A review by thexwalrus
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mary h.k. choi's writing is the star here - it's so snappy and fluid and fresh, and i think it adds so much to all the characters. before we even get to know penny and sam, her writing gives us a taste of what their internal monologues are like, and it endeared me to them without me even realizing it.

while i don't necessarily love a few of the characters, they're all extraordinarily well-written and fleshed out. penny and her mother's relationship is rough and beautifully realistic and i deeply enjoyed reading all of their interactions. 

my favorite part of the story was reading about penny's thoughts on writing - seeing her formulate a story and go through the different stages of brainstorming and discovering new sides of characters was so fun, and even though that wasn't the focus of the story, i wish we'd gotten more. 

all in all, this was fun! i definitely wanna check out more of choi's writing and this was a very encouraging starting point. 
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