Title: Emergency Contact
Author: Mary H.K Choi
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 400 (Paperback)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date: March 24th, 2018
Synopsis from Emergency Contact's Goodreads page
From debut author Mark H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
For Penny Lee, high school was a nonevent. She got decent grades, had a few friends, and even a boyfriend by senior year but basically she was invisible. Having just graduated from high school, she’s heading off to college in Austin, Texas, and she’s ready for it.
Sam has had a rougher time over the last few years. He grew up in a trailer park and had to bail when he caught his addict mom taking out credit cards in his name to buy more crap from the Home Shopping Network. He gets a job at a café whose owner is kind enough to let him crash on a mattress in a spare room upstairs. He wants to go to film school and become a great director but at the moment he has $17 in his checking account and his laptop is dying.
When Penny and Sam cross paths it’s not exactly a Hollywood meet cute: they’re both too socially awkward for that. But they exchange numbers and stay in touch—almost entirely by text message, a form that allows them to get to know each other while being witty and snarky and intimate without the uncomfortable weirdness of, you know, actually having to see each other in person.
Synopsis from Emergency Contact's Goodreads page
From debut author Mark H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
For Penny Lee, high school was a nonevent. She got decent grades, had a few friends, and even a boyfriend by senior year but basically she was invisible. Having just graduated from high school, she’s heading off to college in Austin, Texas, and she’s ready for it.
Sam has had a rougher time over the last few years. He grew up in a trailer park and had to bail when he caught his addict mom taking out credit cards in his name to buy more crap from the Home Shopping Network. He gets a job at a café whose owner is kind enough to let him crash on a mattress in a spare room upstairs. He wants to go to film school and become a great director but at the moment he has $17 in his checking account and his laptop is dying.
When Penny and Sam cross paths it’s not exactly a Hollywood meet cute: they’re both too socially awkward for that. But they exchange numbers and stay in touch—almost entirely by text message, a form that allows them to get to know each other while being witty and snarky and intimate without the uncomfortable weirdness of, you know, actually having to see each other in person.
THOUGHTS
I received a finished copy from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review - Thank you so much Simon & Schuster!
You know how every once in a while, you read the perfect book at the perfect time, and you just can't stop thinking about it? Yeah, that's this book for me.
Every single aspect of this book was just absolutely perfect. I was super hesitant going into it, because a lot of BookTubers and bloggers who I regard very highly said that this was an "okay" book. However, when I started it, I was IMMEDIATELY sucked in and I couldn't think straight until I had finished this book.
There were so many amazing things about this book. The characters, the plot, the whole idea itself.
Being a university student, (albeit a couple years older than Penny), I was able to very easily immerse myself in the setting. I know what it's like to be lonely and overwhelmed when starting Uni, and how scary everything can be, and to be drowning in work. I think all of that was done really well, and it all was extremely real and I felt like I was in first year again.
The characters were also very accurate for first year University people. Some are really sweet and endearing, others are shy and awkward, and others still are just plain rude, but you love them all anyways. Every character in this book seemed so real, and I loved that.
The whole idea of this novel itself is amazing - living in a generation where almost everyone I know has some form of social anxiety, or just prefers to be with themselves, I completely understand why Penny and Sam loved to have the ability to talk about everything dark and depressing, and everything that makes them happy, with each other via text. Being able to completely open up with someone is always hard, but it's sometimes easier when it's with someone who you don't know very well. You don't feel judged, and you're not concerned with how they feel about you, because they barely know you. That idea is something that I love; the ability and easiness of just texting someone over having to talk to them face-to-face, especially when it's about very emotional topics.
The ease that they were able to talk, the quirkiness and awkwardness of their conversations, the emotional stuff that they had to deal with, from parents to work and school, to just trying to make a life for themselves - everything was on par, and everything was completely realistic. It was SO good, and it was exactly what I needed right now!
I absolutely loved this book. Everyone, please read it! It deserves ALL the hype.
Overall - ★★★★★
You know how every once in a while, you read the perfect book at the perfect time, and you just can't stop thinking about it? Yeah, that's this book for me.
Every single aspect of this book was just absolutely perfect. I was super hesitant going into it, because a lot of BookTubers and bloggers who I regard very highly said that this was an "okay" book. However, when I started it, I was IMMEDIATELY sucked in and I couldn't think straight until I had finished this book.
There were so many amazing things about this book. The characters, the plot, the whole idea itself.
Being a university student, (albeit a couple years older than Penny), I was able to very easily immerse myself in the setting. I know what it's like to be lonely and overwhelmed when starting Uni, and how scary everything can be, and to be drowning in work. I think all of that was done really well, and it all was extremely real and I felt like I was in first year again.
The characters were also very accurate for first year University people. Some are really sweet and endearing, others are shy and awkward, and others still are just plain rude, but you love them all anyways. Every character in this book seemed so real, and I loved that.
The whole idea of this novel itself is amazing - living in a generation where almost everyone I know has some form of social anxiety, or just prefers to be with themselves, I completely understand why Penny and Sam loved to have the ability to talk about everything dark and depressing, and everything that makes them happy, with each other via text. Being able to completely open up with someone is always hard, but it's sometimes easier when it's with someone who you don't know very well. You don't feel judged, and you're not concerned with how they feel about you, because they barely know you. That idea is something that I love; the ability and easiness of just texting someone over having to talk to them face-to-face, especially when it's about very emotional topics.
The ease that they were able to talk, the quirkiness and awkwardness of their conversations, the emotional stuff that they had to deal with, from parents to work and school, to just trying to make a life for themselves - everything was on par, and everything was completely realistic. It was SO good, and it was exactly what I needed right now!
I absolutely loved this book. Everyone, please read it! It deserves ALL the hype.
Overall - ★★★★★
