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A review by bookph1le
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. In the beginning, the author's style grabbed me, and I really liked both Sam and Penny. Many sentences and passages were laugh-out-loud funny, or made me make those really attractive snorting noises.
But then toward the last 1/3 or so of the book, things started to kind of fall apart. I couldn't abide by the way Penny treated her mother, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand what her real beef with Celeste was, even after she explained it to Sam. To me, Penny just came across as entitled and spoiled, and like someone insisting her mother should be someone other than she was.
I won't spoil anything, but I was dismayed by the number of cliches this book started rolling out in the end, and it just felt lazy to me. I thought the characters were interesting and nuanced enough on their own, but then the author started throwing ever possible kind of trauma at them, which to me felt like she had run out of ideas. There were also some dialog passages that weren't up to par with those earlier in the book, and some areas where I felt things worked out too neatly simply because the story demanded they work out.
I think this author has a lot of potential, though. Her style is fun and she writes in a relatable way, so I'd be interested in reading more by her. I hope, though, that her writing will mature with time.
But then toward the last 1/3 or so of the book, things started to kind of fall apart. I couldn't abide by the way Penny treated her mother, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand what her real beef with Celeste was, even after she explained it to Sam. To me, Penny just came across as entitled and spoiled, and like someone insisting her mother should be someone other than she was.
I won't spoil anything, but I was dismayed by the number of cliches this book started rolling out in the end, and it just felt lazy to me. I thought the characters were interesting and nuanced enough on their own, but then the author started throwing ever possible kind of trauma at them, which to me felt like she had run out of ideas. There were also some dialog passages that weren't up to par with those earlier in the book, and some areas where I felt things worked out too neatly simply because the story demanded they work out.
I think this author has a lot of potential, though. Her style is fun and she writes in a relatable way, so I'd be interested in reading more by her. I hope, though, that her writing will mature with time.