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vicky30312's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this book up on a whim. It sounded cute and I found it for 30% off. And I am so glad I did.
Every turn of the page I found myself nodding along and tabbing my favourite quotes. I don't like I've ever related to a character as much as I did Penny.
When I first started reading I didn't think I was going to like Penny, but I liked Sam's parts right off the bat. Clearly Penny grew on me. I loved the fact that this book dealt with some very serious topics and issues but made them very relatable. I don't typically like when there is a story within a story but the fact that the Anima's story related so much to the IRL problems made it flow so naturally. I couldn't put this book down.
I can't wait until Mary writes more YA Books. Officially hooked.
Some of my favourite quotes:
"Penny wasn't a covert crack addict or a compulsive masturbator, but she didn't have an appreciation for privacy until she shared a room with a girl who could go to the bathroom with the door open while naked and eating pretzels dipped in hummus."
"Some people's coping mechanisms were all about festering and secrecy and ruminating until you grew yourself into a nice little tumor in your heart with a side of panic."
"Penny wanted to be normal. She was eighteen, for christ's sake, a respectable age to start having healthy consensual sex. Sexy sex with someone sexy."
"When it came to perspiration, Penny had a problem. Not that she stank of BO or anything. It's just that from March to around October she was invariably damp."
Every turn of the page I found myself nodding along and tabbing my favourite quotes. I don't like I've ever related to a character as much as I did Penny.
When I first started reading I didn't think I was going to like Penny, but I liked Sam's parts right off the bat. Clearly Penny grew on me. I loved the fact that this book dealt with some very serious topics and issues but made them very relatable. I don't typically like when there is a story within a story but the fact that the Anima's story related so much to the IRL problems made it flow so naturally. I couldn't put this book down.
I can't wait until Mary writes more YA Books. Officially hooked.
Some of my favourite quotes:
"Penny wasn't a covert crack addict or a compulsive masturbator, but she didn't have an appreciation for privacy until she shared a room with a girl who could go to the bathroom with the door open while naked and eating pretzels dipped in hummus."
"Some people's coping mechanisms were all about festering and secrecy and ruminating until you grew yourself into a nice little tumor in your heart with a side of panic."
"Penny wanted to be normal. She was eighteen, for christ's sake, a respectable age to start having healthy consensual sex. Sexy sex with someone sexy."
"When it came to perspiration, Penny had a problem. Not that she stank of BO or anything. It's just that from March to around October she was invariably damp."
gharv03's review against another edition
2.0
While i did enjoy this book and the overall concept of a relationship mostly through texting, there were many parts that were left unfinished. I ended this book wishing the author elaborated on some key themes.
Things missing:
-Sam and Penny’s Texting Convos-
I loved the idea of a couple who mainly meets and falls in love over text. It’s a relevant and relatable plot line, yet it wasn’t taken far enough. We only see some brief convos between the two and they are few and far between. I wish there was much more texting that the readers got to see.
-Sam’s relationship with his mom-
Sam’s relationship with his mom really only came into play towards the end of the book and felt very fleeting. We didn’t learn much about their strained relationship, and when he finally went and visited her the moment came and went.
-Pennys experience with sexual assault-
This was a part of the book that i felt was the most skimmed over. We learn about Penny’s trauma from SA very late in the book and, like the other things I’ve mentioned, it came and went. This felt like a very serious part of penny’s life that made her who she was, yet it wasn’t given the time or depth to convey its seriousness.
-The ending-
The ending of this book was disappointing. It felt very sudden and awkward. I wish we learned more about penny and Sam. Throughout the whole book we follow their romance and at the end when they finally get together the book is over without knowing where they stand.
Things missing:
-Sam and Penny’s Texting Convos-
I loved the idea of a couple who mainly meets and falls in love over text. It’s a relevant and relatable plot line, yet it wasn’t taken far enough. We only see some brief convos between the two and they are few and far between. I wish there was much more texting that the readers got to see.
-Sam’s relationship with his mom-
Sam’s relationship with his mom really only came into play towards the end of the book and felt very fleeting. We didn’t learn much about their strained relationship, and when he finally went and visited her the moment came and went.
-Pennys experience with sexual assault-
This was a part of the book that i felt was the most skimmed over. We learn about Penny’s trauma from SA very late in the book and, like the other things I’ve mentioned, it came and went. This felt like a very serious part of penny’s life that made her who she was, yet it wasn’t given the time or depth to convey its seriousness.
-The ending-
The ending of this book was disappointing. It felt very sudden and awkward. I wish we learned more about penny and Sam. Throughout the whole book we follow their romance and at the end when they finally get together the book is over without knowing where they stand.
sea_su's review against another edition
3.0
Absent dad, mom issues, and trauma was something both Penny and Sam were trying to deal with, but by finding someone to talk and lean on, self healing started.
The books at the beginning was rough for me as a lot of "teenage" jargon was being thrown around and a lot of super random thoughts. The flow of personal thoughts was extremely weird. Like Penny randomly stating her new iPhone's pixel resolution at 458ppi??? Like what???
As the story moved on the cringeyness? got less and less so it was more bearable and it became more serious as you discover Sam's and Penny's trauma. It's messy and Penny is judgey and flawed and pushes everyone away based on them being too much or not enough. I liked Penny, but while she was pointing out how everyone didn't like her, she was also judging everyone else.
Sam's point of view was my favorite. I'm sure many can relate to his situation of trying to work to be able to live and trying to figure out what you want to do in life while really just wanting something to happened so you feel like there's a purpose/structure.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I feel like somethings were talked about and never brought back up like Sam's film. Even though he didn't turn it in, what became of it?
The books at the beginning was rough for me as a lot of "teenage" jargon was being thrown around and a lot of super random thoughts. The flow of personal thoughts was extremely weird. Like Penny randomly stating her new iPhone's pixel resolution at 458ppi??? Like what???
As the story moved on the cringeyness? got less and less so it was more bearable and it became more serious as you discover Sam's and Penny's trauma. It's messy and Penny is judgey and flawed and pushes everyone away based on them being too much or not enough. I liked Penny, but while she was pointing out how everyone didn't like her, she was also judging everyone else.
Sam's point of view was my favorite. I'm sure many can relate to his situation of trying to work to be able to live and trying to figure out what you want to do in life while really just wanting something to happened so you feel like there's a purpose/structure.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I feel like somethings were talked about and never brought back up like Sam's film. Even though he didn't turn it in, what became of it?
chantelspeaks's review against another edition
4.0
“Loving someone was traumatizing. You never knew what would happen to them out there in the world. Everything precious was also vulnerable.”
Penny is awkward, beginning college away from home, with a high school boyfriend who barely understands her. Sam is struggling to make ends meet, he has big dreams but right now he’s living in a storage room on a mattress at the café he works at. Penny and Sam swap numbers and so begins a friendship by text, each too awkward to meet in person and tell the other how they really feel.
Emergency Contact drew me in from the beginning. It read a little bit like a YA movie with the narrator pausing a scene and filling you in on the background. It made getting to know Penny’s world fun, but also as a stylistic choice, it fitted the character’s voice well.
Penny is the kind of character where you spend the entire book not quite getting why she acts a particular way toward everyone she meets. Why does she actively spurn her mother? Why does she avoid real relationships with others? She was a puzzle to me, and early on her behaviour frustrated me. The truth of it, of why Penny is like she is, is devastating and once I understood, I saw Penny in a whole new way. I found this to be really powerful and reminded me of how in life - and in books - we can’t always judge those as we see them.
“To be a hero, you had to decide it was you.”
Penny’s character arc is the thing about this book I liked most. The jokes were fun, her relationship with Sam was kind of adorable, but the real winner in this book is how real Penny became for me, and how I cheered her on as she became the hero of this story in entirely her own way.
This is a cutesy romance about young love. I loved reading as Sam and Penny tried to navigate their growing feelings for each other, as each of them were trying to reach toward their own futures, unsure of where the path will lead them. Choi balances the seriousness of Penny and Sam’s pasts with light-hearted humour well. At times, when I was reading I laughed, and at times, I nearly cried, especially as the climax of the novel was revealed.
Emergency Contact was a fun read, and one that I have recommended to friends. Since reading, I have also picked up Mary H.K. Choi’s latest, Permanent Record and look forward to reading it soon.
For more reviews, head to my blog
Penny is awkward, beginning college away from home, with a high school boyfriend who barely understands her. Sam is struggling to make ends meet, he has big dreams but right now he’s living in a storage room on a mattress at the café he works at. Penny and Sam swap numbers and so begins a friendship by text, each too awkward to meet in person and tell the other how they really feel.
Emergency Contact drew me in from the beginning. It read a little bit like a YA movie with the narrator pausing a scene and filling you in on the background. It made getting to know Penny’s world fun, but also as a stylistic choice, it fitted the character’s voice well.
Penny is the kind of character where you spend the entire book not quite getting why she acts a particular way toward everyone she meets. Why does she actively spurn her mother? Why does she avoid real relationships with others? She was a puzzle to me, and early on her behaviour frustrated me. The truth of it, of why Penny is like she is, is devastating and once I understood, I saw Penny in a whole new way. I found this to be really powerful and reminded me of how in life - and in books - we can’t always judge those as we see them.
“To be a hero, you had to decide it was you.”
Penny’s character arc is the thing about this book I liked most. The jokes were fun, her relationship with Sam was kind of adorable, but the real winner in this book is how real Penny became for me, and how I cheered her on as she became the hero of this story in entirely her own way.
This is a cutesy romance about young love. I loved reading as Sam and Penny tried to navigate their growing feelings for each other, as each of them were trying to reach toward their own futures, unsure of where the path will lead them. Choi balances the seriousness of Penny and Sam’s pasts with light-hearted humour well. At times, when I was reading I laughed, and at times, I nearly cried, especially as the climax of the novel was revealed.
Emergency Contact was a fun read, and one that I have recommended to friends. Since reading, I have also picked up Mary H.K. Choi’s latest, Permanent Record and look forward to reading it soon.
For more reviews, head to my blog
sofia_santana's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
withlovenour's review against another edition
3.0
That's it? That ending was seriously abrupt. There was way too much begging and too much middle but the conclusion was so rushed and incomplete. It was a nice concept and a light read but it just leaves you wanting more. More insight into the relationships, more plot, more of the Penny-Sam relationship as a couple, more of Penny and her mom, just all round more. We basically get one significant interaction between Penny and the people in her life. It was still enjoyable though and it was a 4 stars for most of the book but the abrupt cut-off to the story definitely brings it down to a 3.
oliviagagne's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dembury's review against another edition
4.0
5/24/2018 Update: As promised, here's the link to my full blog review! :) https://thedeborahembury.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/emergency-contact-by-mary-h-k-choi-book-review/
I'll be posting a full review for this one on my blog, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by "Emergency Contact". After reading the first couple chapters I almost put it down because it seemed annoying and pretentious, but I gave it a chance. There are definitely a few flaws (glamorization of depression, unadressed girl-to-girl hate), plus one of the major plot points just completely vanishes?? But somehow...I liked it. I ended up liking the main characters much more than I thought I would, too. I enjoyed how they each had passions and projects they actually pursued.
I'll dig into these thoughts more in my blog review!
I'll be posting a full review for this one on my blog, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by "Emergency Contact". After reading the first couple chapters I almost put it down because it seemed annoying and pretentious, but I gave it a chance. There are definitely a few flaws (glamorization of depression, unadressed girl-to-girl hate), plus one of the major plot points just completely vanishes?? But somehow...I liked it. I ended up liking the main characters much more than I thought I would, too. I enjoyed how they each had passions and projects they actually pursued.
I'll dig into these thoughts more in my blog review!
heathernielsen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
darthmolls's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75