The Actor and the Housewife
by Shannon Hale
Published: June 9, 2009
Format: eBook (352 pages)
From "New York Times "bestselling author Shannon Hale comes an utterly satisfying novel that asks the question: Can a seemingly normal, happily married Mormon mother of four be best friends with Hollywood's hottest (happily married) heartthrob?
The Actor and the Housewife was an emotional journey full of Shannon’s usual charm and wit. It explored really well the idea of whether a men and a women can be “just friends.” I got to live out the fantasy vicarioulsy of “What if you met your ultimate Hollywood crush” and it was a lot of fun. I loved this witty and sweet story that had some heartbreak in it, too. And ahhhh the culture of the ’90s.
Becky, the housewife was very relatable to me. Yes, I am a Mormon housewife and her life sounds a lot like mine (except I don’t make pies), but it was more than that. She’s not ashamed to be a little cliche and she never apologizes for who she is which made her very likable. Becky is able to build a relationship with the actor, Felix, even though they are almost complete opposites. The real chemistry of the relationship between the actor and the housewife comes from the fact that they don’t try to change each other and they respect each other. Their banter is so funny. Honestly, the relationship felt awkward sometimes, but I could really see it happening. It did make me wonder if actors do have “real” friends. One of my favorite scenes was Becky struggling to deal with her crazy kids and the actor just being in awe. It was nice to see her life through his eyes.
Now to what I didn’t like. Basically, the ending.
The Spoiler-Free Version
I really wanted it to end differently. Though I can appreciate the fact that the way it did end was very non-cliche and supported the point that the story was trying to make, it left me feeling let down to the point that I kind of wondered what the point of the whole story was. My disappointment is more than just not getting my way. I felt like it hadn’t really gone anywhere. Neither of the characters had changed or progressed very much.
The Spoiler Version
Highlight between the brackets to read the spoiler.
{I really, really wanted them to get together at the end. The fact that they didn’t meant that their relationship stayed the same through the whole story leaving me to wonder what the point was. My disappointment is more than just not getting my way. They are friends through the whole novel and the fact that they remained that way makes a statement that you can be just friends but at the same time neither of them really changed or progressed at all. It made me fee like the story didn’t go anywhere. }
Overall, it was an entertaining, witty story and the perfect beach read while I was on vacation. It was pure escapist fun even if I was disappointed with the ending.
Content Rating: Mild, for clean language and no graphic or suggestive scenes.
This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small percentage of sales made through these links.
Question: Who is your ultimate hollywood crush that you would just melt to be friends with in real life?
About Shannon Hale
Shannon Hale is the New York Times best-selling author of six young adult novels: the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy, multiple award winner Book of a Thousand Days, and the highly acclaimed Books of Bayern series. She has written three books for adults, including the upcoming Midnight in Austenland (Jan. 2012), companion book to Austenland. She co-wrote the hit graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack with husband Dean Hale. They live near Salt Lake City, Utah with their four small children, and their pet, a small, plastic pig.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
This book made me cry, and it made me mad. It is a love hate relationship. My Hollywood crush is Robert Downey Jr. I think if we ever met, I’d just drool.
Ooh Robert Downey Jr is a good one. Don’t tell anyone, but my Hollywood crush would be Robert Pattinson. I’d stand there and drool too :) Over both honestly!
Robert Pattinson? I can see Robert Downey Jr, yes, but Robert Pattinson out of all the handsome hollywood fellows out there? Is it the hair?
Husband….I don’t even know how to respond to that lol. Yes his hair I guess. And he has nice eyes….
YES. That ending nearly killed me. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I usually stay away from the LDS ‘churchy’ books (even though I am LDS), because I find them poorly written and preachy, but this was definitely not one of those. It was well-written, and definitely a lot of fun…except for that ending!!!
Great review!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one bugged by the ending!! This was definitely not a preachy LDS fiction book. Shannon can make anything witty and funny :)
For whatever reason, I adored this book. Like a lot. And I normally don’t adore books with anything LDS in them because they’re either poorly written or preachy.
If I could be in Becky’s shoes, I’d want to be BFFs with Ewan McGregor or Matt Bomer. Or both.