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megj23's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Car accident
bookotter's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rachels1127's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Emma Mills write a new adult book challenge aha
Look it was kinda instalove and I would've been screaming crying throwing up if August and Sophie were just like platonic but I digress
Again, it's the friendships that shine for me, Mills doesn't throw them on the back burner so the romance can be center stage. The friendships are center stage, really. Obsessed that we get them hanging out as a group and in different subsets or one-on-one 😩
A friend group like this? A mix of boys and girls? At their high school age, with the potential to be attracted to one another (do people ever grow out of always freaking out and prioritizing sexual relations at every corner lmaooooo asking for a friend 🥲) ? Fictional as fuckkkk. Give it to me.
Look it was kinda instalove and I would've been screaming crying throwing up if August and Sophie were just like platonic but I digress
Again, it's the friendships that shine for me, Mills doesn't throw them on the back burner so the romance can be center stage. The friendships are center stage, really. Obsessed that we get them hanging out as a group and in different subsets or one-on-one 😩
A friend group like this? A mix of boys and girls? At their high school age, with the potential to be attracted to one another (do people ever grow out of always freaking out and prioritizing sexual relations at every corner lmaooooo asking for a friend 🥲) ? Fictional as fuckkkk. Give it to me.
rivalreads's review against another edition
3.0
honestly, i didn't love this one. i struggle with emma mills' narrators sometimes, but i actually really liked sophie as the story continued and more of her defining characteristics were established. but overall, i was underwhelmed by the actual plot.
the three stars are for the humor which was perfectly emma mills-esque, as well as for the sister relationship.
the three stars are for the humor which was perfectly emma mills-esque, as well as for the sister relationship.
alitad's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
biblialex's review against another edition
4.0
I've learned to trust in Emma Mills, and she hasn't let me down. Don't let the ordinary sounding book description fool you; this one packs a good emotional punch.
nataliem22's review against another edition
5.0
Not a lot of small towns have claims to fame, and not a lot of people are truly famous the way we currently use the word. Not a lot of people experience truly heartbreaking things early on in life, so not a lot of people are so sure of who they are by the time they're a teen. These are the ideas that build the foundation to Emma Mills's fourth novel, Famous in a Small Town. Packed full with Mills's signature wit and feeling, her newest novel is a study in secrets, tragedy, and hope.
Emma Mills is the author of First & Then, This Adventure Ends, Foolish Hearts, Famous in a Small Town, and Lucky Caller. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and has recently completed a PhD in cell biology. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @elmify. If you're interested in more of my reviews of her work, you can find them all here.
For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. With her four best friends--loving, infuriating, and all she could ever ask for--she can weather any storm. But when Sophie's beloved Acadia High School marching band is selected to march in the upcoming Rose Parade, it's her job to get them all the way to LA. Her plan? To persuade country singer Megan Pleasant, their Midwestern town's only claim to fame, to come back to Acadia to headline a fundraising festival. The only problem is that Megan has very publicly sworn never to return. What ensues is a journey filled with long-kept secrets, hidden heartbreaks, and revelations that could change everything--along with a possible fifth best friend: a new guy with a magnetic smile and secrets of his own.
Sophie knows exactly who she is, and as a main character, that's truly interesting, because it means their arc might be less defined, or even non-existent. She doesn't have as prevalent, in my opinion, a development of her character over the course of the summer. That being said, readers are actually reading to find out who exactly Sophie is: over the course of the novel, we discover why she cares so much about other people, why she acts the way she does towards those she loves, and how she's fallen into this need to get the marching band to the Rose Parade. She does learn herself better as she goes along, but the real development is when readers start to understand who Sophie is, and what's happened to her. For me, this decision helps make the plot twists near the end more shocking, and important in the larger course of the novel. I also wanted to note that I enjoyed how subtly Sophie is focused on college, but how determined she is to get Megan Pleasant back in town. I think it spoke to how she learned about what's important in life, after what had happened to her, even if we didn't get to see her go through this arc. Sophie was well-drawn, engaging, witty (as all Mills characters are!), and one of the most sympathetic characters I've come across recently.
When I think about my favorite things about this book, it would definitely be related to the plot and the twists. (Read ahead with caution! Some spoilers!) The story flowed naturally, to where the plot twists were surprising, but not outlandish or unbelievable. I would attribute this to Mills's writing, to the ways in which she revealed certain details, or manipulated readers' understanding of certain events. Sophie didn't feel like an unreliable narrator, in that she never lies to the reader at all during the first-person narration. Instead, certain parts of the plot took readers on twists that lead to the omission of specific details that would have been helpful to have (such as what happened to Ciara, Luke, Heather and Megan). Of course, not having those details is the reason that all the secrets get spilled and why the story is what it is. The revelation of secrets and past heartbreaks is masterfully done, which keeps the novel engaging, forward-focused, and exciting.
A lot of people might not find "small-town life" exciting, even though that's the exact word I would use to describe the plot. Emma Mills writes in such a way that even the most mundane things sound magical, and the truly heartbreaking instances feel painful, but also inevitably part of life. There's a beautiful balance between the sweet and the hurt, and that balance makes this book what it is, even more than the plot does. Of course, no one deserves to have anything bad or tragic to happen to them so young in their lives, things that August and Sophie have been through. Some people aren't lucky, though, and have to experience truly terrible losses -- Mills doesn't get hung up on that, though. In Famous in a Small Town, she explores how that loss shapes someone who they are in the present time, after the loss has happened and after time has passed. This focus is so razor-sharp, it allows readers to understand that people are more than the sum of the bad things (or good things) that have happened to them -- it teaches us that it's how we react that's most important.
The stories just continue to flow from Emma Mills, and fans and newbies alike can find her most recent novel, Lucky Caller anywhere books are sold!
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
Emma Mills is the author of First & Then, This Adventure Ends, Foolish Hearts, Famous in a Small Town, and Lucky Caller. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and has recently completed a PhD in cell biology. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @elmify. If you're interested in more of my reviews of her work, you can find them all here.
For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. With her four best friends--loving, infuriating, and all she could ever ask for--she can weather any storm. But when Sophie's beloved Acadia High School marching band is selected to march in the upcoming Rose Parade, it's her job to get them all the way to LA. Her plan? To persuade country singer Megan Pleasant, their Midwestern town's only claim to fame, to come back to Acadia to headline a fundraising festival. The only problem is that Megan has very publicly sworn never to return. What ensues is a journey filled with long-kept secrets, hidden heartbreaks, and revelations that could change everything--along with a possible fifth best friend: a new guy with a magnetic smile and secrets of his own.
Sophie knows exactly who she is, and as a main character, that's truly interesting, because it means their arc might be less defined, or even non-existent. She doesn't have as prevalent, in my opinion, a development of her character over the course of the summer. That being said, readers are actually reading to find out who exactly Sophie is: over the course of the novel, we discover why she cares so much about other people, why she acts the way she does towards those she loves, and how she's fallen into this need to get the marching band to the Rose Parade. She does learn herself better as she goes along, but the real development is when readers start to understand who Sophie is, and what's happened to her. For me, this decision helps make the plot twists near the end more shocking, and important in the larger course of the novel. I also wanted to note that I enjoyed how subtly Sophie is focused on college, but how determined she is to get Megan Pleasant back in town. I think it spoke to how she learned about what's important in life, after what had happened to her, even if we didn't get to see her go through this arc. Sophie was well-drawn, engaging, witty (as all Mills characters are!), and one of the most sympathetic characters I've come across recently.
When I think about my favorite things about this book, it would definitely be related to the plot and the twists. (Read ahead with caution! Some spoilers!) The story flowed naturally, to where the plot twists were surprising, but not outlandish or unbelievable. I would attribute this to Mills's writing, to the ways in which she revealed certain details, or manipulated readers' understanding of certain events. Sophie didn't feel like an unreliable narrator, in that she never lies to the reader at all during the first-person narration. Instead, certain parts of the plot took readers on twists that lead to the omission of specific details that would have been helpful to have (such as what happened to Ciara, Luke, Heather and Megan). Of course, not having those details is the reason that all the secrets get spilled and why the story is what it is. The revelation of secrets and past heartbreaks is masterfully done, which keeps the novel engaging, forward-focused, and exciting.
A lot of people might not find "small-town life" exciting, even though that's the exact word I would use to describe the plot. Emma Mills writes in such a way that even the most mundane things sound magical, and the truly heartbreaking instances feel painful, but also inevitably part of life. There's a beautiful balance between the sweet and the hurt, and that balance makes this book what it is, even more than the plot does. Of course, no one deserves to have anything bad or tragic to happen to them so young in their lives, things that August and Sophie have been through. Some people aren't lucky, though, and have to experience truly terrible losses -- Mills doesn't get hung up on that, though. In Famous in a Small Town, she explores how that loss shapes someone who they are in the present time, after the loss has happened and after time has passed. This focus is so razor-sharp, it allows readers to understand that people are more than the sum of the bad things (or good things) that have happened to them -- it teaches us that it's how we react that's most important.
The stories just continue to flow from Emma Mills, and fans and newbies alike can find her most recent novel, Lucky Caller anywhere books are sold!
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*