YALLFest 2016 Experience

Hey guys!

So once again I took a trip to Charleston in November for my second YALLFest Experience! It was just as beautiful and friendly and exciting as last year. While there weren’t as many authors that I was dying to meet as last time, I was still so excited to meet some of my favorites!

For tips and tricks that I compiled last year, you can reference my 2015 post!

This year, I unfortunately attended alone, but the atmosphere is so nice and conversational, that making friends with strangers in lines is the easiest thing in the world. If nothing else, you know you have books in common with them! It definitely helps pass the time in the long lines!

This year, just like last I decided to forgo the panels to fully experience the signing lines and see the most authors. I scheduled out my order of authors and brought snacks and packed my backpack full of books. I knew who I could skip in case of unexpectedly long lines and who I absolutely had to see.

So here are my pictures from YALLFest!! (Sorry for the awkward lean pose, you gotta make do with what you get in the moment, haha!)

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First up, I got to meet Sarah Dessen! I was getting books signed for a friend by her, I actually haven’t read anything she’s written (I know…), but she is the nicest person. I later bought some of her books, and plan to read them soon!

 

 

Next I met Nicola Yoon! I had read Everything, Everything in the week leading up to YALLFest based off of rave reviews and the excitement of getting to meet her! It’s an amazing book, and she is a beautiful person. So friendly and hilarious. Definitely plan on reading The Sun is Also a Star soon!

 

 

So I finally got to meet Scott Westerfeld this time, and he is very kind. Such a nice guy! I love his books and loved being able to tell him how much. And now I have all three of my Leviathan books signed!

 

 

Lauren Oliver has been a favorite of mine for years now! While I have been bad about reading her more recent books, the Delirium Series is wonderful and Before I Fall holds a special place as one of the first Contemporary YA I ever read. Lauren talked to me about the upcoming Before I Fall movie and how excited she is. The trailer was released a couple days after YALLFest, and it does look amazing!

 

 

Next I got to meet the master of fun Contemporary Romance, Jennifer E. Smith! She is the absolute sweetest, and I loved getting to say hey to her in person.

 

 

The person I was most excited to meet was Ruta Sepetys. I have been an absolute fan of hers since reading Between Shades of Gray and have read each of her books since then. I love them all so much and recommend them to everyone who loves Historical Fiction, or who wants to love Historical Fiction. I have reviewed all of them on this blog. Her writing is phenomenal. In person, she is just as lovely and amazing as I thought she would be. I adored being able to tell her how much I love her books and how excited I was to meet her. She is the best.

 

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All in all, I got these books signed:

And it was all amazing!! Definitely going back this year for YALLFest 2017!

Thanks to all the friendly people I talked to in line for making the day all the more fun and exciting!

All right everyone! I’m really going to try and actually blog and read more this year! New Year’s Resolutions! Woo hoo!

Review: This is What Happy Looks Like

Title: This is What Happy Looks Like
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Series: --
Published: 2013 by Little, Brown and Co.
Version: Hardcover
Obtained: Library

Perfect strangers Graham Larkin and Ellie O’Neill meet – albeit virtually – when Graham accidentally sends Ellie an e-mail about his pet pig, Wilbur. The two seventeen-year-olds strike up an e-mail relationship, even though they live on opposite sides of the country and don’t even know each other’s first name.

In a witty and unforgettable correspondence, Graham and Ellie share details about their lives, hopes, and fears. But they don’t tell each other everything: Graham doesn’t know the secret hidden in Ellie’s family tree, and Ellie is unaware of Graham’s life in the spotlight.

When Graham seizes an opportunity to spend time in Ellie’s tiny hometown of Henley, Main, he takes their relationship from online to in person. But can two people from such different worlds be together despite the odds stacked against them?

Spanning one fateful summer, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel proves that life – like love – is full of unexpected connections and happy mistakes.

First Sentence:
“It was not all that different from the circus, and it came to town in much the same way.”

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Jennifer E. Smith is very talented at crafting adorable love stories. This is What Happy Looks Like is endearing in the way of feel-good movies. While it might be cheesy, it still makes you love it.

Graham accidently sends an email to the wrong address and it ends up in Ellie’s inbox. For about four months they have email conversations about everything except the important details of their lives. Graham is completely drawn to this girl, so he arranges to have his next movie shot in her small city in Maine. From here their relationship goes through a lot of ups and downs.

While this whole “famous boy falls in love with small town girl” plot has been done many times before, the email aspect is what drew me to this version. Almost the first 20 pages are their emails back and forth and it is too cute. Both are so witty and intelligent, and perfect for each other. Scattered throughout the book are more emails which are made sweeter since they are both in the same place.

Smith really enjoys writing love stories that are highly improbably. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was equally unrealistic, but that’s part of the charm. It’s very fun to read books about romance that starts so perfectly and ends up perfectly. Smith still mixes in real life issues like family and friend problems, but she mainly shows how two people who are good for each other can overcome these issues together.

I will definitely read Jennifer E. Smith’s future books because she is a fantastic writer and story-crafter.

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Content Warning: Nothing I can think of.

Rating: