This is What Happy Looks Like

One day, Graham stumble upon Ellie's email address because he made a mistake while contacting his pig sitter. They exchanged emails for some time and it was much much fun conversations. Luck was on Graham's side as he is able to visit Ellie's town and he will meet her for the first time. Summer was just starting and Ellie was not really excited like everyone else in town. During this season, many tourist will visit which generates business for the town but this year the town is also involve in filming a movie.

People could not stop looking while the place is being set up for filming and also searching for the movie stars at the same time. Ellie did not bother to stop and went to work as usual as she needed money for a program that she managed to get in Harvard in august. Ellie's friend came in for the next shift at the ice cream shop and had an accident which messed up her uniform. Ellie offered hers since she was wearing a tank top underneath anyway. On her way out, she noticed a boy heading to the place and he had a look in his eyes but she carried on to her mom's store.

Graham was excited and he arrived one day early before the shoot just to see Ellie. He headed to the ice cream shop that Ellie mentioned she worked at. He was being followed by photographers as he enter the shop. He looked at the girl with the Ellie name tag on her shirt and then he asked her out to dinner tonight. The short girl which is Ellie's friend knows that Graham is a movie star and so she accepted the invitation since she liked him too.

This is What Happy Looks Like by  Jennifer E. Smith is about two teenagers meeting for the first time and how they continue from that. When I read the excerpt at the back of the book I was expecting those type of books with plenty email conversations but I was disappointed. I wished those few months that Ellie and Graham were conversing through email was more elaborated.  I do like the writing style where each chapter differs between their perspectives. I love knowing both side of a story instead of focusing on one character's thoughts and experience.

The book was slightly predictable at the start but it was okay and the from then I did not know what to expect which is a good thing. The background and personality of the characters are quite realistic which is another point that I like of this book. The events that occurred in the story line was realistic and the reactions of the characters were good. Overall this is a good book for summer reading since that is the season mentioned in the book. The love story and characters was okay for me because it didn't draw me in to love them. Compared to other contemporary young adult books, I thought this book's romance was just mediocre. The chances of me reading this book again is probably 40% but I didn't think that it's a book not worth buying/keeping in my collection. 

The Beginning of Everything

Ezra is the tennis team captain, dating one of the popular girls in school and he is a popular guys himself too. Life is just perfect as there are in their last week of school before entering summer holidays and after summer he would be a senior in high school. There was a party that night and Ezra went alone as he got in a fight with his girlfriend Charlotte. Ezra was trying to have a good time when one person told him he should head upstairs of the house where he found his girlfriend engrossed in sexual activity. He was upset and Charlotte even asked if he still take her to prom.

Ezra went to get his car and left the place but a car who didn't stop at the stop sign had hit him. Ezra was in a daze and the driver who hit him fled the scene, soon he heard his peers approaching but none had try to help him. Ezra spent his whole summer at home in the guest room recuperating. His knee was shattered and his wrist was badly hurt which resulted that he is not able to do any sports for the rest of his life. That news make Ezra brood most of the time and he was not looking forward to a new year at school. He will be left out from the tennis team since he couldn't play and that would be his fall out from the "populars".

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider is about a boy who falls out from the "popular" group and things just sort of went downhill for him or so it seems. This book is about finding yourself and also coming of age too. The male protagonist has his life turned upside down and he will have to get over it and grow up. He is the character that grows the most and his true personality slowly surfaces. I quite enjoy reading about his story although the timeline is just a short span of 1 year. 

The plot of the book is smooth hence it was not bad. At later parts of the book, I manage to predict a bit about the characters but it did not put me off reading the book. I like that my prediction was true. I often like reading about high school life and people with slight identity crisis. Overall this book is truthful about our society and how high school social life is. I enjoyed every moment of this book , it was a fun read for me and there was a part of the book that got me in tears (guess I'm just sensitive). Teenagers will learn something from this book and I highly recommend for those who love coming of age stories.

Champion

The assassination of Elector Primo had failed and then Day pledged for Anden to calm the citizens from revolting the government. Things manage to calm down but Day's life is numbered and so he broke up with June. Day and his brother moved away to get treatment in San Francisco. Because of their break up, June accepted Anden's offer to become Princeps-Elect and her training starts where much politics are involved.

For a long time Day has not speak to June and then he got a call from her one night asking for his presence at a party. The treaty talk between The republic and the Colonies has turned bad because a virus was spread into the east. The Colonies claim that it's the republic's fault and they cancel the whole thing unless an antidote was provided. Day was requested by Anden to test on his brother Eden as the virus most likely came from him. Day fear for his brother's condition getting worse if he allows them to do testing again and so he refuses. Things are heating up as war might just start again if the Republic does not manage to give the antidote. This time, this war they will be losing for sure as there is a powerful ally assisting the Colonies

Champion by Marie Lu is the last book of the trilogy. When I finished the book, there were tears which were both sad and happy. I absolutely loved the ending with no complains here. Like the first two books the writing style is the same where alternating chapters between the male and female lead retains. In this book, there is also much growth to the characters. I love the female lead the most as she is so smart, strong, and always being able to make good decisions. 

The plots were good along with the twists. I would say that Marie Lu's writing is fairly good with how the storyline goes. It's definitely well written with very good timing for the events that happens. Again this book is good movie material as I'm always picturing it like that. The character emotions are so real and capturing. I feel that it's the characters that make the book more interesting because of their actions. Overall this is a very good series which captured me very well. All the books were page turners with much action in it and good emotions too. The female lead really captured my heart and I love her much. I highly recommend this series for dystopian book lovers as well as people who love action. This is now my favourite young adult dystopian compared to The Hunger Games and Divergent.