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catle's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
At first I was put off by the writing style because it was a lot of "telling" rather than "showing," and the characters weren't really likeable. It wasn't until further along when the pace picked up that I was able to connect with the story. The main characters are flawed; they're judgemental and bitter-- which is off-putting at first, but was explained later on. The secondary characters are flat for most of the book, but they're developed a bit later on as well. While the pop culture references may be unpalatable for some, I found them relateable as an 18 year old. They effectively set the story in the present. Although I have to admit, some of the dialogue choices were questionable.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
1st read: December 2020 — 3.5 stars
2nd read: May 2022 — 3.5 stars
2nd read: May 2022 — 3.5 stars
“Over the years, Penny inhaled the classics — Ready Player One, Dune, and Ender’s Game, though it wasn’t until she was introduced to Messiah, ironically from a guy who was the worst dude in the history of dudes, that she realized sci-fi didn’t have to be so… boy. (…) From then on Penny’s stories centered around women and girls. There wasn’t even a special trick. You wrote it exactly as you would for a guy, but you made pain thresholds higher since girls have to put up with more in the world and give them more empathy, which makes everything riskier.”
Yeppp, I still like it as much as I did the first time 🥺
Yes, Penny is deeply flawed, but I always find flawed characters way more interesting to follow, and I can see a lot of past me in her… I’m still unsure if it’s a good thing or not. 😂 And I love the character development she gets throughout the book! The moment where she bonds with Jude and Mallory at the beach is my favourite scene 🥰
I loved to witness Sam and Penny’s friendship/romance blossom, and Mary H.K. Choi writes teenagers/young adults so perfectly! I feel like authors often struggle to make their dialogs sound realistic, but she always nails it — they didn’t sound cheesy nor cringy at all, and neither did the text messages. I think a lot of us will resonate with the way that this book focuses on virtual relationships, and how you can sometimes be more yourself when talking to someone via messages rather than in person. (Or maybe that's just us socially awkward butterflies.)
“So yeah no IRL for me
Why break the fourth wall?”
“No point
We’re perfect in here”
I have nothing to say about Sam except that he’s perfect. And that I want to taste his pastries (yes, if you can bake you're automatically very attractive to me).
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape
Minor: Child abuse and Miscarriage
allzen_nochill's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You ever start a book from the library and after getting sucked in by the first few chapters you go "man, I'm DEFINITELY buying this"? Emergency Contact is one of those books for me. Sam and Penny just folded me into their world so easily. I love a complicated, defensive female protagonist and Penny delivered in spades. Were there threads that could have been woven together a little tighter? Absolutely. But trust me, I won't remember that, I'll just remember that I motored through this book in two days and it made me take longer than usual lunch breaks because I didn't want to put it down.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use
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