Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland

Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland will be a bright spot in your summer reading! Thank you so much to Disney-Hyperion for an advance reader copy, which in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. Check out all the book information below, my spoiler-free review, and a blog exclusive giveaway!

 

Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland

Category: New Adult, Contemporary
Publication: July 11th,  2017; Hyperion
Purchase: Amazon

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.

Readers will love every page of this funny, romantic, aspirational, and ultimately triumphant novel about a girl who just wants to make it on her own.

 

Review:

[book rating=3.75/5]

“She came out here with no agent, no friends, no school, no nothing — bravest person I’ve ever met”

Hello, Sunshine is a book for the dreamers and the doers! This book is light and super fun to read. It gives you strength to discover yourself, while taking major risks but never forgetting who you truly are. This is the perfect summertime read! The pages just keep flipping and you will have a smile on your face the entire time.

It is so refreshing to read about someone who is so honest, trying to be their best self. That is Becca to a ‘T’. She is just herself, she may not have gotten into college and moving to California may not be exactly as she thought it would be, but it never stops her from being who she is.  Becca never stops trying. She wants to be a better version of herself, and the only way to do that is to move forward. As a young, inexperienced, recent high school graduate, moving out on her own is a struggle, but Becca is constantly learning what not to do, and how to budget properly. Adulting is hard, but she never stops putting one foot forward.

This is not a perfect world, and Becca is constantly being rejected, but it never stops her. She may cry. She may get angry, but she really doesn’t give up. Super inspirational and very much a pick-me-up, go get ’em feels! You can’t help but root for Becca the entire time while she learns what it is like to have control over your life. She is unequivocally likable in every way.

Becca meets two people in her apartment building that become more than just her friends in her new adventure. They become her champions. Marisol and Raj are both in the industry trying to make it as well. They both lend so much to the positivity that surrounds Becca, and as characters they thank her for their positivity, as she just radiates it, even when she is sad, they all have a way of turning that frown around. All three of them really work well together as they all aspire to make their Hollywood dreams come true.

My only bellyache was that it felt like the first half of the book was slightly slow going, but once you got into the thick of it, it was impossible to put down. I also wanted a certain romance to happen way before it actually did, but I respect the way it happened, because it was realistic in this narrative.

If you like a hopeful and downright positive new adult summer read I recommend Hello, Sunshine, but be careful, no matter what your age is, you might want to pick up and move to that sweet, sunny coastal life!

 

Author Bio: Leila Howland

A graduate of Georgetown University, LEILA HOWLAND spent five years acting in New York in everything from an MTV public service announcement for safe sex to a John Guare play at Lincoln Center, and was a proud company member of the award-winning Flea Theater in Tribeca. Currently, she is a school librarian in Los Angeles, where she lives with her family. Visit her online at leilahowland.com or on Twitter @leilahowland.

 

Blog Tour Schedule:

Week One
Monday, July 10th: Who R U, Review
Tuesday, July 11th: Page Turners, Ode to LA Guest Post
Wednesday, July 12th: The Lovely Books, Review
Thursday, July 13th: YA Books Central, Playlist Post
Friday, July 14th: Fiktshun, Review

Week Two
Monday, July 17th: Ex Libris, Review
Tuesday, July 18th: Such a Novel Idea, Author Post
Wednesday, July 19th: Book Crushin’, Review
Thursday, July 20th: Across the Words, Dream Casting Post
Friday, July 21st: The Reading Nook Reviews, Spotlight Post

 

Giveaway:

A finished copy of Nantucket Summer by Leila Howland (bind-up of both Nantucket Blue/Red!) (US Only), just leave a meaningful comment and I will randomly pick one winner – closes 7/31/17 midnight EST.

Discussion ideas: Did you have dreams of picking-up and starting fresh? Did you get into the college of your dreams? Did you ever want to be an actor/performer, what was stopping you? Talk to me, my lovely readers!