The September 2024 issue of the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books has a nice review of Happy Town.

Keegan doesn’t like anything about his new home, Happy Town, apart from his new pals Gloriana and Tank, two fellow misfit kids who are also highly suspicious of this weird little high-tech town. In theory, Happy Town should be the perfect place to live—climate controlled under a dome, everything automated, and a slogan about how they “make happy.” The reality, however, is less an ideal home and more a corrupt mining town where anything purchased comes out of adult paychecks, things break with alarming frequency, and the brand advertising is incessant and exhausting. The intrepid trio discover it’s also pretty dangerous when all the adults become obsessed with meat (specifically the Happy Corp Meat Cramwich), and then realize that humans are also, essentially, made of meat. Yikes. Sometimes it takes an outsider to shake up a broken system, and Keegan, observant, independent, and empathetic, is the unprepared (but willing) savior here. Things go from intellectual property rights violations (all art produced in the school belongs to Happy Corp by default) to slavering zombies remarkably quickly, but when you live in a dome controlled by an eccentric bazillionaire with more money than sense, it’s a short slide down into absurdity. The humor is sharp-edged in a way that savvy young readers who are just beginning to understand capitalist cogs will likely find immensely satisfying. The friends are well-developed and distinct from one another, and although no other characters get much development, there are effective foils and allies for the three. Dystopias for the middle grade set are relatively rare, and this clever novel is a worthy addition to the mix. AS