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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
This book was amazing and I absolutely love the writing style. My only criticism is that the end seemed to hit very abruptly - it would have been nice to perhaps have an epilogue but maybe I'm only thinking that because I fell in love with the characters and just wanted to stay in their world.
so, i actually liked this more than i thought i would.
the writing wasn’t my favorite at times and i also kind of hated penny for like half of the book but once i got about fifty pages into it, i couldn’t put it down.
the way their relationship developed felt pretty realistic and natural and i couldn’t wait for them to just get together already.
penny’s relationship with her mom was not my favorite, mostly because penny was unnecessarily a bitch to her ninety percent of the time, but that last scene between them was cute.
i also think the book was a little longer than it should’ve been, there was definitely quite a few scenes that i didn’t feel added anything to the story.
3.5 stars
the writing wasn’t my favorite at times and i also kind of hated penny for like half of the book but once i got about fifty pages into it, i couldn’t put it down.
the way their relationship developed felt pretty realistic and natural and i couldn’t wait for them to just get together already.
penny’s relationship with her mom was not my favorite, mostly because penny was unnecessarily a bitch to her ninety percent of the time, but that last scene between them was cute.
i also think the book was a little longer than it should’ve been, there was definitely quite a few scenes that i didn’t feel added anything to the story.
3.5 stars
Yup. I read this in two days. That’s how much I loved it. And it made me laugh out loud???? I can’t recall the last time (if ever?) a book has ever had that effect on me. I love love love this!
This will be one I read again and again and again. I absolutely adored this book.
Synopsis: Penny and Sam meet coincidentally when Penny’s new college roommate, Jude, takes her to the coffee shop that Sam works at. When Penny later witnesses Sam in his first panic attack and helps him, they decide to exchange phone numbers and become “emergency contacts” that text each other about anything and everything, but remain friends only in the phone, or so they had originally planned.
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Thoughts: This may be my favorite book I’ve ever read. The relationship and dialogue between the main two characters is so fun, entertaining, heartwarming, and also super important. This book sets a wonderful example for healthy relationships and friendships using every single character, and gives the most realistic approach to conflict and resolution. There was just so much right with this book, I know this will be a book I pick up again regularly. Please excuse me while I go buy every book Mary H. K. Choi has ever written.
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Thoughts: This may be my favorite book I’ve ever read. The relationship and dialogue between the main two characters is so fun, entertaining, heartwarming, and also super important. This book sets a wonderful example for healthy relationships and friendships using every single character, and gives the most realistic approach to conflict and resolution. There was just so much right with this book, I know this will be a book I pick up again regularly. Please excuse me while I go buy every book Mary H. K. Choi has ever written.
Two-star reviews feel hard to write sometimes because for me it means that the book wasn't necessarily inherently bad-- there's certain things that can be appreciated, but the book as a whole is problematic in some ways and fell short in its promise. Also, YA isn't usually a genre I read, but I'm dabbling, and I'm still figuring out what I expect from good YA fiction versus adult fiction.
I'm glad I'm on my continued streak to read more Korean (American) writers and I'm enjoying the ride. That's one of the things this book has going for it: a Korean-American protagonist who feels real, authentic, but is also not defined by her Asian heritage. And there's sharp meta-commentary on what it means to be of Asian descent, living in American society.
An irrational dislike of mine: I tend to react badly to characters who I feel have too much in common with me. Penny Lee was one of them. Yikes. Also, I don't find her "unlikeable." I find her to be a real teenager and yes, teenagers are whiny sometimes, irrational, and objectively annoying.
Another aside: why do so many writers insist that characters "throw on" clothes? Or kitchen appliances? I hate that. I've never thrown on a mixer, microwave, or gym shoes.
Stylistically, it smoothly integrates the "now"-speak and the use of other media, so the form mostly works. Otherwise, the prose is just okay.
This isn't a bad book, nor is it a particularly good one. Much like its own commentary on race, class, and sexual assault, it sort of hovers in this gray space, treading water; it puts forth ideas (that have been explored before), but never moves the dialogue forward in any meaningful way. But maybe it doesn't have to (?) or perhaps we don't expect it to because it's a romcom for teenagers. If you expect a YA book to entertain and that touching on compelling social issues is a bonus in the genre, this is probably a 4-star book; if you're the type of reader who expects a book's story to add to a conversation, this is a 2-star book.
I'm glad I'm on my continued streak to read more Korean (American) writers and I'm enjoying the ride. That's one of the things this book has going for it: a Korean-American protagonist who feels real, authentic, but is also not defined by her Asian heritage. And there's sharp meta-commentary on what it means to be of Asian descent, living in American society.
An irrational dislike of mine: I tend to react badly to characters who I feel have too much in common with me. Penny Lee was one of them. Yikes. Also, I don't find her "unlikeable." I find her to be a real teenager and yes, teenagers are whiny sometimes, irrational, and objectively annoying.
Another aside: why do so many writers insist that characters "throw on" clothes? Or kitchen appliances? I hate that. I've never thrown on a mixer, microwave, or gym shoes.
Stylistically, it smoothly integrates the "now"-speak and the use of other media, so the form mostly works. Otherwise, the prose is just okay.
This isn't a bad book, nor is it a particularly good one. Much like its own commentary on race, class, and sexual assault, it sort of hovers in this gray space, treading water; it puts forth ideas (that have been explored before), but never moves the dialogue forward in any meaningful way. But maybe it doesn't have to (?) or perhaps we don't expect it to because it's a romcom for teenagers. If you expect a YA book to entertain and that touching on compelling social issues is a bonus in the genre, this is probably a 4-star book; if you're the type of reader who expects a book's story to add to a conversation, this is a 2-star book.
It wasn’t the most mind-boggling novel I’ve read and I had at first found the writing style particularly annoying, but it grew on me, and I binged the last 3/4 of it until 3 am. It was super cute (once it got to the texts) and pulled me right out of my month-long slump. I also loved and appreciate the originality incorporated with the girl-meets-boy trope
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced