By Jennifer E Smith
Sixteen year old Ellie
O'Neill is just your average girl from Middle-of-Nowhere, Maine. She
lives with her mom and their pet beagle, and splits her time between
two summer jobs. Everything about Ellie's life seems fairly normal
until an email is mistakenly sent to her from a stranger on the
opposite side of the country, and a friendship is formed. Though they
don't even know eachothers' names, the two become comfortable with
one another, sharing bits and pieces of their lives and identities
through witty correspondence over the next three months. For seventeen
year old actor Graham Larkin, the daily emails bring a familiarity
and sense of normalness to his otherwise hectic life in the
spotlight. So when the opportunity arises for him to spend some time
working in Ellie's hometown, he is more than willing to throw his
weight around a little to make it happen. After a bit of confusion
the two finally meet in person and everything seems great, until
their completely different lives start to get in the way. Graham's
manager is pressuring him to start a relationship with his costar for
publicity and he continues to grown more estranged from his parents
and the normality he once had. A secret from Ellie's past threatens
to rise in the wake of all of the attention that seems to constantly
surround Graham, and she is forced to make a tough decision. Will
she throw away her new-found romance, or will she risk ruining the
life she and her mom have built for themselves? As the story unfolds
over the course of the summer both characters find themselves
isolated and longing for something more out of their lives.
Relationships are tested, rash decisions are made, and consequences
are dealt with.
Violence Rating: PG (Aggressive paparazzi & retaliation)
Romance Rating: PG
This is a cute, somewhat girly, feel-good book. The main character is a ginger, so that's always a plus in my opinion. ;)
Jennifer E. Smith allows the
reader to look into the shared emotions resulting from the struggles
of very different realities. As time progresses, the characters are
reminded of the good in their lives that is worth fighting for. This may be a bit of a spoiler, but I like that this book ends in a more realistic way instead of the rarely attainable fairy tale
ending.
Favorite Quotes:
Quinn: "Paparazzi in Henley. Crazy, right? ... Too bad I don't want to be an actress. Or a reality-TV star or something. This would be such a great opportunity."
Mrs. O: "Yes, it's a terrible shame you only want to be a marine biologist. I suppose it would be much more useful to have been asked out to dinner by a whale."
Quinn: "They're terrible conversationalists, though."
Mrs. O: "Then I guess you'll have to make do with the movie star."
Graham: "Are you planning to murder me?"
Ellie: "Only if you keep asking so many questions."
Graham: "I've never had fortune cookies with chips and salsa before."
Ellie: "Well, we're on the cutting edge of the Chinese-Mexican fusion movement here at Chez O'Neill."
Ellie: "I bet you were supposed to be learning your lines instead of hanging out with me all afternoon. Do you know them?"
Graham: "More or less. I've been carrying them around in my pocket all day, so I'm hoping there's been some osmosis action."
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