✼ We may earn an affiliate commission if you make a purchase through links on our site.
Something Like Happy by Eva Woods has woven the 100 Happy Days Project into the novel and shows how making small changes in your day-to-day life can help you feel better, if even for a moment. Whether you are working at a dead-end job or have a life-threatening disease, doing a small something for yourself, like Annie and Polly do, can help to lift your spirits. For example, Polly takes Annie out for a picnic lunch during the work day. Annie’s circumstances may not have changed, but it helps her to recharge and face the rest of her day.
Title: Something Like HappyAuthor: Eva Woods
Also by this author: The Inbetween Days
Publisher: Graydon House
Genres: Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Rating:
With wry wit and boundless heart, Eva Woods delivers an unforgettable tale of celebrating triumphs great and small, seizing the day, and always remembering to live in the moment.
“It's simple, really. You're just meant to do one thing every day that makes you happy. Could be little things. Could be big. In fact, we're doing one right now…”
Annie Hebden is stuck. Stuck in her boring job, with her irritating roommate, in a life no thirty-five-year-old would want. But deep down, Annie is still mourning the terrible loss that tore a hole through the perfect existence she'd once taken for granted—and hiding away is safer than remembering what used to be. Until she meets the eccentric Polly Leonard.
Bright, bubbly, intrusive Polly is everything Annie doesn't want in a friend. But Polly is determined to finally wake Annie up to life. Because if recent events have taught Polly anything, it's that your time is too short to waste a single day—which is why she wants Annie to join her on a mission…
One hundred days. One hundred new ways to be happy. Annie's convinced it's impossible, but so is saying no to Polly. And on an unforgettable journey that will force her to open herself to new experiences—and perhaps even new love with the unlikeliest of men—Annie will slowly begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, there's still joy to be found in the world. But then it becomes clear that Polly's about to need her new friend more than ever…and Annie will have to decide once and for all whether letting others in is a risk worth taking.
❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃
Review: Something Like Happy by Eva Woods
The aspect that I love about this book the most is the humour that is found throughout the entire book. Even though there is a considerable amount of heartache in the plot, Woods manages to find a way to pop in some fun dialogue here and there. It really makes the story so easy to relate to and essentially takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute the reader will be laughing along and then the next, feeling overwhelmed with what the characters are dealing with.
❀ Well-Developed and Interesting Characters
There are many characters in this book that are so well-developed and interesting. Annie’s roommate, family members, and the doctors are side characters that all have quirky personalities and add to the flavour of the novel. Annie is one that readers will easily relate to, Polly, however is my absolute favourite. Polly is just so incredible and seems to be the life of the party, even though she is faced with so much adversity.
❀ Gives a new perspective
Something Like Happy by Eva Woods is a book that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a book that is a little bit different, and gives you a fresh outlook on life. After reading this one, I was definitely inspired to make some small changes in my everyday routine. It really is important to try and see the world from a new perspective.
Book Quotes: Something Like Happy by Eva Woods
Book Beginning
You can’t always pinpoint the precise moment that your life goes wrong. Most of the time it creeps up on you, year by year, moment by moment, until one day you look around and realize you’re so far from who you used to be you don’t even feel like the same person.
Friday 56
Polly’s gaze was fixed on the altar, her face coloured blue by the shifting light. “It’s what I always thought before. I didn’t want to change my mind just because I had cancer. I guess… all this happy-days stuff, the reason for it, was I wanted my life to mean something now, not just after I die.”
About Eva Woods
Eva Woods lives in London, where she writes and teaches creative writing. She likes wine, pop music, and holidays, and thinks online dating is like the worst board game ever invented.
About Lori
Avid reader. Contributor to The Candid Cover. Educator.
I really want to read this one. I really do. Not just because it sounds like a great book, not just because of your positive review, or the very cute cover…. I want to read it because the idea behind the book is wonderful. I would love to do this. Find one thing every single day, do one thing every single day, make something happen every single day for 100 days that makes me and the people I love happy. Make a stranger happy!! This one is going at the top of my list!
I hope that you enjoy this one as much as I did! The whole concept is so fantastic and it just leaves you with a really great feeling. 🙂
This sounds like a book whose ending will break my heart. But in the same breath that it’s a reminder of how to appreciate the smaller things in life, is a good thing. We all need that (I need that). Great review!
Great title! I’m glad I don’t have a happiness-pushing acquaintance!