KILL ALL HAPPIES is escapism and temporary insanity rolled into one wild night!

In every town, there’s a place that’s weirdly special to the residents. In Rancho Soldado, that place is Happies. It’s a zany restaurant and former theme park beloved by freaks and geeks all over the country, the centerpiece in an otherwise lifeless place of residence.

But Happies is shutting down and former waitress Victoria Navarro is desperate to give it an epic sendoff. With the terse permission of her former employer, Vic plans a senior class only graduation party that’s supposed to stay relatively under the radar. All she has to do is avoid fires and keep Ann Thrope– nightmare teacher, power-hungry local politician, and overall busybody– from finding out. It will do wonders to help her impress her crush, Jake, who also happens to be her best friend’s older brother. Unfortunately, the universe has different plans and as the party grows, Vic quickly finds herself out of her depth.

If you’ve ever read a book authored (or co-authored) by Rachel Cohn, you know she likes to go a little crazy, in the best of ways. While her stories are contemporary, they’re also built on escapism and there are antics to be had. We’re talking minors procuring alcohol from a vehicle called the Chug Bug and fantasizing about naughty moments with their crush, to a gun-toting teacher with a chip on her shoulder and elderly hipster fanatics orchestrating a rebellion. ANTICS!

It may be contemporary, but it’s not about realism in contemporary life. These characters are realistically like many teens. They aren’t angels. They drink, they swear, they hook up. The YA genre generally tries to ignore the existence of these type of teens in favor of “good kids”, but this book actually celebrates unhinged teendom. I appreciated that, even though I was only a Vic-lite in high school, but if you’re uncomfortable with talk of drinking or sex, this novel probably won’t work for you.

As a narrator, Vic is pretty quirky and fun to follow. However, because the focus is on the wild party unfolding around her, you don’t feel much personal attachment. For instance, Victoria has a history with troublesome former teacher Ann Thrope that explains their disdain for one another and could be easily used to humanize the characters, but it’s pretty much brushed over. Her relationship with her best friends, nicknamed Slick and Fletch, is super close and important. There’s definitely a cutesy charm to them, but we don’t get to know either too well and when conflict arises between them, it doesn’t feel super devastating. Vic’s best explored relationships are with her siblings, but they don’t play a huge role. The story is fun, but it could have used more emotional depth to help me feel invested.

Over the course of the night, Victoria gains a sidekick in her crush’s little brother, Zeke. With his rainbow hair and boisterous personality, Zeke stuck out the most out of all the characters and earned our love. I also have to give shoutouts to Bev Happie, the elderly owner of the infamous establishment, and “Mega-Joan”, who plays a special role amidst the chaos. Then there’s Evergrace Everdell, a love-to-hate character who’s just as obnoxious as her name suggests.

There’s always something going on in Kill All Happies and at a bit shy of 300 pages, it’s a quick, easy read. You can’t help but wonder how the story’s various mishaps will pan out, though I think some end results were more satisfying than others (read: no one would be able to get away with what some of these characters did, even in an insular town.)

If you’re a fan of movies like Can’t Hardly Wait and Superbad, Kill All Happies has similar balls-to-the-wall storytelling and uncanny wit that will leave you smiling, but it’s just not as well-rounded as we hoped it would be. It will strike gold with the right person, but it won’t be for everybody.

RATING: 3.25 OUT OF 5 STARS

Kill All Happies is out today. You can order it now via Amazon or your favorite book retailer.

Last Call at Happies! Tonight, 8 P.M. Senior Class Only! Please with the Shhhh….

This is it. Graduation. And Vic Navarro is throwing the most epic party Rancho Soldado has ever seen. She’s going to pull off the most memorable good-bye ever for her best friends, give Happies—the kitschy restaurant that is her desert town’s claim to fame—a proper send-off into bankruptcy, and oh yes, hook up with her delicious crush, Jake Zavala-Kim. She only needs to keep the whole thing a secret so that her archnemesis, Miss Ann Thrope, Rancho Soldado’s nightmare Town Councilwoman and high school Economics teacher, doesn’t get Vic tossed in jail.

With the music thumping, alcohol flowing, bodies mashing, and Thrope nowhere to be seen, Vic’s party is a raging success. That is, until Happies fans start arriving in droves to say good-bye, and storm the deserted theme park behind the restaurant. Suddenly what was a small graduation bash is more like Coachella on steroids with a side of RASmatazz pie. The night is so not going as planned. And maybe that’s the best plan of all.