9: Jenna Kellis- What Evelyn Hugo taught me about public perception

**Spoilers** The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows a reporter named Monique who is chosen to conduct an interview and then write a tell-all of the life story of the now elderly Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo. In this fictional version of Hollywood, Hugo can be equated to Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor, but she was infamous for her marriages to seven different men over the course of her lifetime. Over the span of a few days, Evelyn tells Monique every single thing she had ever done in her life. She goes into immense detail about each of her husbands, along with every single sacrifice and terrible decision she had ever made. As the interview progresses, Monique becomes more and more shocked from hearing about the pain and heartbreak Evelyn has endured over the years, but also the brutal decisions she made and the betrayal she inflicted on others. The most shocking detail Monique learns about Evelyn's life was that for decades, she was in love with a woman- her fellow Hollywood co star Celia St. James. Evelyn and Celia went to great lengths over the span of 40 years to be together while still keeping their relationship a secret from the public. Many of Evelyn’s husbands were actually used as a cover up for her relationship with Celia. Evelyn and Celia’s love story is truly heartbreaking, and it really opened my eyes to the idea of public perception. Every single person on this planet chooses to present themselves in a certain way to others. Someone could seem like the happiest person in the room, but in reality they could be going through the hardest time in their life. Everyone has a choice of what parts of themselves and their lives they want to share with other people. Evelyn Hugo showed me that there are probably so many people I see every single day that I have no idea what goes on in their life or what they’ve experienced in the past. With all of this in mind, before you judge someone, think about how much you don’t know about them. Word Count: 334 (This summary barely even scratched the surface of this book, so go read it you won’t regret it!)