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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
literally what??? i did not like this at all when i started and i was just pulling through bc it was so bad it was funny. and then as the book grew it was like the author grew into her voice? and she figured out she could ruin our lives by making it insanely real and emotional?? and it became lovely and beautiful??? and everything was explained and wrapped up and recalled like it should’ve been?????? what the fuck????? this is 4 stars based on the lovely latter half of the book, but the first half was LACKING. i am utterly confused! but sam and penny! so!
This was a cute fluffy romance and while not particularly heart wrenching or deep, I really enjoyed it. Penny frustrated me at times with the way she treated her mother but I think that’s what teenage girls are supposed to do, so I can’t fault her much for that. Im pretty sure I was awful at 19 too.
OKAY so clearly I made a mistake when I kept picking this book up only to put it back and not read it. Because this was so lovely and soft but also hit me in the feels and I'm basically giddy. I am wholly in love with this book in this silently screaming way. And Sam has my heart. That is all.
Review to come. Maybe. Who knows?
Review to come. Maybe. Who knows?
I wanted to love this. But it left me wanting more and not in a good way. I mean the story was ‘cute’ and a good read
An amazing cast of characters
Hands down, the strongest aspect of EMERGENCY CONTACT was the characters. Sam and Penny felt like friends I have known in real life, with genuine emotions and quirks and problems that are easy to relate to. Even the side characters stood out and were strong characters on their own.
The “emergency contact” texting aspect was also super cute, and easy to relate to, especially in this age. I know quite a few of my friendships started off only through messaging, and I’ve still yet to meet some of my closest friends in person (Bec). It was even better because although the two characters messaged, there was no insta-love, and I thought any romantic angle developed naturally. Their relationship was easy to believe in.
Doesn’t shy away from discussing real issues
Another thing that was great about this novel was that it talks about realistic, relevant issues like race, sex, and familial relationships. I would say it’s geared towards the older side of a young adult audience, but discusses important issues that any YA reader can benefit from.
Side plots that didn’t lead to anything
I like it when contemporary books have a few other things going on besides just focusing on the romantic angle. EMERGENCY CONTACT tried to do that, but a lot of the side plots sort of got lost throughout the book, or were sort of just glossed over and forgotten about. This was disappointing, because I felt that some of them had strong potential to influence character development, but the side plots here almost seemed like filler.
Overall I think EMERGENCY CONTACT is a solid contemporary romance that is heavily character-driven. If you like other YA romances I would definitely give this one a shot.
Hands down, the strongest aspect of EMERGENCY CONTACT was the characters. Sam and Penny felt like friends I have known in real life, with genuine emotions and quirks and problems that are easy to relate to. Even the side characters stood out and were strong characters on their own.
The “emergency contact” texting aspect was also super cute, and easy to relate to, especially in this age. I know quite a few of my friendships started off only through messaging, and I’ve still yet to meet some of my closest friends in person (Bec). It was even better because although the two characters messaged, there was no insta-love, and I thought any romantic angle developed naturally. Their relationship was easy to believe in.
Doesn’t shy away from discussing real issues
Another thing that was great about this novel was that it talks about realistic, relevant issues like race, sex, and familial relationships. I would say it’s geared towards the older side of a young adult audience, but discusses important issues that any YA reader can benefit from.
Side plots that didn’t lead to anything
I like it when contemporary books have a few other things going on besides just focusing on the romantic angle. EMERGENCY CONTACT tried to do that, but a lot of the side plots sort of got lost throughout the book, or were sort of just glossed over and forgotten about. This was disappointing, because I felt that some of them had strong potential to influence character development, but the side plots here almost seemed like filler.
Overall I think EMERGENCY CONTACT is a solid contemporary romance that is heavily character-driven. If you like other YA romances I would definitely give this one a shot.
I can't believe it's over! It was too quick!!!!!
Not a lot of substance to this book, but it was quick, it was cute, it had drama, and I loved it!!!
Sam was by far my favourite character, and I really felt like he should have been the sole main character.
Jude deserved so much better. I really loved her!
There were some weird bits though:
"To Penny, Australians felt like off-brand, bizarro British people." <<< I mean, what???
But other than these random weird bits, I really loved it!
Not a lot of substance to this book, but it was quick, it was cute, it had drama, and I loved it!!!
Sam was by far my favourite character, and I really felt like he should have been the sole main character.
Jude deserved so much better. I really loved her!
There were some weird bits though:
"To Penny, Australians felt like off-brand, bizarro British people." <<< I mean, what???
But other than these random weird bits, I really loved it!
Beautiful, as soon as I finished reading it, i wanted to read it again!
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm calling this as one of those books that just hits you at the right time: it isn't perfect, but I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more from Choi.
It's primarily a romance between Penny and Sam (and alternates between their viewpoints), but it touches on a lot of serious topics: racism, addiction, rape, being undocumented, broken families on both sides, etc. I thought these were handled generally well, though it started getting more involved towards the end and I wished the book had either been shorter or longer. There was a part where it felt like things could naturally end, but didn't, and I wish what came after that had more time to develop like the main plotline did.
I've been kind of hesitant to embrace current slang in fiction (most notably Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda), but I thought it was integrated well here. There weren't really any points I noticed that were super off-putting and took me out of the narrative.
All of the characters are flawed and (at least in my reading), I thought they were all well-written. I saw myself and my loved ones in the story, even in the hard parts.
I thought this was a really honest story about growing up between being a teenager and an adult and how much you really don't know when so much is going on.
It's primarily a romance between Penny and Sam (and alternates between their viewpoints), but it touches on a lot of serious topics: racism, addiction, rape, being undocumented, broken families on both sides, etc. I thought these were handled generally well, though it started getting more involved towards the end and I wished the book had either been shorter or longer. There was a part where it felt like things could naturally end, but didn't, and I wish what came after that had more time to develop like the main plotline did.
I've been kind of hesitant to embrace current slang in fiction (most notably Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda), but I thought it was integrated well here. There weren't really any points I noticed that were super off-putting and took me out of the narrative.
All of the characters are flawed and (at least in my reading), I thought they were all well-written. I saw myself and my loved ones in the story, even in the hard parts.
I thought this was a really honest story about growing up between being a teenager and an adult and how much you really don't know when so much is going on.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
This was a cute little coming-of-age story. I really liked that Penny and Sam were friends then best friends before they realized they had deeper feelings for each other. Yes, there was initial attraction but neither of them pursued the friendship to get in bed with the other instead they were there for the other person as genuine emotional support. I would have liked to know how Penny’s story and Sam’s documentary penned out, I feel like a short epilogue would have rounded out the book. The ending was a bit abrupt.