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

funny hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this was a weird read for me because so many elements hit so close to home while also being, like, three inches to the left. in a weird way, celeste reminded me a fair bit of my mom, albeit trendier and hotter and with a wider social circle. i usually love stories that revolve around mother-daughter relationships especially when it comes to asian-americans—especially especially asian-americans in texas because that’s a funky little thing i love seeing represented. i’m also a judgmental bitch like penny, so that definitely upped the relatability factor. and i liked how penny being korean was important to her identity without it being a central focus of the novel. that said, while i enjoyed this story a fair amount, i just didn’t LOVE it.

i thought the characters were interesting. i surprisingly enjoyed the “story-within-a-story,” which i did not expect because those usually make me eye roll or confuse the shit out of me. like, watchmen’s iteration of that with the pirate story—which penny references—was a huge miss for me. i’m also not usually much a fan of reading about writers? it always feels a little too meta for me, or honestly pretty bland because it makes me start thinking about my life in a much too direct and immediate way for my taste. so i think that significantly impacted my overall opinion of this novel.

i liked sam. his relationship with lorraine felt a little half-baked to me, though, so it felt like his unplanned pregnancy storyline got dropped in a really awkward spot that sorta left him with nothing else to do while penny was sorting out her own issues. it started feeling like the author was juggling a bit too much, and had to drop something to keep everything else going smoothly. 

i loved the last few chapters where penny has all those interactions with jude and mallory and andy, plus all the mom stuff. it really made getting through the entire beginning of this book feel worthwhile.

i’m came to “emergency contact” from “yolk,” so i feel like choi hasn’t fully realized her capabilities as a writer, which probably detracted from my enjoyment of this (especially since i adored yolk so much. absolutely my new favorite book). but i just love choi’s prose so much. it’s so snarky and fun to read, a style i’d both love to emulate but also don’t think i could ever quite pull off. so overall i had a good time. i just wasn’t blown away.
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