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Book Review of This Is What Happy Looks Like

This Is What Happy Looks Like
ophelia99 avatar reviewed on + 2527 more book reviews


Previous to this book I had read Smith's âThe Statistical Probability of Love at First Sightâ and enjoyed it. This was a cute contemporary fiction romance. It was decent but ended pretty open I know there is a follow-up novella that is supposed to tie things up better.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was well done. They have different narrators for the parts told from Ellie and Graham's POV.

The main theme running through this book is fame and how people deal with it. Ellie and her mom had their life ruined by fame and publicity early on. Then Ellie finds out that the mysterious boy she has been talking to is a famous actor and is reluctant to get involved in the paparazzi circus that caused her family so much pain years ago.

I did find the topic of dealing with a sudden rise to fame kind of interesting. Watching how Graham's sudden rise to fame has changed his life is thought-provoking and sad. That was probably the most interesting part of this book. Most of the book is just the romance between Ellie and Graham and how they have to struggle to make their situation work.

In the end it was an okay read but kind of boring at points. There isn't much resolution to the story either. It does end in a fairly realistic way that does make you feel somewhat positive.

Overall this was an okay read. I liked some of the talk about fame and how it affects people. The chemistry between Ellie and Graham was good but not fantastic. It was a quick read that I enjoyed. However, I feel like Stephanie Perkins writes books that are very similar in style and I always enjoy Perkins books a lot more.