A review by readwithev
Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Some of my favorite poems from the collection:

1. Summer after Sarah Gambito
2. Doctor's Note
3. Higher Education
4. Summer
5. The School of Austrialia
6. The School of Red
7. A Small Book of Questions: chapter i
8. Winter (you become increasingly...)
9. A Small Book of Questions: chapter iv
10. A Small Book of Questions: chapter v
11. One Year Later: A Letter
12. Chen No Middle Name Chen
13. The School of Song, Uno, & Dinnertime
14. The School fo keyboards & Our Whole Entire History Up to the Present
15. Zombie Kindness

I've highlighted way too many lines to include here in this review. I loved this collection. Its funny, emotional, vulnerable, and introspective. I also enjoyed the line spacing variations. It has structure, without feeling too strict, but also not too loose that it feels like a tumble blog. The collection is a great look at our parents, learning to see them with empathy, kindness, and grace. That they're people who make mistakes like us and say the wrong things. It's also about forgiving people who hurt you, even when they don't feel bad about doing the hurting. Chen struggles to reconcile his Chinese American identity during the Covid-19 pandemic, and fielding the micro-aggressions against himself and other Chinese Americans. It doesn't feel too politically heavy though and I appreciated that.
Highly recommend this collection and look forward to Chen's next.