Happy Bad A Novel
Happy Bad, a novel by Delaney Nolan, is set to be published by Astra Publishing House on October 14, 2025. This 320-page work explores the complexities of human connection amid challenging circumstances, focusing on Beatrice, who works at a struggling residential treatment center in near-future East Texas. As a heat wave triggers a blackout, Beatrice and her colleagues must navigate the chaos that ensues, dealing with the emotional and physical turmoil of the teenage girls in their care.
Readers will find a narrative that blends elements of domestic life and genre fiction, presenting a vivid portrayal of resilience in the face of violence and climate challenges. The story unfolds as Beatrice and the staff confront police brutality, the oppressive heat, and the girls’ withdrawal symptoms while searching for a way out of the blackout zone. Happy Bad offers a unique perspective on societal issues, combining humor and tenderness in a compelling exploration of human contradictions.
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“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.
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