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ARC Review: Hello, Sunshine By Leila Howland


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I received an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Thanks!)

 Rating: 4.5 stars

Hello, Sunshine was just a fun YA contemporary book to read. It's about a teenage girl named Becca Harrington, who moves to LA to pursue an acting career when she doesn't get accepted into college. She has a year to try out this dream before she has to reapply to go to college. With the help of her new LA friends, she starts the difficult journey of becoming an actress.

This novel is kind of like a cheerier version of London Belongs to Me. Like in London Belongs to Me, the main character is struggling to get into the entertainment industry and is learning to be in a new industry and is dealing with rejection. In some ways, Hello, Sunshine kind of felt like a NA novel. Becca is 18, living by herself, struggling to pay her bills in LA.   There is some sex scenes that are kinda described as well. I wouldn't say it was A Court of Mist and Fury level of sexy scenes but I wouldn't say it is entirely tame.

I loved that this book had a really clear plot. Sometimes YA contemporary books don't really go anywhere and as a avid fantasy reader, I sort of always want the characters to be going toward a goal. In Hello, Sunshine, Becca has a goal list, which sort of marked the passage of time and drove the book along.

I also loved the romance in this book. The love interest is kinda Becca's friend before he becomes her romantic interest. I would have liked some more scenes of them together but I think that the romance was not exactly a focus of the novel.

Instead, Hello, Sunshine was focused on Becca's friendship with Marisol, Becca adult-ing and her acting career. (all of which I liked!) Becca and Marisol's friendship was so pure. They supported each other in their acting careers (Marisol would help Becca get ready) and in surviving in LA, living by themselves. I loved reading about their adventures in LA and I totally would love to have Marisol as a friend.

Becca's adulting journey was so relatable. I mean, I totally wouldn't go as crazy as she did with her credit card spending, but I could understand what it is like living by yourself in a new city. Watching her struggle in her waitressing job was so relatable! I thought it was so fascinating to read from the perspective of a character who didn't get into college. It's just a different perspective that I don't see often in YA and I thought it was really well done. As a booknerd, I loved that Becca used a book to navigate the acting industry. Trust me, the only way I can adult so well is because of books and the internet.

I also loved the portrayal of the acting industry. You get to see Becca auditioning for commercials, discovering the play scene and seeing the indie side of acting. I thought it was really realistic. You see Becca get some success, but she also gets her hopes up and things don't work out. But that doesn't get Becca down! It's quite inspiring how she never gave up.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone in college who wants a chick-lit kind of YA novel. It's definitely for an older audience because of the sexual content and I think older audiences would relate to some of the themes better. Go grab a copy of this book when it releases on July 11th, 2017!
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