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A review by pippindots
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
5.0
Potential trigger warnings to be aware of:
4.5 stars, rounded up thanks to the post-read rosy goggles this book left me seeing things through.
Not perfect by any means. The start left me a little unconvinced, and the author faked me out with a series of almost-but-not-quite plot turns and tropes that I was worried were going to ruin my enjoyment of Penny and Sam's easy chemistry. But at the end of the day (and I did read this in a day) this ended up being the cutest shit I've read all year.
I mean, it also helped that both Sam and Penny were painfully relatable characters in their own rights, both from points of their inner voices and personal experiences. The Austin (and sometimes New Braunfels-adjacent) setting was an additional treat that made me reminisce fondly on my time living in San Antonio. The name drops of certain Purely Texan establishments, like Jim's and Taco Cabana, had me grinning almost as much as Sam and Penny's ridiculous text conversations.
And not to make things deeper than they need to be, but there was a certain unpolished Realism to Emergency Contact that I appreciated. Both Sam and Penny are kind of assholes sometimes--honestly, everyone in this book is kind of an asshole sometimes, but I liked that neither of them were these entirely blameless woobified cherubs, and that while they both suffered legitimate unfairness and hurt in their respective lives, they were written as legitimately flawed people who had their own shit to work through as well. And things didn't just magically tie into neat little bows of convenience just in time for the Big Confession. Some of their problems were solved by the end of the book, and some weren't. Emergency Contact wasn't a book about life-altering earthquakes; it was about complications and connections and the little shakes that change your life every day.
Anyway, tl;dr: Emergency Contact was cute as hell, and if you're looking for a feel-good romcom, I highly recommend it. Because I know I'll be rereading it soon enough.
Spoiler
alcoholism, parental neglect, flashbacks that illustrate a fairly toxic and unhealthy relationship, and a recounting of rape that drops with 0 warning about 70% into the book; it's not a graphic description, but is a recounting from the victim's perspective (who was underage at the time) and is detailed and introspective enough to possibly be triggering.4.5 stars, rounded up thanks to the post-read rosy goggles this book left me seeing things through.
Not perfect by any means. The start left me a little unconvinced, and the author faked me out with a series of almost-but-not-quite plot turns and tropes that I was worried were going to ruin my enjoyment of Penny and Sam's easy chemistry. But at the end of the day (and I did read this in a day) this ended up being the cutest shit I've read all year.
I mean, it also helped that both Sam and Penny were painfully relatable characters in their own rights, both from points of their inner voices and personal experiences. The Austin (and sometimes New Braunfels-adjacent) setting was an additional treat that made me reminisce fondly on my time living in San Antonio. The name drops of certain Purely Texan establishments, like Jim's and Taco Cabana, had me grinning almost as much as Sam and Penny's ridiculous text conversations.
And not to make things deeper than they need to be, but there was a certain unpolished Realism to Emergency Contact that I appreciated. Both Sam and Penny are kind of assholes sometimes--honestly, everyone in this book is kind of an asshole sometimes, but I liked that neither of them were these entirely blameless woobified cherubs, and that while they both suffered legitimate unfairness and hurt in their respective lives, they were written as legitimately flawed people who had their own shit to work through as well. And things didn't just magically tie into neat little bows of convenience just in time for the Big Confession. Some of their problems were solved by the end of the book, and some weren't. Emergency Contact wasn't a book about life-altering earthquakes; it was about complications and connections and the little shakes that change your life every day.
Spoiler
The ending felt very satisfying, because it was good and happy, but also felt entirely attainable. I love a good, saccharine wish-fulfillment romance as much as the next person, but this slightly more subdued conclusion was exactly what I needed right now.Anyway, tl;dr: Emergency Contact was cute as hell, and if you're looking for a feel-good romcom, I highly recommend it. Because I know I'll be rereading it soon enough.