Review: Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland

Hello, Sunshine
by Leila Howland
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication date: July 11, 2017
Genre: New Adult
Rating:

A Prep School Girl with a Hollywood Dream

Becca Harrington is a reject. After being rebuffed by every college on her list, she needs a fresh start, so she packs up everything and moves to LA, giving herself one year to land an acting gig or kill herself trying.

Unfortunately, not everything turns out as planned, and after a few grueling months, LA is looking like the worst idea ever. As hard as she tries, Becca can’t land an agent, she’s running out of cash, and her mom is hounding her to apply to more schools. In an act of desperation, Becca and her friend Marisol start posting short videos online—with the help of their adorable filmmaker neighbor, Raj—and the videos catch the attention of a TV producer. Could this be it? Her big break? Or will she have to move back home with nothing but some bad head shots and a monstrous credit-card bill?

Becca may not get the Hollywood ending she was hoping for, but perhaps she’ll learn there’s more than one way to achieve her dream.

My thoughts…

Hello, Sunshine is a fun story about an 18 year old girl who drops everything, moves across the country to California, in the hopes of becoming an actress. She’s got her head full of such ideas as to how she’s going to make it but she has no idea for the reality that’s about to hit her in the face. First up, living in LA is not cheap. So, she gets this run-down studio apartment that should have probably been updated years go. Then she realizes that to become an actress, you don’t just waltz into an agency, say “hi”, and get an agent. There are certain channels one goes through in order for that to happen, which are not easy. Not to mention that Becca seems to have no understanding of money management or how to live on her own. So, Hello, Sunshine is sort of a story about a girl who fumbles her way through the city without a clue as to how to survive.

This is the first book by this author that I’ve read and I really enjoy the way she tells a story. While I felt that Becca’s character was naive and I sometimes wanted to shake her, I was still rooting for her. While Becca isn’t my cup of tea, the author was able to make me feel for her. She was able to paint a picture of what was going on without weighing it down with too much detail. The scenes flowed smoothly and I found myself continuously flipping pages to see what Becca tried next in her quest to become a star.

Hello, Sunshine is a fun and light summer read. I mean, who wouldn’t want to drop everything, move to a big city, and make it big. It was entertaining getting to read all the ups and downs of Becca’s progress. There were times where I was smiling at some of the antics, times where I rolled my eyes at Becca’s lack of understanding in certain things, and times where I wanted to shake her for being so clueless about the people around her. Let’s just say that Becca was in her own little bubble the majority of the time. However, I enjoyed the story and I could definitely see this becoming a sitcom or something.

Favorite quote…

“Sometimes I feel like a Polaroid picture that can’t develop. […] I keep trying to show up but no one can see me.”