Monday, June 30

This Is What Happy Looks Like

This is What Happy Looks Like
Jennifer E. Smith

My rating: ★★★

ISBN: 978-0316212823
Publisher: Poppy
Date of publication: April 2, 2013
Age: Grades 7 and up
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Themes: fate, movie stars, paparazzi, family relationships, love

Ellie O’Neill has just received an email that she’s sure is meant for someone else. Intrigued, she decides to reply and soon finds herself enjoying their instant connection—with guarded identities, of course. Little does she know she’s emailing Graham Larkin, a popular teenage movie star. And he’s just decided to take his next movie location to Ellie’s hometown in attempts to take their relationship from virtual to face-to-face. But can the two really have a normal relationship? Especially when Ellie has a secret that is threatened by the paparazzi’s constant presence?

Um, it was a stretch. A really fantastical, didn’t-quite-convince-me sort of stretch. It was cute and clean, which is good... But the story had weird gaps or lack of development that just made the plot a tad ridiculous. The characters were a little flat, but still lovable in their own way. I did enjoy the emails interspersed between chapters to give another point of view to the story. But really? Random email from a movie star? Personal biases aside, I think it is a good, fun romance that teenage girls could enjoy.

Find it at your library or on Amazon

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