Monday 3 June 2013

Review: This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith


From goodreads: 
If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? 


I feel I should warn you... this review will be gushing and cheesy and completely cutesy - but in a good way! This book is adorable from start to finish, from the pets to the characters to the setting, and I hope my review will reflect that!

So... What does happy look like? It looks like an email that has been accidentally sent from an A-list teenage heart throb movie star to a small town girl on a budget. They email back and forth - sharing all kinds of secrets... but they don't reveal their identity. Graham Larkin knows where Ellie O'Neill lives, but he only knows her as 'E'. When his latest movie needs a new location he determines that her home town is the perfect location, and the rest - as they say - is history.

It is such an easy book to read and I found myself flipping through the pages at a ridiculous speed. I loved the characters; Ellie is so easy to warm to - she's a teenager with responsibilities and her head screwed on. Even Graham Larkin, who you would expect to be a brattish celebrity, is completely likeable guy who takes his fame in his stride. You get to see the negatives of his fame (the constant hounding by the paparazzi and the alienation from his family) and how he deals with it. 

This book was so nice that I almost have no criticisms! The plot was easy to follow and held no random twists that didn't fit into the story line. The characters all fit their age range perfectly and the secondary characters weren't in such an abundance that you forgot who was who. The teenager inside me wanted to be Ellie O'Neill, and I shall check all random emails a little more carefully in future just in case one happens to be a stray ditty from Mr Justin Timberlake (*crosses fingers*). You could buy this book for a teenage relative without worrying that you were unknowingly providing them something entirely inappropriate, and the teenager would definitely love receiving it. 

This book kept me completely entertained from start to finish and it did everything it promised. It's a Young Adult fiction book and it hits its target audience perfectly. There are no shocking surprises and there are no twists that leave you confused and disorientated at it's genre. It's a lovely read and a lovely story, and I would recommend it to any YA fan!

1 comment:

  1. Yay, so glad to hear you liked it, I loved it when I read it last summer :D

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