Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: The Happiness Project
AUTHOR: Suki Fleet
PUBLISHER: Stars and Ink Press
LENGTH: 338 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2022
BLURB:
Nineteen-year-old Bruno has a secret he can never tell. The sort of secret that means he can never have anything more than sort of friends. Never get close to anyone. Never have a random hook-up or even a kiss—apart from that one time in a club when some beautiful guy wearing luminous wings and neon bangles up his arms, kissed him.
His secret means getting fired from job after job washing dishes, until delivering mysterious packages around London is his only way of making any money. His secret means his life is, at its heart, a lie.
Bruno thinks he can live that lie. Alone in his empty, furniture-less flat, he thinks he has to. Until the lonely boy next door throws up on him and they get stuck in a lift together. But that’s the problem when someone starts to care about you, your secrets get harder to hide. And as he and Alexei gets closer, Bruno realises that his only real choice is between hiding his heart and trusting it.
Alexei is confused. About everything. Hiding out in a room in his cousin’s flat, he tries to convince himself that’s where he needs to stay. Bad things happen outside. Things that might make his world grow even darker. Things he doesn’t think he can deal with. He doesn’t want to have feelings for Bruno. Feelings terrify him. But when he starts to understand Bruno has his own troubles, helping him becomes the only thing Alexei wants to do.
REVIEW:
The Happiness Project is a gorgeous, moving book. Again and again, Suki Fleet delivers heart rending novels and The Happiness Project is no exception; it’s another emotional powerhouse that sensitively touches upon gender identity, neurodiversity, poverty, sexual orientation, dyslexia, and ultimately, the theme of the book – kindness.
Nineteen-year-old Bruno is barely surviving. He’s on his own after aging out of a kids’ home. He has no family, no job, almost no money, and an empty flat he’s about to be evicted from. He gets to the point where he’s lost every meager possession he owned and he’s afraid he’s going to lose everyone, too. He feels broken and unwanted. The one thing he does have is the determination to keep going and not give up, although at times his burdens feel insurmountable. But he also has kindness in his heart – something that’s free to share and can’t be taken away from him. His only friend tells him:
“Kindness changes the people it touches. It changes the world. It’s the only thing that can. It’s love in action. And kindness is what you are, Bruno, more than anything. It’s what we all are, but so often we let other things get in the way. Like I said, if love is not your reason for doing something, whatever you’re doing is just noise.”
Bruno has a big secret that makes him feel broken and filled with shame but he’s so weary from lying about himself, trying to hide his true self. He needs to lie, he believes, for people to like him. But he realizes no one has ever known the real Bruno because he lies about himself to everyone as a form of self-preservation. He needs to break free of his big secret but he has no one he can trust with his truth, until, maybe, Alexei. When he finally blurts out the truth to Alexei, it’s freeing; the honesty feels so right.
Alexei, Bruno’s lonely neighbor, is suffering from a devastating disability. He also lives with anxiety and experiences debilitating panic attacks. That’s how he meets Bruno, when they’re stuck in an elevator together and Bruno talks him down from his fear. They build trust and embark on a friendship that means everything to both of them. As they grow closer, they support each other and really listen. Alexei feels safe with Bruno and his anxiety abates when they’re together. Life doesn’t seem pointless anymore with Bruno in it; he feels alive and safe now. But Bruno is attracted to Alexei and longs for more than friendship. He tries to keep his emotions – and physical reactions – in check because he doesn’t know if Alexei can return his feelings. They slowly fall for each other in little ways: holding hands, shy smiles, brushing their shoulders together, all the romantic affection I love in a story.
Some feelings can’t always be put into words, they just need to be felt, doesn’t mean you can’t share them with someone, though. “I’m really glad I met you,” he whispers. “Me too,” I whisper back. There have been a few moments in my life so brilliant and bright that I’ll always remember them. I think this might be one of them.
Have you ever seen those two halves of one heart necklaces that fit together like puzzle pieces? Each partner wears one half of the heart. I’m reminded of them because that’s what Bruno and Alexei feel like to me – two halves of one whole that are meant to be together. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before – Fleet’s books almost always have an ethereal quality to them and that’s a commonality my favorite books usually share. It’s the connection the characters build, a beautiful, delicate bond that supersedes the direst of situations. There’s something a little other worldly about this book, too, a bit of magic.
Another thing I appreciated was Fleet’s exploration of romantic versus sexual attraction in a way that challenges common stereotypes and misconceptions. Individuals have varying needs when it comes to sex and love.
This is a wonderful love story. If it was a cake, the icing on top would be the FOUR epilogues at six weeks later, six months, six years, and sixteen years into the future. They provide all the closure you could want, including Bruno’s dedication to changing the world once act of kindness at a time with his own happiness projects. I adore epilogues; these are some of the best I’ve read.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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