Book Review: My Unscripted Life by Lauren Morrill

Title: My Unscripted Life
Author: Lauren Morrill
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 288
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary

      

Perfect for fans of Jennifer E. Smith and Huntley Fitzpatrick, you'll love this funny and sweet contemporary romance about a Southern girl ready for a ho-hum summer until she meets the boy of her dreams who happens to be an international pop star.
Sometimes love stories go off script.

Another sultry Georgia summer is about to get a lot hotter. Dee Wilkie is still licking her wounds after getting rejected by the precollege fine arts program of her dreams. But if she'd gone away, she wouldn't have been around to say yes to an unbelievable opportunity: working on the set of a movie filming in her small Southern town that just happens to be starring Milo Ritter, the famous pop star Dee (along with the rest of the world) has had a crush since eighth grade.

It's not like Dee will be sharing any screen time with Milo—she's just a lowly PA. And Milo is so disappointingly rude that Dee is eager to stay far away from him. Except after a few chance meetings, she begins to wonder if just maybe there's a reason for his offensive attitude, and if there's more to Milo than his good looks and above-it-all Hollywood pedigree. Can a relationship with a guy like Milo ever work out for a girl like Dee? Never say never.

This was such an adorable read! I've been a fan of Lauren Morrill since she was published via Paper Lantern Lit, a "literary incubator" run by Lauren Oliver and Lexa Hillyer. I was sure, as soon as I read her first book that she was going to be a YA star!

And she didn't disappoint with this one. This is the exact fun contemporary read I was in the mood to read. One of the cutest aspects of this book was that it's set in a small town and a movie production comes to town. So Dee, rejected from an art school summer program, decides to join the crew when asked by the movie's producer.

I loved getting a behind-the-scenes glance at the movie industry to see how things function. It reminded me of some of those "extras" you get on DVD's. Some say it kills the magic a little, but I definitely don't feel that way. It's a bit voyeuristic but I love knowing how things are made and seeing the roles that different people play behind the scenes. (And if you're looking for a particularly great behind the scenes, I recommend that you check out the one for The Social Network.) This all felt really authentic to me and I know nothing about this world.

The relationships Dee proceeds to have with the rest of the crew and actors made this so much fun! There were some cute moments -- particularly the singing scene. I wish I would have experienced a summer like this before my senior year. And I was extremely happy with the route the author took with the main character. Because by the end of the summer, not only does she realize that not getting into art school was probably the best thing that could have happened to her, it actually changes the course of her life.

I recommend this one if you are in the mood for an easy contemporary read, filled with some small-hometown goodness, and swoon-inducing romance.