Monday, June 17, 2013

This Is What Happy Looks Like

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E Smith
3.5/5 stars
Poppy, 2013
407 pages
YA Contemporary

Source: Library

My big impression of Jennifer E Smith's well-received previous book The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was that it was unbelievably emotionally devastating to me and completely unexpected. I was thus wary to give her plots another chance although I read some reviews that seemed to promise that this was a lighter read and owed a debt to some classic romantic comedies, my favorite genre of movie so I decided to give it a shot once my library bought it. I was also promised emails and I'm a total sucker for epistolary novels although the emails taper off after the opening chapters.

Well, this did not destroy me but instead it didn't elicit much of any kind of feeling beyond frustration. The beginning was super cute with email exchanges starting when one person inputs the wrong email address, asking his friend to watch his pig but instead meeting someone new. That new person is ordinary girl Ellie living in Maine while the pig owner is Graham, one of the biggest movie stars who gets the set of his new film to be in her small-town in Maine specifically so they can meet. This all happens pretty fast (much faster than I expected) and soon the book focuses more on her concerns about privacy given her past and his continual struggle to grapple with the privileges and responsibilities of celebrity.

I am a huge fan of celebrity gossip and loved viewing Graham's life through that prism although this book doesn't delve too deeply into the practicalities of the life of celebrity. Privacy is a big concern though and what you can keep to yourself and when you need to share or how you can frame events in a certain light to convey a particular perspective. So I guess I thought there were some interesting themes.

Less interesting to me was main character Ellie whose friendship with Quinn is splintered pretty early on and not repaired for most of the book in scenes that drove me crazy. I feel like I've read quite a few YA books this year where the best friendship is fractured in some way and I hate it-I know YA friendship isn't always as valued as romance but it matters to me and it's something I try to point out in my reviews. I really wanted Ellie to take more agency and fix that relationship far earlier despite stating that it could only be fixed once Quinn had come around to wanting to fix it too.

As for the romance, which of course must be mentioned, it just didn't do much for me. Ellie and Graham are perfectly fine people. I got the impression that they did have a connection but as the reader, I wasn't that excited about them. It was enough to sustain me while reading the book but after a few days, I just feel completely lackluster about them.

Overall: A cute enough contemporary but not an outstanding representation of the genre.

Other Opinions: Since this book has been out for a while, I had a ton of reviews; here are just a few from my blogging friends
Beauty and the Bookshelf
Candace's Book Blog
Consumed by Books
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks

19 comments:

  1. This was a cute light read. Enjoyable but not super emotional. Ellie's goal of privacy kind of drove me nuts. Pushing Graham away just to stay out of the spotlight was very frustrating. They wasted so much time.

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    1. I wish they could have resolved everything faster just by some more honesty and levelheadedness but I guess that wouldn't have made for much of a story.

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  2. Boo, it's too bad when you don't connect to the couple in a contemporary romance. That's sort of the point, and definitely colors the experience. Ah well.

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    1. It really does-I liked them well enough individually but together it didn't spark.

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  3. Aw, sorry that you didn't connect with this one, but thanks for honest review.

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    1. I was sad not to love it as much as I wanted to but what are you going to do?

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    2. I was sorry not to connect with this one too :(

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  4. I'm not into romance at all but I was planning to read this one. I will not anymore.

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    1. I really didn't think the romance was much of anything so yeah I don't feel comfortable recommending it.

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  5. Awww, it's too bad you didn't like this one all that much I really liked her first novel, and since my library just got this one as well I will probably check it out soon. Great job explaining your feelings toward it!

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    1. I didn't like her other novel very much but since you did, I bet this will work better for you.

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  6. Oh, that's a shame that the romance didn't do much for you - it seems like the romance aspect is a big part of the book, so that's not good.

    Thanks for your honest thoughts! :)

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    1. If the romance had worked better for me, I would have liked this book so much more!

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  7. Sounds like a fairly good summer read. I might have to give this one a try. :)

    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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    1. It has some cute moments and I love the bright sunny cover which just screams summer!

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  8. I've been wanting to read this but I've been a bit put-off by reviews. They all mainly say how it was good but not great.
    I'll just save it until the I'm further into my summer holidays. I love reading contemporaries then.
    Basma @ My Bookish Thoughts

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    1. Definitely not great but still a decent enough read for a relaxed summer day.

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  9. Thank you for your honest review. <3 I am not reading this book because it doesn't have anything I like in it, lol :) But glad you kind of liked it, though it doesn't seem that it was very worth reading.

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    1. I'm glad I got to share about this with you then to warn you off. Wouldn't want you to waste your time!

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