This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: April 2, 2013
Published by: Poppy
Stand alone
Source: Library
For fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Sparkly Covers, Fun in the Sun, YA

     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? (From Goodreads)


*MY THOUGHTS*
     With this being my first book by Jennifer Smith, I fully expected it to be great. Everyone speaks very highly of her other novels, so I was hoping I wouldn’t be let down. And believe you me, I wasn’t.
     This whole book to me was very ironic. One of the main characters, Graham, is a famous movie star who falls in love with a girl from a very small town named Ellie, the other main character. That in itself sounds like a movie doesn’t it?! And that had to be my favorite part of the book. Although it was about the filming of a movie, Smith’s writing style let it play out like a movie in my head. 
     One thing I loved about this was the main plot point, or the romance. There  are so many cute times that I found myself smiling ear to ear and it didn’t even happen to me. But then were times where I was so excited and I felt really bummed when things didn’t go their way. (*ahem* the kitchen scene*) But, because of those scenes, it made the ones where they were actually together so much more special.
     The only thing I didn’t like about the novel was some of the characters. Like Ellie. I understood that she had something that she had something going on in her life, but she shut Graham out without really giving him a chance. I felt like he was so misunderstood. Like as much as she wanted to get away from the cameras and all the fame, I felt like he did too but she never saw that in him. Then there was Quinn. Like really, what the hell was her deal? There was no way she was that mad over finding out about some emails from someone that Ellie never thought she would meet. I just think she was jealous. She annoyed me for the most part of the story. As for Graham, I loved him from the beginning. He is now a new “Book Boyfriend” I’ve added to my team lol He’s smart, cute, a good actor, he’s funny, he’s not afraid to defend her, and he’s definitely not afraid to let his emotions show. Plus, guys he has a pig named Wilbur lol 
     When I started this book, I wasn’t in the best mood. I remember I was fighting with family, my boyfriend, and I was stressed out at work, and I just had so much going on. But as I got deeper and deeper into the story and saw all that Graham and Ellie went through, I saw that they belonged together. In the end, their relationship and the book reminded me all that makes me happy and because of that I found myself smiling from the beginning to the very end.