This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Can I just say I LOVE reading a book I can use for a challenge!! :)

From Goodreads:

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

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?

My Thoughts:

This is a book all about fate.  Fate of finding that one person you are meant to be with, and finding a way to stay with that person!  

I was talking to one of Goodreads friends, who also happened to be reading the book at the same time, and we both were discussing how we both like books that have both realistic elements but at the same elements that the chance of them happening would be 1 in a million!

Jennifer E. Smith's This is What Happy Looks Like is exactly that kind of story!  I mean, of course I wish to run in Robert Pattinson one of these days, and the moment he sees me he falls instantly in love with me and we both live happily ever after together, but come on, people, we all know that isn't going to happen!  However, Jennifer made it happen in this story, and in a way where I found myself believing in every single moment and just screaming with excitement for these characters!

Ellie was such a refreshing person, and while most girls act crazy around a celebrity (cough...me...cough), she was awesome! She was pretty much the anti-celebrity before meeting Graham.  

Graham is the biggest sweetheart ever! Just doing something he fell in love with, while keeping that humble head on his shoulders!  While he's lost and gone through some major changes over the past few years, he's still not given up, and just decided to stay as low key as possible, while attempting to keep in touch with almost estranged parents, who don't want anything to do with the Hollywood limelight.

I however, do have one tiny little complaint...while I understand Jennifer was trying to give the reader the opportunity to imagine the characters' happy ending together, I do wish she could have spelled it out more.  Sort of do an epilogue, where we get to see a few month ahead or something.  However, she decided to give it an ending that allowed the readers to make up their own decisions about what happened between Ellie and Graham, which definitely wasn't a bad thing, just you know, simple wishful thinking! :)

So for my overall rating...

This is an instant favorite of mine! What I have loved about both of Jennifer's books, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and This is What Happy Looks Like is her writing style!  It reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Sarah Dessen's style!  That serious element with the great contemporary romance fiction style I love to read!  

This is the perfect book for any fan of Jennifer's past books, a fan of Sarah Dessen, or an absolute lover of Young Adult contemporary novels!

Definitely check it out!

The Romance Bookie :)