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jimena's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
marie_cure's review against another edition
4.0
I viscerally cringed several times throughout this book. Hats off to the author, who likely suffered through much revising and editing to maintain the awkward college-student vibe. I read Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi a few months before picking this up, so I'm addicted to the author's contemporary, brutally honest writing style. However, I chose not to give this five stars because I felt Yolk accomplished all the success of Emergency Contact with additional substance. In other words, I have put Yolk on a ridiculously high pillar.
Anyway, I cheered on the romance between Penny and Sam the whole time, especially with the comedic moments sprinkled in (100% would reread Penny dragging Sam into her car and offering him first aid). The subplot with Lola made it impossible to tell where the story was going, which I thoroughly appreciated. I realized halfway through that Penny is a lot smarter than me, and I wholeheartedly respect it.
Anyway, I cheered on the romance between Penny and Sam the whole time, especially with the comedic moments sprinkled in (100% would reread Penny dragging Sam into her car and offering him first aid). The subplot with Lola made it impossible to tell where the story was going, which I thoroughly appreciated. I realized halfway through that Penny is a lot smarter than me, and I wholeheartedly respect it.
katcanwrite's review against another edition
5.0
Penny and Sam are so fully formed; their voices are totally distinct and both totally awesome.
stephashryver's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warning sexual assault
Before I start my review, I'm just going to mention that, the back of the book says "ages 14 and up" but I really feel like this is misleading and poor marketing. I think that some of the topics covered in this book are more suitable for and relevant to the 16-25 age group. Yes, some 14 year olds probably can cope with heavy topics like sexual assault, but I feel like some form of warning would be appropriate, especially as this book is marketed as YA.
As far as the book itself is concerned, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved it on a personal level because there was so much I found I could relate to and so many themes which echoed my own experiences. At its core, this book is about love and all the wonder and confusion which often surrounds internet based relationships and friendships. I really connected with this aspect of the novel as it's something I've thought about a lot myself, and the novel just really understands and sums up the nature of the connections we make with people through technology in a succinct, real and enjoyable way.
I really loved Penny and Sam and empathised with both of their stories, I cared about them and this made the novel absorbing.
I also loved that Penny was a writer and how the book explored that, because it's a topic I find interesting anyway and I feel like the novel captures it cleverly, not to mention that the story within a story that Penny was writing was fascinating in itself and there were some really clever parallels between Penny's science fiction story and her own life. The novel also made some subtle comments about racism and the need for diversity and representation in fiction which I found interesting too.
My only real criticism of this book is that some of the secondary characters felt a bit caricature-like, and sometimes the novel was unrealistically optimistic, but I think that this is kind of to be expected of a YA contemporary and it didn't really bother me because what the book did well, it did exceptionally well. This was an engaging, very relevant and well executed YA contemporary and I would definitely recommend it.
Before I start my review, I'm just going to mention that, the back of the book says "ages 14 and up" but I really feel like this is misleading and poor marketing. I think that some of the topics covered in this book are more suitable for and relevant to the 16-25 age group. Yes, some 14 year olds probably can cope with heavy topics like sexual assault, but I feel like some form of warning would be appropriate, especially as this book is marketed as YA.
As far as the book itself is concerned, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved it on a personal level because there was so much I found I could relate to and so many themes which echoed my own experiences. At its core, this book is about love and all the wonder and confusion which often surrounds internet based relationships and friendships. I really connected with this aspect of the novel as it's something I've thought about a lot myself, and the novel just really understands and sums up the nature of the connections we make with people through technology in a succinct, real and enjoyable way.
I really loved Penny and Sam and empathised with both of their stories, I cared about them and this made the novel absorbing.
I also loved that Penny was a writer and how the book explored that, because it's a topic I find interesting anyway and I feel like the novel captures it cleverly, not to mention that the story within a story that Penny was writing was fascinating in itself and there were some really clever parallels between Penny's science fiction story and her own life. The novel also made some subtle comments about racism and the need for diversity and representation in fiction which I found interesting too.
My only real criticism of this book is that some of the secondary characters felt a bit caricature-like, and sometimes the novel was unrealistically optimistic, but I think that this is kind of to be expected of a YA contemporary and it didn't really bother me because what the book did well, it did exceptionally well. This was an engaging, very relevant and well executed YA contemporary and I would definitely recommend it.
martareader's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Pretty entertaining read. Made me laugh at some parts and had some quite relatable quotes.
It took me a while to get into it to be fair but once the story started to develop it became more fun to read.
It's not the best book out there but it'd recommend it if you want a quick fun contemporary.
Pretty entertaining read. Made me laugh at some parts and had some quite relatable quotes.
It took me a while to get into it to be fair but once the story started to develop it became more fun to read.
It's not the best book out there but it'd recommend it if you want a quick fun contemporary.
repunzee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
sesealyah's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75