Book review- Review by - Tiffany Wen The novel < Mostly Happy> is absolutely telling an inspiring story. The story is about the protagonist – Bean Fallwell’s life from her conception all the way to almost thirty years after. She has been through so many sorrowful and challenging situations that we can barely imagine. But finally she decides to find the real life that she wants. She never stop find the true happiness of her life, no matter how tough life is. Bean’s family was a mess, in her words, it was “fucked up”. The story centers around her life after her mom – Prissy, divorced with her exhausted dad and started dealing with different relationships. Prissy was not a typically responsible mother, and they moved a lot. But that was the happiest time to Bean. It was mentioned in the novel several times: “ I missed Prissy. I missed the time when it was only me and she, and she always asked me, ‘ Are you happy, kid?’. Then, Prissy married with Jack Vara. The family appeared to be nice and happy at first, but it afterwards became miserable and abusive. Jack Vara was unpredictable and violent. He dated teenage girls but Bean and Prissy always turned a blind eye to it. They still moved a lot, but Bean never forget to bring her Samsonit suitcase. The suitcase never disappear in the story. Bean collects every bits of things that were meaningful to her and tuck them into the suitcase. Bean was always more responsible for Prissy than the other way around. Changing schools all the time and having an abusive father was not the worst thing to her, because her determination helped her to remain protection and strong for her mom and her little sister. There were still people she loved although her life was dysfunctional. Her close friend since childhood- Goose, was the one always there for her. This solid friendship was one of the most precious thing that kept her going. GT, her grandfather, always stood out for her and she was always happy at GT’s. The novel contained certain black materials such as bad language and abusive material, but they does not disturb the pleasures when reading it. Bean is so real and you can feel you were right beside her when you read the story. The existence of bad language is in our everyday life, you may feel uncomfortable when reading them, but that is how our world is like in reality. After her step father broke the rule which was not to hit them in front of others. Bean finally left home and went on to seek for her own life. “ I was tired of everything. Tired of the constant stomachaches of stress wondering when Jack would go off on Prissy again. Tired as hell of her defending him when he was sleeping with a sixteen year-old girl right under her nose.” After all, Bean was just a girl. Her inside was vulnerable although all others could see were her tough sides. Bean finally moved on and chose her own life. Bean’s determination and courage showed us that although we do not get to choose our families, our environments, we can change our life by ourselves. The author used her way to draw us into the character’s life and it is enjoyable to read. I love the story and I recommend you to read it. Ahh I love this book so much! One of my favorites that I read last year!The characters are truly unique and you can’t help but like Bean, the protagonist. It's obviously well-written and composed - it won 2 Saskatchewan Book Awards. Not all of the men in Bean's life were horrible - there was GT (Grandpa) and of course, her Goose, which seemed kind of like a rip-off of Ducky from Pretty in Pink, but still awesome. This book is by no means an easy read with such difficult and dark material, plus language. Of course, we all know that this material/language/etc. happens in the everyday lives of our teens who are reading this. I try to read from the perspective of a teenager and I'm not sure that the average teen will like it, but the ones who love "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and Ellen Hopkins' books will be all over it.LOVE IT!
What do You think about Mostly Happy (2008)?
A definite must-read from a talented Saskatchewan writer.
—jiathakur
My friend Pam has written a fantastic book. Read it!
—kayla
You already know I loved your book, Pam!!! :)
—ScarZ
