Latest Read: This Is What Happy Looks Like

Here are the basics ...
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Publication date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Poppy
Category: Young Adult - Contemporary
Source: Purchased

Summary: 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? (Adapted goodreads.com) 

My thoughts…

The good: This book totally took me back to my AOL days. Back then my screen name was PaceyzGirL (before I changed it to NYCBallet29) and writing emails was one of my favorite things to do. I wrote to my best friends even though I saw them every day and to a few people I had "met" online. I just loved hearing that "you've got mail!" message. While most of my online buddies didn't become in-real-life ones, we'd write and share a lot in the few short weeks we talked. It's funny how much freedom the Internet and a little bit of anonymity can give you sometimes. I completely got how a random email, if you took the chance to respond, could turn into something bigger. That was favorite aspect of This Is What Happy Looks Like.

I loved reading their initial emails that started off so playful and eventually became a little deeper. And when it turns out the guy emailing small town girl Ellie O'Neil is teenage movie star Graham Larkin and he makes a point to find her, that changes everything. (How come this never happened with me and Joshua Jackson? Just saying.) I enjoyed watching them try to not only deal with his fame, but also the transition of their relationship from email to face-to-face. Everything about their interactions was cute and funny and of course it helps that they're both such likable protagonists. At the heart of it, they're both teenagers who are a little lonely but feel this connection to each other that they can't ignore. Even when circumstances imply that maybe they should. There's something so effortless about the author's writing which makes you believe something like this could happen in real life and maybe even work.

(Minor) reservations: There are a couple of sub-plots and obstacles throughout the book that didn't feel necessary. I mean the whole he's a movie star in town for only a couple months seems like a big enough hurdle to me. I would've preferred the focus to be on that and on what makes Ellie and Graham happy (aside from each other).

Do I recommend?: I've enjoyed every Jennifer E. Smith book I've read and this was no exception. You can always count on her books for something cute and heartwarming.

Happy reading!