I have heard so much about Emma Mills since I got back into reading. Everyone seems to rave about her cute contemporaries, and I’ve been meaning to pick up something by her for a while, but never got around to it. I am so grateful that Henry Holt sent me a review copy of her newest novel, Famous in a Small Town – because I LOVED it!
I’m not usually the biggest fan of cute contemporaries, but Emma Mills has such a fantastic writing style, I was pulled in immediately and had a hard time putting it down. I finished it in as little time as possible! Read on for the rest of my thoughts on this awesome book.
For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. She has the Yum Yum Shoppe, with its famous fourteen flavors of ice cream; her beloved marching band, the pride and joy of Acadia High (even if the football team disagrees); and her four best friends, loving and infuriating, wonderfully weird and all she could ever ask for.
Then August moves in next door. A quiet guy with a magnetic smile, August seems determined to keep everyone at arm’s length. Sophie in particular.
Country stars, revenge plots, and a few fake kisses (along with some excellent real ones) await Sophie in this hilarious, heartfelt story. – Goodreads
Sophie was a fantastic character to follow throughout this novel. She was sweet, funny, and most importantly, REALISTIC. Emma Mills has such a talent for writing realistic teen characters, I felt like I had really stepped into the life of a high school senior. I have struggled with YA contemporary so much recently because of the dialogue just feeling so out of touch – but that’s not a problem here.
August, as the love interest, was my second favorite character in the book (my favorite being Sophie’s best friend, Brit). I was worried we were going to get another boring, brooding male love interest in the beginning, but I was proved wrong. August is hilarious, and a joy to read about. He’s stubborn but charming at the same time, and it’s easy to see why Sophie falls for him – his personality is awesome.
There’s fantastic LGBT rep in this book, as well, which was another thing I didn’t expect. It made me so happy. I was thrilled to see a bisexual character, which we haven’t seen much of in teen fiction in the past, and it was handled very respectfully and with normalcy.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that this book kind of broke my heart? I’ve heard things about Emma Mills books getting emotional at parts, but I wasn’t prepared for some of the turns in this novel. I audibly gasped while reading it! I love it when a book can take me by surprise and break my heart at the same time.
I really loved this book. It was such an amazing introduction to Emma Mills, because now I absolutely cannot wait to pick up her other books. I whole heartedly recommend this novel to everyone who has even the slightest interest in contemporary, because I truly feel that you’ll love it.
MY RATING: ★★★★★
Cheyenne Reads 