Review: 4.5 Stars.  Writing is beautiful, simple and crisp!  Hesperia Loves Books review.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 20, 2014
Jamie McGuire has returned to self-publishing with her young adult novella, Happenstance.  The events of this story take place in the small Oklahoma town of Blackwell.  There are three young ladies in the senior class at Blackwell High School named Erin, and they each just happen to share the same birthday.  Erin Alderman (Alder) and Erin Masterson (Sonny) both come from quality families and are on the cheerleading squad at school.  But our primary character of this story is Erin Easter (Easter).The mother of Erin Easter is Gina.  Gina Easter drinks to numb the anger and resentment she feels for becoming pregnant at a young age and missing out on her dreams.  Gina is poor and has spent some time in jail over the years.  She is a neglectful mother, but Erin also goes out of her way to avoid interacting with Gina.  After school and on the weekends, Erin works at the local Dairy Queen.  The only parental influence she has in her life is Frankie, her coworker at Dairy Queen.The three Erins were close friends when they were young children, especially during kindergarten and first grade.  But sometime during fifth grade, circumstances changed between the three friends.  Erin Alderman and Erin Masterson began to verbally abuse Erin Easter.  The bullying has progressed over the years to include many other students and is nearly constant.  Name calling.  Cruel rumors.  Slander.  Social exclusion.  Not only does Erin Easter experience verbal bullying at school, but it continues when she is working at Dairy Queen.Erin Easter has admired Weston Gates for many years, although he has dated Erin Alderman since eighth grade.  Weston is part of the popular crowd, and he is a star athlete for Blackwell High School.  He has always felt an overwhelming burden to live up to the expectations of his wealthy parents and friends.  One day, Weston decides to defend Erin Easter when she is being bullied by his friends.  And then, he defends her again.  And again.  Weston and Erin begin to hang out during the evenings.  Soon, they realize they have more in common than they thought they did, and a very sweet relationship develops between the two of them.  Weston is very supportive of Erin when karma strikes during the last few weeks of high school.Jamie McGuire grabbed my attention quickly with her interesting characters and a topic that carries a relevant message for people of all ages.  Her writing in this story is beautiful, simple and crisp.  The pacing of this novella is ideal, giving it the feel of a full novel.  I found Happenstance to be the perfect, relaxing read.  I truly enjoyed this story and definitely recommend it!  4.5 Stars for Happenstance!