Famous in a Small Town

by Emma Mills

For Sophie, small town life has never felt small. With her four best friends—loving, infuriating, and all she could ever ask for—she can weather any storm. But when Sophie’s beloved Acadia High School marching band is selected to march in the upcoming Rose Parade, it’s her job to get them all the way to LA. Her plan? To persuade country singer Megan Pleasant, their Midwestern town’s only claim to fame, to come back to Acadia to headline a fundraising festival.

The only problem is that Megan has very publicly sworn never to return.

What ensues is a journey filled with long-kept secrets, hidden heartbreaks, and revelations that could change everything—along with a possible fifth best friend: a new guy with a magnetic smile and secrets of his own.

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Young Adult Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Friendship

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2019

About the author

Emma Mills is the author of several novels for Young Adults.

She holds a PhD in cell biology and is known for her YouTube channel, Elmify. She is also the co-creator and co-host of the "life skills" channel How to Adult, which ended in 2016.

Mills lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Mills books are:
- funny
- gorgeously covered (this is probably the first most important thing except “don’t judge a book by its cover” or whatever)
- under the dust jacket, ALSO gorgeous (can’t emphasize the aesthetics enough)
- charming
- friendship-filled
- banter-y
- romance-y but not TOO romance-y you know?

Basically they are the perfect contemporary. Always. Without fail.

Okay. Maybe not without fail. This Adventure Ends is kinda meh. First & Then has its charms but it’s nothing to write home about.

BUT.

But but but.

Foolish Hearts is a five star read. A YA CONTEMPORARY THAT’S A FIVE STAR READ. (Mental note to reread Foolish Hearts immediately.)

I have given approximately four YA contemporaries five stars, and Foolish Hearts is one of them.

This one isn’t, but it’s still pretty good. And pulled me out of a reading slump!

Also, I don’t really remember it. But I know it was pretty good, so just...trust me without evidence I guess.

I’m going to end this review now. And reread Foolish Hearts right after.

Bottom line: Do I know what this review was? No. Do I know this book was good? Yes. Kind of.

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pre-review

i would die for emma mills.

review to come

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currently-reading updates

it turns out all i need to break me out of a reading slump is a new emma mills book and some heavy procrastination

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tbr review

somebody......please..........give me this book

i'm a good person kind of. i deserve it, or at least would like it a lot and be excited and stuff so it'd be nice of you to grant me that experience.

2019 IS TOO FAR AWAY THANKS!!!!!

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

if i could use only one word to describe emma mills, it would be consistent.

she is consistent with her storytelling, her writing, her interesting female main characters, her swoon-worthy crushes, and her cover art (i highkey love when authors use the same style of covers so that all their books match)!

the thing with emma mills is you know exactly what you are going to get when you open up one of her books. some might say that makes an author boring or predicable, but i appreciate the certain level of dependability i have established with her novels. i know she will never disappoint, and this story is no exception.

there is such a carefree quality to this story. maybe its the innocence of young summers and first loves, but this story is so sweet, it could give someone diabetes. i really enjoyed how caring sophie is. its not very often you come across a main teenage character who is so thoughtful and sincere. she was a delight to read about. and i loved her friend group - the chemistry and banter between everyone was just so pure!

this is a must read for all EM fans and a should read for those looking for a light and fluffy contemporary read!

↠ 3.5 stars

[♛ may · Rating 5 out of 5]

full review posted

I wish I was smart enough to take notes //while// I was reading bc I have SO MANY thoughts and I have no evidence to support them, thanks a lot past may, you’re a wonder to work with

emma mills basically figured out the secret to making me instantly stan a book and it basically consist of:
- wholesome group of friends
- soft boys
- actual, genuine humour
- a relatable mc that I mistake for myself sometimes


that was just my thesis statement, now let me bring proofs to support my argument


the whole group of friends
- there are five of them in the group: brit, flora, terrance, dash, and our main character, sophie and THEY ALL HAVE SUCH DISTINCT VOICES and unique PERSONALITIES, it’s gorgeous
- they’ve basically known each other since they were infants so their relationships are so wholesome and close, they’re like family to each other
- brit is a firecracker and she’s one of my favourite characters. she’s outgoing and no-nonsense in the way that she’ll tell you if your shoes look ugly and honestly i aspire to be like when I grow up
- they have this group chat where they just spew nonsense at each other and it’s the most entertaining thing I’ve ever witnessed


the soft boy
- august is such a well written character (im not just saying this bc he’s absolutely hilarious,,,,,,,or maybe I am)
- he has this backstory that tragic but not tooooo tragic and you know me, I got to have realistic backstories
- he READS children books to his 6 year-old niece in a SCOTTISH accent and sleeps with the pink-and-white rabbit quilt that she gave him, how SOFT can this boy possibly get?
- i found his personality to be very realistic, like everyone else in the book, there are things that motivate him and things that make him hold back and this nagging thought that is stopping him from accepting his life and I REALLY felt for his character
- that’s not to say, he’s still a teenage boy and yes teenage boys mess up a lot, but he’s trying his best and we love him for that

“Were you eating cold lasagna?” I asked, scooping pasta remains into the Tupperware while he wiped up the trail of sauce.
“Yeah?”
“But the microwave is right there. Love yourself.”
“I like it better cold.”
“What?”
“Warm lasagna is too”—he waved a hand—“disorganized.”
“What?” I repeated.
“It holds together better cold. It’s more cohesive.”
“Are you working on some kind of seminar about this?”
“Yup. Yeah. I am, actually. I’m the world’s foremost cold-lasagna scholar.”

👆that is some gideon-prewitt-soggy-cereal-energy right there and i wholeheartedly support it


the humour:
- everyone in this book in a comedian, the parents, the neighbours, the main squad, everyone. and while you might think this to be very unrealistic,,,,,,,,,,,,i don’t really care

“No, screw that,” Brit said. “People who ask for samples in general. There are fourteen flavors. There have been fourteen flavors there for the last, like, fifty-seven years. Really? You want to sample strawberry? Do you really need to try strawberry?”

- there were scenes that had me clutching-my-sides laughing and giggling like an 4 year old

“Now where are we going?” Dad said when I asked, looking up from his paper. He and my mom did crossword puzzles like they were an Olympic sport.
“I am going to Jake Weaver’s house.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do we know Jake Weaver?”
“He’s from school.”
“Oh, from school. That clears it up. Take my keys. And my debit card too, let’s give Jake Weaver from school free rein over our bank account.”

relatable mc
- sophie is the kind of main character that feels so REAL and RELATABLE
- it’s like emma mills could see inside my head and made a character based off that and it just HIT ME RIGHT IN THE HEART, im so emo

“I get it. Just … seemed important to Sophie.”
“Everything’s important to Sophie. She cries when people get voted off reality shows.”

- she’s the mediator of her group and she takes everything to heart and she’s SUCH A GREAT MAIN CHARACTER i love her sm (I’m running out of words to describe how much I love this book, i know)
- she babysits two little girls and in those precious scenes I was like I FEEL HEARD!!!!!!!!

But you care about people. Like … more than most people do.”
“How do you know?”
“You make Cadence mac and cheese on the stove.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“The microwave kind is so much faster. The kind from the box means you have to boil the water and cook the pasta and make the sauce and mix it together. It takes longer and it tastes a thousand times better and that’s the kind you make for her, because you care.”

Basically this was me throughout the entire book:


i know this review is a disaster but that's how it left me feeling, so at least it's accurate

5 stars!

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it's freezing and snowing, so naturally i have to read the most summer-y book i can get my hands on ✌️

that's just an excuse btw, i'm emma mills trash and i've been waiting for this book SINCE I KNEW IT EXISTED AND IM SO EXCITED

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first read of 2019!
I love Emma Mills books, they are just so cute & adorable.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 5 out of 5]

**4.5-stars rounded up**

I am a huge fan of Emma Mills writing. Famous in a Small Town is a perfect example of why!

I love small town stories. I love stories with music, or musicians, and I love the friendship groups she creates.



Adorable, top-to-bottom.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading an Emma Mills book is like curling up in a cozy overstuffed chair with your favorite hot drink and fluffy slippers on. You can just relax with ordinary characters doing ordinary things and watch things slowly unfold. Very character driven and heartfelt in the way she brings that small-town Midwestern USA comfort to every page. Sophie is a band girl with a close-knit group of friends. They have typical high school lives. Bicycling to get from place to place. Minimum wage jobs. Fundraising. Marching competitions. Parties. Babysitting. Road trips.

When August, the brother of the family she babysits for moves to town, Sophie befriends him, and their slow-burn will-they-won’t-they romance smolders softly in the background. But this is mostly a story of friendship, dreams, and family. And Emma Mills writes that so, so well. Bonus points for awesome band jokes!

[h o l l i s · Rating 4 out of 5]

So. many. feels.

Has there been a single Mills book that hasn't made me cry my eyes out? Survey says : haha you funny.

I went into this blind and I want you to, too. All you need to know is that it's Millsy. It's YA. It's feelsy. It's friendshippy. And it's freaking lovely. Sophie might be one of my new favourite lady-leads because.. gah. Reasons.

I'll admit this was nowhere near as funny as FOOLISH HEARTS but there's a scene in chapter five that literally had me lol'ing all over my couch for like a solid three minutes and another, later in the book, that sent me into a total fit of giggles (I wish I remembered the chapter seeing as I'm not giving out any quotes, whoops).

I'll definitely be rereading this when it's released, because I'll be buying a finished copy (because are you seeing that stunning cover what the hell it is art), and maybe I'll redo this review once I've reread. Maybe. Who knows.

Despite all the fabulous, I'm not quite able to round this one up (it was so good, though, for real). But. But. That might change in the reread, too.

[may ➹ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve accepted that no white straight YA romance will top Foolish Hearts 💔

3.5 stars, short rtc

// buddy read with my beloved rain

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 out of 5 Stars!

*Clears throat*

I hereby announce with a heavy heart that I did not love this book.

Alright, putting my ''theatrical side'' away for a minute.
I tried, I really tried my very best to like this book, unfortunately I couldn't. I've been familiar with this author's books for years and ever since I kept finding myself getting interested in her books more after reading the synopsis', and after finally reading a book by her I didn't know what to think. I thought at first it's just me that didn't like the book, but after seeing all the reviews I realized that indeed IT WAS JUST ME who didn't enjoy it. It was an ''It's not you it's me'' situation.

I don't know what I was expecting from this book, maybe I'm not used to it to her books or maybe I made a bad decision picking 'Famous in a Small Town' as my first book by this author.

All in all, I'm definitely going to read her other books in the future, to see if her books are for me or not. Because judging by the ratings of her books the averages are close to and/or above 4 stars.

Eiither way, I'm still willing to give her books a chance and see what th results will be.

[Lia Carstairs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously. Emma Mills is one of the best authors when it comes to contemporaries.🥰

I have yet to find one I didn't like—although I probably shouldn't jinx it. Nope that's impossible. I can't imagine hating one of her books.😍

Sophie and her friends are part of their small town school's band and they've been chosen to march in the upcoming Rose parade. Of course, Sophie wants to be able to get them all the way to Los Angeles, but the problem is that they need to be able to fundraise enough money for their town's festival.

Megan Pleasant is a super famous singer that came from their town, Acadia, so Sophie's hoping that she can get Megan to sing at the festival. Little does she know that Megan will never come back........

What I love most about her books are the relationships between her characters, especially the friendship between the MC and side characters. Sophie, Brit, Flora, Terrance, and Dash all have such a beautiful friendship together. They all even made their own group char called, "Where Would You Spend Eternity?" and every time someone would ask that, another would have to answer. The answers were taken really seriously too most of the time.

New guy, August, comes to town and soon he's starting to fit in with their group. August was such a sweet and quiet guy. Perfect for Sophie, who's all caring and truthful.💕
Oh and the bantering between them all was so funny.😂

' August grinned. “Does she have a song about murder? Or one that implies having witnessed a murder?”

Brit’s eyes widened. “She does actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. ‘Murder Creek Murder: The Knife Is Behind That Rock.’”

“Okay, you were the one who suggested murder—”

“There’s a follow-up single too,” I said. “It’s called ‘Remember the Time There Was That Murder? I Do, and It Haunts Me.’”

“By Megan Pleasant,” Brit continued. “All rights reserved. People and events represented are entirely fictional, except for the murder—that part’s real.” '

Though they all sometimes fight with each other, in the end they'll stick up for the other when their in need of help. Brit acted like a huge jerk to Sophie, and I didn't like her for awhile, but she really is such a good friend.🥺 Especially with what she said to August:

“Everything’s important to Sophie. She cries when people get voted off reality shows.” She shook her head. “But she would never let you see her crying when someone gets voted off a reality show, because then you might feel sad or uncomfortable, and she doesn’t want anyone to feel anything less than happy all the time. She’s … the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

August paused. “Is that a joke?”

“What about her would make you think that was a joke?”

“Not Sophie, you. You just … usually make jokes.”

“I can take shit seriously,” she said. “I would jump off a bridge if she asked me to. Because I know she wouldn’t ask without a really good reason.”

Awwww that's true friendship right there.🥰


SPOILERS BELOW:
You have been warned...............
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I was super shocked when it was revealed that Sophie's older sister, Ciara, was DEAD this whole time throughout the book?!!!??? In between the chapters before, there'd be texting between Sophie and Ciara ----> it made it look like it was happening in the present!!! NEVER would I have thought that these were all texts that happened in the past.
Reading the news that she died many years ago got me so sad.😖😭
Poor Sophie.🥺

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SPOILERS END HERE!!!!

Although Foolish Hearts will forever remain my favourite contemporary of hers, I really liked this! I can and will not ever get over the relationships in her books.💙

'She leaned in, dropping down to a whisper: “Where will you spend eternity?”
“I don’t know where, but I know how.”
“Hm?”
“How I’ll spend it.”
“And how’s that?"
“Loving you guys,” I said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.'

|Blog|

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

If I could recommend you only one comfort read right now, it'd be this one. Emma Mills' stories are the kind of bingeable, read-in-one sitting contemporaries; and yet they're all infinitely better than your average "fun, fluffy contemporary." I believe that's what sets Emma Mills apart from other authors. You actually, truly fall in love with her stories, with her characters, with everything. It's fun and banter-y and heartwarming without ever making you want to roll your eyes and abandon the book forever. That's what makes it so utterly, unbelievably perfect. I spent the entirety of the book either laughing or, from time to time crying (Hey, I'm an emotional mess with every book, even the ones I don't really enjoy).

This book follows a group of characters that I desperately wish are real. Sophie, our main character, is the glue that holds the group together. She's sweet and loving and loyal and just wants everyone to be happy, always, even if that means ignoring her own feelings. Britt, her best friend, is almost her opposite - She's stubborn and loud and says what she means, always. There's Flora and Dash and Terrence, who are all unbelievably amazing (Trust me, we'd be here for ages if I was to go through and list everything that I love about all of them). Then we have August, and ughhh I love him so much!! He's so messy and imperfect but he's also really sweet, even if he doesn't always think before he does things. I love the relationship between each of the characters - their banter, their personalities, their group chat (among the best things I've ever read, seriously). Sure, there are more *dramatic parts* but that's what I love so much. Relationships aren't easy and we hurt the people we love most sometimes. It's heartbreaking but feels super authentic at the same time. I really believed the characters were real and I'm heartbroken they're not, because the world would be so much better if they were.

One component her stories always have - aside from the flawless humor - is the fact that the characters always call each other out. That sounds strange, especially because her books are always centric on a group of friends. But there's more reality too it - something I wish would've been in say, Radio Silence. It's done in the most loving way possible, but I believe it's important since readers get to see how even the people that love you can hurt you. And yet, they always make it right again. It makes me emotional even just thinking about it, because this story is so, so wonderful and I wish everyone would read it.

TLDR: I hereby name Emma Mills the queen of YA contemporary. <3
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Okay, I'll confess - I'm supposed to be reading the Night Circus right now. And I am, slowlyyy progressing through that lovely story, with my ever so patient BR partner.

But today, I just couldn't do it. I've been dying to reread this story for a looooong time, and oh my gosh, I'm so happy that I did. This story is so wonderful - it's funny, it's heartwarming, and basically everything you could ask for in a YA contemporary. I will forever love this friend group with my entire heart. They're all so supportive of each other, yet realistic - they have flaws, which don't go ignored, and they screw up sometimes but they're always there for each other. Even thinking about it just makes me emotional - I spent this entire book either laughing (mostly) or crying, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The perfect read for February (even though its set in summer!).

Full review to come. <3

[Drew's ambitious reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this cover fools u! It's all pink which makes u think it's a light hearted contemporary novel from Emma Mills but it actually had some hard hitting subject!!(:
This was my second novel by her and it wasn't as good as foolish hearts but I still enjoyed this one overall!(:

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course Emma Mills made me cry again. What else is new??!?

Though, seriously Famous in a Small Town is another gut in the punch (in a good way.) I cried so much but I also laughed at all the joyous moments. This book made me feel kilig. It's a Filipino word which I don't want to give any English translation because it's kilig on its own. It's that feeling when you're reading a really good book and you get these flutter kicks in your heart - like there's butterfly swirling in your stomach. That's what I felt while reading Famous in a Small Town. I have few reservations because I've reread all of Mills's books countless of time; I was afraid nothing could compare. However, this book can hold on its own. It's magical, authentic and it feels too close to home. I highly recommend it. Full review to come. 

[Jaime Arkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her books just keep getting better and better!! Mills just writes friendship so amazingly well that i want to climb into the pages and be a part of these characters lives. absolute perfection!! Full review to come!

[Kristin Hackett (Merrily Kristin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a hard book for me to review because it was one of my most anticipated and it ending up being somewhat disappointing. It was clearly an Emma Mills book- the writing hooks you from page one, the characters have their sharp wit and the friendship was between a group of people who would clearly do anything for each other... yet the ending left something to be desired. There were a total of 5 core friends but I felt like we only really got to know two of them. On top of that, I was having a good time reading and enjoying everything until about 2/3 of the way into it when it was like bombshell after bombshell that kept dropping. All of the shocking character twists felt like a major afterthought and didn't add anything to the plot in the slightest. I wouldn't be as disappointed if I hadn't loved her other books as much as I did or if I had started with this one, but alas, this one just wasn't for me.

[Fafa's Book Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted on Fafa's Book Corner!

Beware spoilers ahead!

Trigger warning: Mention of car accident, mention of prison, mention of fatal accident, and taking credit for someone else's work.

Sophie and her friends are preparing to enjoy their summer break. Much to the group's surprise a new boy August moves in. August is the brother of Sophie's neighbor. While working Sophie overhears her band teacher talking about the upcoming fundraiser. The teacher mentions that they will likely not be able raise enough money to participate in The Rose Parade. Sophie takes action into her own hands and decides to get Megan Pleasant to come back and perform. Only Megan has sworn never to return home. 

Emma Mills has been on my radar since I enjoyed This Adventure Ends. I was hesitant when I heard about Famous in a Small Town. Ultimately I gave in to my curiosity. I am happy to say that I enjoyed it! This book is written in first person following Sophie's point of view. There are flashbacks, text messages, online articles, and social media posts.

There's something about reading an Emma Mills book. It's like hugging a blanket. You know it'll be fluffy and have a huge emphasis on friendship. It's comforting. And no surprise this is what was present in Famous in a Small Town. 

I absolutely adored the friendship! Sophie has a large friend group and all of them get along with each other. Their conversations were also so funny! As well as relatable. Each character was unique and original. It was even better when August joined the friend group. 

I really enjoyed reading about Sophie's growth! And her character in general. She wasn't perfect and she knew that. Sophie genuinely wanted to work on herself and become a better person. She was sweet and caring. It's a nice change to read about those kinds of characters.

I also really liked August's nieces! They were so cute! And a delight to read about. I particularly enjoyed it when Sophie babysat them. Sophie would do anything to keep them happy. And wasn't afraid to act a bit goofy in the process.

I found Famous in a Small Town to be the more romance oriented than This Adventure Ends. Early on Sophie realizes she has a crush on August and asks him out. He politely refuses and asks that the two remain friends. I really enjoyed reading about their relationship!

August was such a sweet character. I actually expected him to be brooding. And in a way he was. But not exactly. Through Sophie and her friend group, as well as his brother August came out of his shell. I really enjoyed reading about his character development!

I was really surprised about the mystery aspect! The whole Megan Pleasant situation was a bit bizarre in the beginning. I didn't think much off it. Then it went in a direction that I wasn't expecting. There is another mystery aspect that was also quite surprising. I liked how each mystery was handled.

My only problem with Famous in a Small Town was how Sophie's parents weren't really present. This isn't that large off an issue and it didn't effect my rating. I just would've preferred for them to be more present.

Overall I really enjoyed this! Highly recommend.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Mills books are the peak of the YA contemporary genre and I'm forever lamenting that more people are not reading them!

Famous in a Small Town is a book about a small town girl, and taking place across the summer. This book also focuses on the mystery of famous country singer Megan Pleasant, the town's darling, who once lived in the town and wrote two whole albums about it, now seemingly cutting strings with it.

As always, there's an amazing friend group involved (LOVED all of them). As well as nice, natural romance, which I was also very fond of. It might be even my favourite romance in all the author's books, or half to half with the Foolish Hearts one.

The protagonist, Sophie, is such a genuinely nice, caring person. She love living in her little town, she genuinely cares about all the people in it, contantly worrying about everyone.

Although my personal favourite protagonists were definitely Sloane from This Adventure Ends (because I could connect to het the most) and Claudia from Foolish Hearts (because she was such a Hufflepuff, and also: I could connect to parts of her personality).

I'd highly rec all three books - Famous in a Small Town, This Adventure Ends and Foolish Hearts (the most fun of all of them!)- for those who want to read light, hilarious YA contemporaries full of friendship, some romance, interesting plot, and banter. Loads of banter. 4.5 stars

Also, I need a sequel focusing on Brit, or possibly Flora. Or y'know... both!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This book took me completely by surprise. It was so lighthearted and funny - at first - I laughed a lot and so I didn’t expect the story to gain such an emotional depth at all and to be crying at some point as well. I loved how the story unraveled slowly and I was caught off guard by most of the revelations. Loved it!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just an okay read. The characters were very interesting and well crafted and their stories had some intriguing plot twists that I did not see coming. The problem is that I wasn’t very interested in the main storyline surrounding the famous singer that they were trying to contact. I was more involved in other sub-plots. The writing was nice as always and so the book was very easy to read.
What I always enjoy about Emma Mills’s books is her ability to craft realistic and believable friendships and relationship dynamics. She’s very good at that!

[Alexa (Alexa Loves Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed reading novels by Emma Mills, and I can’t say that experience was any different with Famous in a Small Town. This newest novel is about Sophie and her friends over the course of one summer in their small town of Acadia, including the arrival of a new boy next door, and the pressure to raise enough money to send her marching band to California. I enjoyed Emma’s writing, as always, and flew through the pages of this tale. The small town vibes (which reminded me so much of my own hometown in the Philippines, and evoked a strong longing for it), the tight-knit group of friends (which made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and I particularly enjoyed that they were very distinct individuals) and the banter were fun. However, despite all of the things I liked, I didn’t quite get on with this one the way I did with This Adventure Ends and Foolish Hearts. There was something a little clunky to the writing, the plot was pretty average and I didn’t quite fall in love with the characters as much as I’ve done with her other stories. Still, I’m glad to have read Famous in a Small Town, and I still look forward to reading more of her work.

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[hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overly dramatic without a plot, this book gave me literally nothing. It hasn’t been that long since I finished it and I already only remember the disjointed ending. Nothing before that apart the backstories of three of the characters just because of how absurd they were. Trauma in books doesn’t work for me if it’s there only for shock factor.

Also, I waited the whole book to see how the main character would convince Megan Pleasant to come to her small town and save the marching band’s parade, and in the end the book wasn’t about that at all. Tbh I can see why they wrote that synopsis, how do you even write an interesting synopsis if the book has no plot? It probably wanted to put long-lasting childhood friendship in the foreground but that was definitely a fail in my opinion. I didn’t particularly love the friend group, most of them were so flat they were literally invisible to me.
The only thing I enjoyed reading about was August and his new family. I actually wish that would have been the focus of the book instead of a country singer who lead the whole thing but wasn’t actually there.

I’ve read Emma Mills for the first time last year and I really loved one of her books, so I know this is very far from her best. This was from the beginning the book of hers I was less interested in, and that might have played into me not really liking it. Somehow it still disappointed me though.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

So.... I had been putting off reading this because I thought it was going to be about a girl who lives in a cute little town and falls in love with a celebrity who comes to film a movie or hide out from paparazzi or something. I have read a ton of YA with that premise and I just wasn't looking forward to yet another one.

But this book was NOT about that at all. Yes, there was a famous person and a small town. But this was something quite different.

And I really liked it. Full review on my blog!

Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Check out my Bookstagram! Or check out my Jen In Ten reviews on Youtube - get the lowdown on current books in 10-30 seconds!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[ambsreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

i actually moved this wow full review to come!

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m 1000% here for anything Emma Mills writes. I have enjoyed everything she’s put out and this was no exception.

I loved Sophie and her friends. I loved Sophie’s conviction and dedication. I loved the group’s loyalty and acceptance. There were fights and inside jokes and fun times and everything seemed to be tied up in a pretty package.

Plot wise it was good. I liked getting the bits of friendship backstory while the present story happened. The main thread of raising money to get to the Rose Bowl didn’t really fascinate me, but I enjoyed how everything sort of came back to that goal.

Overall, it was a great slice of time with some characters I loved. Emma has a great way of writing friendship dynamics and this was fabulous.

**Huge thanks to Henry Holt for providing a finished copy free of charge**

[Cori Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars! I love Emma Mills.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars

I just absolutely love Emma Mills. And her writing, of course. I enjoyed this so much. I didn’t love this one as much as I loved foolish hearts (By that I mean that I didn’t cry my freakin’ eyes out), but that’s okay.

It was still so wonderful, and I was definitely thoroughly entertained. Some thing about Mills’ books make them just so unputdownable!

THIS. BOOK.

It made me feel warm & fuzzy inside & just... feel all the feels. It is full of this just incredibly amazing sense of sarcasm & wit (that, quite frankly makes me undeniably jealous because I am like, 99.2%, let’s not kid ourselves here, definitely 100%, sure I could never be as witty as she is 😂 *one single tear slides down cheek*), and had me laughing out loud, pretty damn consistently. That doesn’t happen to me often... but Mills has just perfected the art of making me laugh ! She knows how to make you laugh, cry, smile, give you butterflies... I’m pretty sure she could emotionally manipulate anyone to do anything. 🤔

Anyway. This brightened my spirits so very much. I really adored it.

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The découpage style of emma mills covers makes my heart sing and the butterflies in my stomach do cartwheels (as butterflies do)

Like, she seriously wins best covers ever award. Its a thing.

[Madalyn (Novel Ink) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on Novel Ink.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Emma Mills has quickly become one of my favorite YA contemporary authors. She excels at writing dialogue and at creating characters who truly feel like real teenagers. I went into Famous in a Small Town fully ready to fall in love again, but unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me.

For the first 100 pages or so, this was shaping up to be a five-star book. I mean, it has all of the things I love: small town coziness, friendship feels, witty dialogue, marching band, and country stars! However, while I love all of these pieces on their own, I don’t feel that Mills was able to pull all of these disparate elements together in a cohesive way.

As always, I loved the characters in this story. Sophie, in particular, was such a wonderful MC. Her group of friends was a lovable crowd of band nerds who felt a lot like my group of friends in high school, which was fun. The friendships in Mills’s books always deliver, and Famous was no exception on that front. I did like August, Sophie’s love interest, overall, though I felt like he acted like a jerk on multiple occasions. His behavior felt like teenage mistakes, though, as opposed to actual being-a-jerk (does that even make sense???). In fact, all of the friends make mistakes and hurt each other, but they always learn from and apologize for the hurt they cause. The romance was a sweet friends-to-lovers pairing.

The dialogue, too, was a highlight of Famous (as it is with most of Mills’s books!). All of her trademark snark and wit are present. I found myself laughing out loud every few pages because of a line or a comeback that completely took me by surprise.

A large issue I had with this stems from the pacing, I think. After reading the first third, I started to get a little worried, because it… didn’t feel like anything was happening? And, don’t get me wrong, I love a good slice-of-life contemporary, but Famous wasn’t exactly that, either. It almost felt like there were too many competing plot points happening at once, and because of this, Mills didn’t have the time to give any of them the development they needed. For example, the Meagan Pleasant plotline– which to me, was one of the main draws of this book. However, it’s hardly mentioned after the first 100 pages, and it almost felt as though Mills forgot about it until the end and was forced to hastily pull together an ending in the last few pages.

My main issue, though, has to do with a “plot twist” that’s thrown in toward the last third of the book. It felt really cheap, not to mention unnecessary to the story or the characters. Honestly, it threw me so much that it truly dampened my enjoyment of the remainder of the book. I simply do not understand why this was included in the book at all, if I’m being honest.

Overall, though I’ll continue to pick up whatever Emma Mills writes in the future, Famous in a Small Town missed the mark for me.

[spring ~♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where would you spent the eternity?

-right now? I feel like I'd just spend eternity by crying.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get better than Foolish Hearts, Emma Mills proved me wrong. I can't believe I was almost about to not pick this one up just because it was one of the lowest rated book of Emma Mills. Here's another lesson for me. Don't judge a book by it's rating.

You know how we all sometimes read those hidden gems? After we finish it and stare at the celling just to process all the emotions we didn’t know we had inside us? This was that one book for me. I laughed, I cried and I stared at the celling because I didn’t know I could feel so much. I don’t know, maybe it's just me and maybe I'm really being over emotional about this book but this was truly one of the most beautiful contemporary I've read in a long long time.


I love everything about this. The plot, the characters, the settings. Everything.

Foolish Hearts was lighter, funny with really fun light characters. This one on the other hand was sad, darker with some really heavy plot that I absolutely did not see coming. I'm just sad because this was over within a couple of hours and I've no Emma Mills books left to devour. Here's to waiting an eternity for the next Emma Mills' book.

[Wing (notesbywing) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

i wish i clicked with this one as much as i did with emma's other novels!
i have to say that's the story itself isn't very memorable and i recently read one other mediocre ya contemporary and i keep getting bits mixed with in between - both didn't really strike a chord within me.

the book itself is written very cleverly, but for some bloody reasons i just didn't enjoy this as much as the others? it's just a weird feeling.... I'm actually quite mad at myself because "Foolish Hearts" is like one of the two ya contemporary favourites of mine (the other one is Letters to the Lost".

still love emma for writing this book! (GO CHECK OUT FOOLISH HEARTS EVERYONE!)

[fatma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

CLASSIC EMMA MILLS, by which i mean to say, I LOVED IT.

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OMG I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THE COVER WAS GONNA BE REVEALED TODAY ITS SO BEAUTIFUL AND MATCHES THE REST OF EMMA MILLS' BOOKS !!!!! I NEED THIS BOOK YESTERDAY