all of her background didn’t aid in making her feel much more relatable. Something about her narration felt detached.
I would honestly read more from this author, especially if it’s set in the same world. This work just ended up being somewhat average for me, though. My thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
October 9, 2025
So, first, I am not the target audience. I would have passed on the ARC/ALC had I known that this was dystopian.
When offered an ARC/ALC, I try not to go on Goodreads for anything. The description on Goodreads is accurate. The information I had was not. It was listed as "General Fiction" and this is the synopsis "Beatrice works at Twin Bridge, a chronically underfunded residential treatment center in near-future East Texas, teeming with enraged teenage girls on either too many or not enough drugs. On a normal day, it’s difficult for Beatrice and the other staff—Arda, Carmen, and Linda—to keep their cool in dust-blown Askewn. But when a heat wave triggers a massive, sustained blackout, Beatrice and the other staff and residents must evacuate. Facing police brutality, sweltering heat, panicked evacuees, the girls’ mounting withdrawal, and the consequences of her own lies, they search for a route out of the blackout zone. A catastrophe novel by turns tender and hilarious, fueled by a low-simmering political rage, Happy Bad is a rocket arrived on Earth."
The only hints at this being dystopian/sci-fi is "near-future", but I didn't think too much of it.
I should have DNFed this. I felt the urge to early on, but persevered. I was very mad at myself at the end- because the ending is terrible, IMO.
Now, I have occasionally enjoyed dystopian in the past- like The Hunger Games or The Divergent series. I did not enjoy this. Part of the problem is there really isn't a why/how/when they ended up like that. I mean, vague aspects- it is part of a climate crisis. But if you want me to buy in, I need details. This is why I avoid anything sci-fi or fantasy related. I am far too logical of a person.
So, again, I recognize that I am not the target audience. I felt it was terrible. But I am sure many will enjoy- and based on the ratings, many have.
When offered an ARC/ALC, I try not to go on Goodreads for anything. The description on Goodreads is accurate. The information I had was not. It was listed as "General Fiction" and this is the synopsis "Beatrice works at Twin Bridge, a chronically underfunded residential treatment center in near-future East Texas, teeming with enraged teenage girls on either too many or not enough drugs. On a normal day, it’s difficult for Beatrice and the other staff—Arda, Carmen, and Linda—to keep their cool in dust-blown Askewn. But when a heat wave triggers a massive, sustained blackout, Beatrice and the other staff and residents must evacuate. Facing police brutality, sweltering heat, panicked evacuees, the girls’ mounting withdrawal, and the consequences of her own lies, they search for a route out of the blackout zone. A catastrophe novel by turns tender and hilarious, fueled by a low-simmering political rage, Happy Bad is a rocket arrived on Earth."
The only hints at this being dystopian/sci-fi is "near-future", but I didn't think too much of it.
I should have DNFed this. I felt the urge to early on, but persevered. I was very mad at myself at the end- because the ending is terrible, IMO.
Now, I have occasionally enjoyed dystopian in the past- like The Hunger Games or The Divergent series. I did not enjoy this. Part of the problem is there really isn't a why/how/when they ended up like that. I mean, vague aspects- it is part of a climate crisis. But if you want me to buy in, I need details. This is why I avoid anything sci-fi or fantasy related. I am far too logical of a person.
So, again, I recognize that I am not the target audience. I felt it was terrible. But I am sure many will enjoy- and based on the ratings, many have.
June 17, 2025
2.5 rounded up to 3
I struggled really hard at the start of this one, and unfortunately I don't think I really recovered. A coming of age story set in a ecological disaster with a hodgepodge group of characters sounds right up my alley... right?
Happy Bad follows Beatrice, who works at a clinic for troubled girls who are partaking in a drug trial that "improves" their mental health. Following a dust storm that triggers a sustained blackout, a shocking crime committed by one of the girls causes the staff and residents to load into a van and embark on a road trip to a facility in Atlanta.
First things first, I did love Beatrice. Her internal dialogue was so funny and sardonic that it fit the coming of age story really well. Her interactions with the other characters really sold me on her character.
I thought the premise sounded really interesting. It checked all my boxes for "weird-girl lit summer read" but it fell flat in nearly every category. Outside of Beatrice I had a hard time connecting with any of the other characters, some chapters went on for far too long, and the pacing in the second half leading to the end (which was rather abrupt) was so slow.
I'm interested to see if this author continues after this. I think there's a lot of talent hidden in this book that just needed more time to bake.
*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinion expressed are entirely my own*
I struggled really hard at the start of this one, and unfortunately I don't think I really recovered. A coming of age story set in a ecological disaster with a hodgepodge group of characters sounds right up my alley... right?
Happy Bad follows Beatrice, who works at a clinic for troubled girls who are partaking in a drug trial that "improves" their mental health. Following a dust storm that triggers a sustained blackout, a shocking crime committed by one of the girls causes the staff and residents to load into a van and embark on a road trip to a facility in Atlanta.
First things first, I did love Beatrice. Her internal dialogue was so funny and sardonic that it fit the coming of age story really well. Her interactions with the other characters really sold me on her character.
I thought the premise sounded really interesting. It checked all my boxes for "weird-girl lit summer read" but it fell flat in nearly every category. Outside of Beatrice I had a hard time connecting with any of the other characters, some chapters went on for far too long, and the pacing in the second half leading to the end (which was rather abrupt) was so slow.
I'm interested to see if this author continues after this. I think there's a lot of talent hidden in this book that just needed more time to bake.
*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinion expressed are entirely my own*
November 13, 2025
Holy shit this book is so good. I would give it 5 million stars if I could.
I don't think it's useful to discuss the plot -- you can read the dust jacket (which IMO gives too much away) or the teaser above (which objectively gives WAY too much away) or do yourself a favor and just dive in.
Happy Bad is perfectly taut and balanced. The pace set by the writing ad the punctuation. The atmospherics created by the word choice and the metaphors. The sheer philosophical depth, the maniacally caustic humor. Happy Bad captures, like no other book I have ever read, the disconcerting feeling of living in a damaged version of the world you were promised. But it doesn't just capture that disconcert. It hits you over the head with it, again and again, making you laugh and cry and cry and laugh and both at once, over and over again. The not-too-distant dystopia in which Happy Bad is set is a few degrees off from the reality of our present world -- but the feelings that this dystopia evokes in Beatrice, and the reactions it draws from her entourage are so palpably, viscerally real... that I don't know how to end this sentence.
Beyond just how much fun I had reading this book -- Happy Bad has also expanded my understanding of the human condition, and my understanding of what to expect in the coming decades as forecasts of climate change become the living reality of climate breakdown. What a read...
Run don't walk to your local indie bookstore (because fuck amazon) -- and have a nice journey!
I don't think it's useful to discuss the plot -- you can read the dust jacket (which IMO gives too much away) or the teaser above (which objectively gives WAY too much away) or do yourself a favor and just dive in.
Happy Bad is perfectly taut and balanced. The pace set by the writing ad the punctuation. The atmospherics created by the word choice and the metaphors. The sheer philosophical depth, the maniacally caustic humor. Happy Bad captures, like no other book I have ever read, the disconcerting feeling of living in a damaged version of the world you were promised. But it doesn't just capture that disconcert. It hits you over the head with it, again and again, making you laugh and cry and cry and laugh and both at once, over and over again. The not-too-distant dystopia in which Happy Bad is set is a few degrees off from the reality of our present world -- but the feelings that this dystopia evokes in Beatrice, and the reactions it draws from her entourage are so palpably, viscerally real... that I don't know how to end this sentence.
Beyond just how much fun I had reading this book -- Happy Bad has also expanded my understanding of the human condition, and my understanding of what to expect in the coming decades as forecasts of climate change become the living reality of climate breakdown. What a read...
Run don't walk to your local indie bookstore (because fuck amazon) -- and have a nice journey!
Read
October 12, 2025I went into this one knowing there is going to be a very *specific* audience for this book/its plot, and anticipating that I may not be it, but am glad I gave it a go.
After listening to 28% I still felt like I didn’t know what was going on due to the plot moving kind of slowly, coupled with the jumps back in time. I have seen other reviews saying that the vague dystopian element didn’t work for them, which was not an issue for me!
The narration on this was fine, and I am glad I attempted a listen over an eyeball read, as that often keeps me more engaged with a story I’m not entirely connecting with.
I think this one will work well for people who enjoy lit fic, don’t mind not having a complete backstory, and enjoy books with eerily realistic dystopian elements. That is usually me, but unfortunately not in this case. Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion!
After listening to 28% I still felt like I didn’t know what was going on due to the plot moving kind of slowly, coupled with the jumps back in time. I have seen other reviews saying that the vague dystopian element didn’t work for them, which was not an issue for me!
The narration on this was fine, and I am glad I attempted a listen over an eyeball read, as that often keeps me more engaged with a story I’m not entirely connecting with.
I think this one will work well for people who enjoy lit fic, don’t mind not having a complete backstory, and enjoy books with eerily realistic dystopian elements. That is usually me, but unfortunately not in this case. Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion!
November 6, 2025
Why is the future oh so terrible? Maybe a book with a happy bright future?? Nah. With the climate wreaking havoc, parts of the world and all over the United States are uninhabitable. In the middle of nowhere Asken, Texas, the farming belt has dried out and the future is bleak. At Twin Bridge, a care facility for troubled teenage girls, the private venture owner has made a deal to test drugs to "stabilize" the troubled girls. If it works, the facility will close and move to a new one in Atlanta where the weather is sort of normal. Beatrice is the coordinator at Twin Bridges and is desperate to get this done with a little fudging of the test results. As the move date nears and bureaucracy could cause a delay, a major windstorm is bearing down and everybody is scrambling to get out. Beatrice is forced to get a rental van along with half the town and make a run for it. Hijinks ensue. Crazy, dark and emotional, well worth it.
October 11, 2025
Feeling very neutral about this one. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't bad. I read the audiobook, and I feel like maybe it made it harder to understand due to the number of characters and very little (if any) changes the narrator did to illustrate different voices. I enjoyed the narrative about her past, but the present felt very scattered. The characters had very little about them, and I didn't get attached to anyone. I didn't really get to know anyone. The "kinda" romance interest was unnecessary, and the focus on meds felt flat by the end. The ending left me thinking there had to be an epilogue or something.
Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
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December 18, 2025ARC Review – thanks to NetGalley & Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.
I literally finished this two hours ago… and I’m already struggling to remember what actually happened. That kind of says it all.
I did enjoy the flow of the audiobook — it was easy to listen to — but the plot never really felt like the focus. It was more about mood than story, and while it had some sad and slightly disturbing moments, nothing truly shocking or unforgettable.
Overall, it felt like the book needed more context. I kept having to mentally backtrack and remind myself what had happened in earlier chapters, which made it hard to stay fully engaged.
I literally finished this two hours ago… and I’m already struggling to remember what actually happened. That kind of says it all.
I did enjoy the flow of the audiobook — it was easy to listen to — but the plot never really felt like the focus. It was more about mood than story, and while it had some sad and slightly disturbing moments, nothing truly shocking or unforgettable.
Overall, it felt like the book needed more context. I kept having to mentally backtrack and remind myself what had happened in earlier chapters, which made it hard to stay fully engaged.
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