The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet (a Book Review)--"SHE MENTIONED GILMORE GIRLS!!!"

WARNING: Post contains spoilers. This book is the sequel to The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet, another fantastic read. :)

The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

 

Released: November 7, 2013
Publisher: Novel Teen Press 
Pages: 346

For once, Ellie Sweet has it all together. Her hair now curls instead of fuzzes, she’s tamed the former bad-boy, Chase Cervantes (she has, right?), and her debut novel will hit shelves in less than a year. Even her ex-friends are leaving her alone. Well, except for Palmer Davis, but it can’t be helped that he works at her grandmother’s nursing home. Life should feel perfect. And yet, it’s not that easy. Ellie’s editor loves her, but the rest of the publishing biz? Not so much. And they’re not shy about sharing their distrust over Ellie’s unlikely debut. Ellie has always been able to escape reality in the pages of her novel, but with the stress of major edits and rocky relationships, her words dry up. In fiction, everything always comes together, but in real life, it seems to Ellie that hard work isn’t always enough, the people you love can’t always be trusted…and the dream-come-true of publishing her book could be the biggest mistake she’s made yet. 

This book was perfect in every way! The plot was realistic and well-balanced when it came to showing both Ellie's writing life and her social life, I could easily relate to Ellie as a teen writer, and I found myself highlighting entire chapters in my Kindle because they were just so. Good.

Let start with the plot.

Like I said before, the plot was realistic and well-balanced. Ellie's writing journey wasn't a perfect, lollipop-lined, road of success. She had ups and downs just like any writer, and that's what made her so human. The plot twists were perfect in the sense that they alluded to them, but you didn't really see it happening until it happened. You really saw through Ellie's eyes, felt what Ellie felt, hoped for what Ellie hoped for.

Which brings us to characters.

I loved Ellie. She could be me in four years, except I probably won't have won the Great Debut Contest (and not only because it's fictional). I was able to relate to her as a fellow teen writer trying to make it in the world, but even if you aren't a writer, she definitely goes through normal teenage girl things. (Breakups, fussy relatives, friendships that don't always work out, etc.)

I loved Ellie so much, that I felt everything as she felt it, figured everything out as she figured it out. I saw through her eyes, and I thought that was awesome. When Ellie was swooning over Chase, I thought he was the greatest guy ever. When he frustrated her, I was frustrated. When he broke up with her, I was sad on her behalf (although I did recover more quickly than she did). The only thing I disagreed with her about was Palmer. Well, Palmer during her relationship with Chase. I thought Chase was too protective of Ellie. Palmer was right. When Ellie was dating him, being friends with Chase was a given, but when Ellie was dating Chase, Palmer was excluded. I didn't think that was cool at all.

I cheered when Palmer showed up on Ellie's doorstep with her book and they talked about "Rafe" (*cough* Palmer *cough*) and they finally kissed. Like in all the good romance novels, the heroine does end up with her best friend.

I even loved the "smaller" characters, like Tori and Betsy Ann. Jayna, the teenage girl who shows up to Ellie's signing and has been stalking her online for ages now, could've been me.

But the small things I loved in this book really made everything count. I loved . . .

Ellie blog, "Sweet Scribbles"
The way she and Palmer finally got together, through her writing.
Bianca and Marie showing up to her signing to forgive her.
The way Palmer asked Ellie to prom.
The ending line (so perfect).
The way Chase called her Ellie Jane.
The plot twist with Bronte and the Barefaced Book Reviews (SO SO SO PERFECT!!!!).
The way Palmer called her Gabrielle.
When Stephanie Morrill mentioned "Gilmore Girls" . . . twice!!!
Karen's support towards Ellie.
The snippets of Invisibly Yours.
All of the behind-the-scenes shown about the publishing industry.
Palmer, Palmer, Palmer.
And everything. :)