Review: Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave

From Laura Dave—the author of the “addictive” (Us Weekly), “winning” (Publishers Weekly) and critically acclaimed bestsellerEight Hundred Grapes—comes a new novel about the secrets we keep…even from ourselves.

Sunshine Mackenzie truly is living the dream. A lifestyle guru for the modern age, Sunshine is beloved by millions of people who tune into her YouTube cooking show, and millions more scour her website for recipes, wisdom, and her enticing suggestions for how to curate a perfect life. She boasts a series of #1 New York Times bestselling cookbooks, a devoted architect husband, and a reputation for sincerity and kindness—Sunshine seems to have it all. But she’s hiding who she really is. And when her secret is revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. What Sunshine does in the ashes of destruction will save her in more ways than she can imagine.

In our modern world, where celebrity is a careful construct, Laura Dave’s compelling, enticing novel explores the devastating effect of the secrets we keep in public…and in private. Hello, Sunshine is a fresh, provocative look at a woman teetering between a scrupulously assembled life and the redemptive power of revealing the truth.

Review: This was a great read really bringing home the point that we can't always get what we want but that's ok. Its also a very fitting storyline for the society that we live in today dealing with issues from social media and Internet celebrities to cost of living and the break up of families because of moving far away to advance our careers. This is essentially about someone who has made a name for themselves online and how quickly the bottom can fall out of it all because their online persona is not who they actually are. I loved the idea of this all breaking down over twitter and YouTube and could really relate to the idea of the numbers game across social media. I really enjoyed getting my teeth into this storyline. 

The character of Sunshine is also relatable. She has formed this career for herself and now she is facing a life without this celebrity she has built for herself. She really doesn't have anyone to turn to because everyone in her life was wrapped up in her former celebrityness and so she has to do some serious soul searching. She is open with the reader form the start that she isn't the best person, that she isn't an honest person and I admired that in her, it also meant that she's not necessarily a character you're going to like but she is someone you will find yourself rooting for. 

There are some other interesting characters in this novel too. I enjoyed meeting the various people involved in Sunshine's publicity team and the other people in her little online cooking show world but I also really enjoyed meeting her family and I defy anyone not to fall in love with her niece Sammy. This books obviously has a lot of talk of food in it but not a whole lot of food featured so it's not one of those books about cooking that is going to make you hungry all the time-something which I was grateful for! There are family issues, friendship issues and loyalty issues explored in this book which will definitely make you think, but there are also moments that will make you laugh and a few emotional moments too. This was a good read and I am glad to have discovered this new author, I hope to read more from her soon!

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