This Is What Happy Looks Like

When sixteen-year-old Ellie erroneously receives an email from GDL824@yahoo.com, she writes back, striking up a snappy, flirtatious friendship with the stranger. Thankfully, this isn't a cautionary tale about an internet predator, though GDL has omitted crucial information: he's actually Graham Larkin, one of the hottest teen movie stars in the country. And, in part because of their friendship, he's decided to spend the summer filming in Ellie's small town of Henley, Maine. Ellie and Graham feel an instant attraction: after all, they already know each other. But their relationship faces challenges and disapproval from both sides. Graham is encouraged to date an actress and is relentlessly pursued by paparazzi; Ellie, hiding a family secret, doesn't want to be photographed with him or reveal their relationship to her mother. This wish-fulfillment fantasy (who wouldn't want to be secretly corresponding with a celebrity who's both gorgeous and normal?) features likable protagonists who have undeniable chemistry. Told from both Graham's and Ellie's perspectives, the thoughtful narration is slow and unhurried, just like its sleepy small-town setting. Both characters are given time to grow and bring out the best in each other, and Ellie and Graham's connection, "like the pull of a magnet, powerful and inevitable," lingers on beyond their wistful but optimistic goodbye. rachel l. smith