"What happy looks like...Sunrises over the harbor, ice cream on a hot day. The sound of the waves down the street. The way my dog curls up next to me on the couch. Evening strolls. Great Movies. Thunderstorms. A good cheeseburger. Fridays. Saturdays. Wednesdays, even. Sticking your toes in the water. Pajamas pants. Flip Flops. Swimming. Poetry. The absence of smiley faces in e-mails. What does itlook like to you?"
This is what happy looks like - Jennifer E. Smith
Well, Ellie I'm so happy you asked, because reading a book like this one is exactly what happy looks like to me. The reason I bought this book was because I had a happy experience with a previous book by the same author "The statistical probability of love at first sight" which is extremely cute, but this one to me was so much better.
Ellie is a teenage girl who lives in a small town in Maine, and one day, she gets an e-mail from a perfect stranger. She answers the e-mail, trying to be nice to the guy and they start e-mailing each other on a regular basis. What she doesn't know is that he's Graham Larkin a 17 years old actor and a teenage heart-throb, who just so happens to have the power of choosing the location of his next film. Having chosen the town she lives in, they finally meet, but things get a bit more complicated than they anticipated. He's followed by paparazzi wherever he goes, and Ellie has a secret that she would rather keep from the press.
Yes, it's not possible. Yes, It's a bit cliche. Yes, It's nothing original. But the way the writer tells the story is just so honest and heartwarming, that it is impossible to finish the book without a huge smile on your face. The way she starts each chapter with an e-mail from one of them, the way she alternates the chapters between Ellie and Graham, the witty conversations they have and the cute moments they share, her relationship with her mom, his relationship with his parents, her best friend, the way the writer describes what Graham thinks of her and what she thinks of him... well, I can only say that the Jennifer E. Smith couldn't have chosen a better title for the book. I'm happy she wrote it and I'm happy I read it. And THIS is what happy FEELS like. ♥
