Happy Girl Lucky: See Girl Travel To Find Perfect Boy

ABOUT the BOOK
Author: Holly Smale
Publication Date: 2018
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Fiction; YA Contemporary
Source: Bought
FIND the BOOK ELSEWHERE: Goodreads
Rating: ★★★½

Happy Girl Lucky by Holly Smale | Book Review

STORY | 15-year-old Hope Valentine is something of a romantic (which is perhaps an understatement). She dreams of stardom and the perfect boy, all dreams that seem to be within her reach given her family’s movie star legacy. Unfortunately for her, the family rule also dictates no Valentine make their debut until their sixteenth birthday.

Left behind while her siblings ignore her and enjoy after parties, Hope creates her imaginative love story in her mind, and in order to curate the perfect script, she takes matters into her own hands; she leaves behind England for LA where her American father works. Optimistic she’ll accomplish her goal, Hope sets about healing her damaged family and winning the boy!

REVIEW | When it comes to novels by Holly Smale, I’ve gushed about her delightful ‘Geek Girl’ series with frequency. They’re some of my favorite YA contemporaries, and in my opinion, underrated. At least they are in the states. This is why I was incredibly excited to read something new from Holly, a novel that is both good …and also just “okay.”

When this book flows, it does have snippets of the signature humor Holly writes so well. That said, this story is also very different, which doesn’t mean it’s wrong or unpleasant. The style is often in script format to help put us in Hope’s head, which is to always write imaginary scenes. Appropriate since her life really is a figment of her imagination; a kind of coping mechanism she creates in the absence of anyone caring about her.

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Because of this, the story falters in a few places. Hope’s outlook on life is very much that of a fairy tale. On one hand I admire this because she’s able to see things in a way most of us don’t, and she’s happy. On the other hand, this element of the story goes a little too far a time or two, and distracts from the deeper story. That said, I appreciate that the story ends as it does, and that Hope manages to get all of the things she never knew she really wants. (Plus that way she misuses or mispronounces words and/or catchphrases is an adorable character quirk!)

Happy Girl Lucky is ideal, quick paced reading; especially helpful if you’re in a kind of reading slump. Despite its format, I feel like I read this one extremely fast, and for my reading pace, that’s saying something. If you enjoy quirky YA contemporaries, I’d say this one is worth giving a chance. It’s unusual, but sometimes that’s the diamond in the rough.