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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed the relationship between Ellie and Graham; them getting to know each other despite the complications of their lives.
3.5/5 stars
On the surface, this book is just a cute little romance. I thought it was just going to be a happy, feel-good kind of book. Which it was, in some ways. But, it also had more to it than that.
Both main characters, Ellie and Graham, have issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis. Ellie has her family problems that are also her biggest secrets. Graham looks like he has it all, but he also has different family problems and he finds himself lonely in the crowds of paparazzi and fans.
The story is told in alternating third person perspectives from Ellie and Graham, so we get to see both sides of the story. The characters were good and mostly nicely developed. The voices were distinct and easy to identify.
The novel is a quick and easy read for sure. Even though it's over 400 pages, it doesn't feel that way because it reads so fast and easily. It's a nice read if you're looking for just an easy read that also involves some life problems. But don't go in expecting anything extraordinary or really deep. While it deals with a lot of issues (family problems, romance that has to come to an end, friendship issues, etc.), there isn't much depth to it. It's just a nice, smooth YA contemporary romance.
On the surface, this book is just a cute little romance. I thought it was just going to be a happy, feel-good kind of book. Which it was, in some ways. But, it also had more to it than that.
Both main characters, Ellie and Graham, have issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis. Ellie has her family problems that are also her biggest secrets. Graham looks like he has it all, but he also has different family problems and he finds himself lonely in the crowds of paparazzi and fans.
The story is told in alternating third person perspectives from Ellie and Graham, so we get to see both sides of the story. The characters were good and mostly nicely developed. The voices were distinct and easy to identify.
The novel is a quick and easy read for sure. Even though it's over 400 pages, it doesn't feel that way because it reads so fast and easily. It's a nice read if you're looking for just an easy read that also involves some life problems. But don't go in expecting anything extraordinary or really deep. While it deals with a lot of issues (family problems, romance that has to come to an end, friendship issues, etc.), there isn't much depth to it. It's just a nice, smooth YA contemporary romance.
I was really looking forward to reading this book but unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. I’m not saying I didn’t like this novel, but there were lots of things that irritated me about it, and I felt like there was something missing from it overall. So many things were left open at the end but there are no plans for a sequel, as far as I’m aware.
I really enjoyed the premise: girl receives anonymous email from boy, they hit it off, he turns out to be a movie star and falls madly in love with this ordinary girl. However, there was some definite instalove going on here. We didn’t get to read many of the emails, which is a bit of a shame, and there wasn’t much development of the relationship throughout the novel (not least because they spent a large chunk of it not talking to one another) so I didn’t really feel it.
Then, the ending came all of a sudden and there was no resolution to any of the plot points, including Ellie’s relationship with Graham and her relationship with her father. It felt like a great big chunk had fallen out of the book leaving loads of questions unanswered and therefore leaving me feeling kinda disappointed.
In a way, it almost seemed like a bit of a lazy, rushed novel, actually. Unfortunately that makes it a novel I’m likely to forget quite quickly.
If you’re looking for a light read to take on holiday and read within a day, This Is What Happy Looks Like is an ideal candidate, though don’t expect anything amazing. It was simply good. Not great, and not awful, but somewhere in between.
I’m not giving up on Jennifer E. Smith as an author just yet. I’m looking forward to reading her other novels and I get the feeling that I’ll enjoy them more than this one.
This review was originally published on my blog, Ashleigh Online.
I really enjoyed the premise: girl receives anonymous email from boy, they hit it off, he turns out to be a movie star and falls madly in love with this ordinary girl. However, there was some definite instalove going on here. We didn’t get to read many of the emails, which is a bit of a shame, and there wasn’t much development of the relationship throughout the novel (not least because they spent a large chunk of it not talking to one another) so I didn’t really feel it.
Then, the ending came all of a sudden and there was no resolution to any of the plot points, including Ellie’s relationship with Graham and her relationship with her father. It felt like a great big chunk had fallen out of the book leaving loads of questions unanswered and therefore leaving me feeling kinda disappointed.
In a way, it almost seemed like a bit of a lazy, rushed novel, actually. Unfortunately that makes it a novel I’m likely to forget quite quickly.
If you’re looking for a light read to take on holiday and read within a day, This Is What Happy Looks Like is an ideal candidate, though don’t expect anything amazing. It was simply good. Not great, and not awful, but somewhere in between.
I’m not giving up on Jennifer E. Smith as an author just yet. I’m looking forward to reading her other novels and I get the feeling that I’ll enjoy them more than this one.
This review was originally published on my blog, Ashleigh Online.
Perfectly lovely and predictable. Just what I wanted :)
I LOVED the beginning...but as the story progressed it kinda lost it's charm. Not as good as Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight but still a decent enough, easy read
Oh so cute. It was the perfect book to put a smile on my face between all this AP cramming I've been doing.
Full review to come!
Full review to come!
After a boy named Graham Larkin accidentally e-mails a girl named Ellie O'Neill about his pet pig, they start to chat and form an online friendship even though they never got the others name. While the characters type to each other about their hopes and fears and what they think happiness means, what Ellie doesn’t know is that she’s actually talking to an up-and-coming movie star and what Graham doesn’t know of Ellie is her family past. In the hopes of meeting the pen-pal he could be himself and not the celebrity he is when he talks to her, Graham suggests that the movie he’ll be starring in be filmed at Henley, Ellie’s small hometown.
I loved the idea of having duel points of view being included in the story.
In Ellie’s POV, we learn that she lives a quiet and seemingly normal life in her little of nowhere town in Maine. But, in reality, she lives a hidden life with her mom after an event that happened years ago. The relationship between Ellie and her mom is great. They’re able to talk and the mom is able to tell Ellie much needed advice. A great thing about Ellie is that she doesn’t boast about knowing a movie star since she has her reasons for keeping her and Graham’s relationship on the down low.
While reading from Graham’s POV, we learn how he truly feels about his rising stardom. He feels like a stranger when he visits his own parents and even though he’s surrounded by fans and paparazzi, he still feels alone. All he wants is to be seen as a normal person instead of a famous teenage heartthrob.
The relationship between Graham and Ellie is so sweet! They have no reason to create any drama and they’re very down to earth with each other.
I loved the idea of having duel points of view being included in the story.
In Ellie’s POV, we learn that she lives a quiet and seemingly normal life in her little of nowhere town in Maine. But, in reality, she lives a hidden life with her mom after an event that happened years ago. The relationship between Ellie and her mom is great. They’re able to talk and the mom is able to tell Ellie much needed advice. A great thing about Ellie is that she doesn’t boast about knowing a movie star since she has her reasons for keeping her and Graham’s relationship on the down low.
While reading from Graham’s POV, we learn how he truly feels about his rising stardom. He feels like a stranger when he visits his own parents and even though he’s surrounded by fans and paparazzi, he still feels alone. All he wants is to be seen as a normal person instead of a famous teenage heartthrob.
The relationship between Graham and Ellie is so sweet! They have no reason to create any drama and they’re very down to earth with each other.