This is What Happy Looks Like, Jennifer E. Smith's follow-up novel (completely unrelated storyline, just written later in time) to the wildly successful The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight takes as its focus a young man (Graham Larkin) who has become a famous L.A. actor but is seeking something much simpler and more "real" from his life. Through an accidental email exchange with a girl in a small town on the other side of the country (Ellie), he starts an online relationship that soon leads to a desire to meet her and see if he can find happiness in a simpler place. Smith handles the email beginnings to this relationship with wit and intrigue and makes this unlikely story seem rather more believable than it should. She employs lots of familiar tricks like mistaken identity but in fresh new ways with cute relatable characters, so it's a pleasure to read.
As with a number of recent novels (both Y.A. and adult books) exploring the nature and downsides of fame, Graham is confronted in Ellie with his polar opposite, someone who wants to avoid the spotlight at all costs. The book deals with the difficulties they face in getting to know each other and avoiding the press for reasons relating to the need for Ellie to keep her own life out of the media. While there are no deep and meaningful answers here, and the relationship is left somewhat ambiguous (at least for my liking) at the end of the story, it's a cute and fun summer read with witty and genuinely likeable teen characters. This book is not as strong in its narrative and depth as The Statistical Probability of Love at First sight, which also dealt with falling in love under extremely improbably circumstances (hey, it's right there in the title), but still a fun read.
As with a number of recent novels (both Y.A. and adult books) exploring the nature and downsides of fame, Graham is confronted in Ellie with his polar opposite, someone who wants to avoid the spotlight at all costs. The book deals with the difficulties they face in getting to know each other and avoiding the press for reasons relating to the need for Ellie to keep her own life out of the media. While there are no deep and meaningful answers here, and the relationship is left somewhat ambiguous (at least for my liking) at the end of the story, it's a cute and fun summer read with witty and genuinely likeable teen characters. This book is not as strong in its narrative and depth as The Statistical Probability of Love at First sight, which also dealt with falling in love under extremely improbably circumstances (hey, it's right there in the title), but still a fun read.
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