On her 35th birthday, food celebrity Sunshine loses her marriage, her job and her apartment after someone hacks her Twitter account to reveal her darkest secrets. Abandoned by everyone, Sunshine packs her things and moves back to Montauk to live with her estranged sister, Rain, and her niece, Sammy. Trying to get her life back on track and to build a relationship with her sister, Sunshine goes through a rediscovery of herself and what it is really important in her life.
I found the character of Sunshine strong and determined, but also selfish and self-centred. Throughout the novel, she has a transformation and becomes a more mature and sensitive (and also more likable) person. The character I preferred is Sunshine’s niece, Sammy. She is only six years old but she is very smart and more mature than the adults who surround her. I loved her quick remarks and her perspicacity. It is a carefully plotted novel and I didn’t expect the final twist. Well-written, insightful, and thought-provoking, this is a novel about the power of social media and how real life is different from how we portray it on social media. (NP)
Hello Sunshine, by Laura Dave, shows that there's more to life than a carefully constructed online life. The summary says: "Sunshine Mackenzie has it all ... until her secrets come to light.
Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream - she's a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavour. And then she gets hacked.
When Sunshine's secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses the husband, her show, the fans, and her apartment. She's forced to return to the childhood home - and the estranged sister - she's tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life." Hello Sunshine is out in July 2017.