Stealing happy Book Review

What is Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan about?

A funny, heartfelt and suspenseful story about Sonny, a boy with Tourette’s syndrome who must help save his family from debt and a dangerous local loan shark. Packed with friendship, courage and humour, Stealing Happy explores family struggles, resilience and the determination to protect the people you love.

Discover our Review and Summary of Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan

You can’t buy happiness, but you sure can steal it.

Sonny Gilmour lives in Scotland with his mother and father in a flat on the 13^th floor. That’s normal enough, except that with Sonny’s dad is affected by Long Covid and his mum’s struggling with money – their lives are about to change.

Sonny has Tourette’s syndrome, a condition that causes sudden, repetitive movements or sounds involuntarily – and that’s only making mum more annoyed and anxious.

Sonny is quick–witted, and he soon learns that his mum owes money to Chick Lennon, the local money gangster that no one dares to challenge. They owe a large amount of money, face eviction, and somehow need to find a way to pay it back.

Helped by his friend, Jonah, and silent genius, Carolina, they devise a plan. Although the plan is very risky, getting involved with the toughest sixth-year student in school will take a lot of confidence. However, staying undercover seems almost impossible, as whenever things get dodgy, Sonny shouts “Rob Chick Lennon”.

During this time Sonny’s mum continues to struggle while his dad slowly begins to improve. It would take a miracle to find a solution, a sense of happiness that could never be taken away. It’s all up to Sonny and the gang now, but if anything, anything at all goes wrong their fate lies in the hands of the most dangerous man in town.

Will the gang succeed in their plan, or will things go horribly wrong?

My favourite character is Jonah because of his positive attitude. Even when doubts begin to fill his mind, he shakes them off and focuses on helping his friends.

My favourite scene is when Sonny’s dad begins walking and is able to get out of bed again. I like this part because it is encouraging to see him improving and fighting back Covid.

Is Stealing Happy Worth Reading?

This book is especially good because it talks about dealing with money problems from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy with Tourette’s. It is like you can feel what’s going on in his mind and how he’s dealing with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) condition.

Overall, I rate this book a 5 out of 5 and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys adventure and crime stories..