Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave: A Review

Sunshine seems to have the perfect career and marriage.  She is the star of a cooking channel on YouTube and is about to launch a Food Network show and her own cookbook.  Everything seems to be going according to plan until an unknown hacker reveals that Sunshine is not who she says she is.  She is far from the down home cook who has a farmer for a father.  Instead, she is from Montauk and the most elaborate recipe she has created was a really good grilled cheese sandwich.  She is going to have to start over, which involves reuniting with her sister and niece. 

This was a quick read but it really didn't appeal to me the way that some other novels have.  It was a little bit syrupy and just didn't hit the spot for me.  The author touches on themes of dishonesty on social media but those who are not interested in social media in the first place will not see this as an important piece of literary fiction.  Without that theme, we are left with the inauthentic relationship between Sunshine and her sister, Rain, and Rain's genius daughter.  There were some parts that I enjoyed in this book but it was not my favorite book of this year.  I would recommend it to those who enjoy women's literature but it misses the mark for an important piece of literary fiction. 

My rating:
★★☆☆☆

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Tell Me How This Ends Well  by David Samuel Levinson
Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson

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