There are times when you read a contemporary novel and finish the book feeling all warm and fuzzy inside after concluding the sweet romance in a happily ever after. Other times, you’ll close the book and sit there for the next few minutes deep in thought. Permanent Record was an introspective story about personal growth, family, and a desire for something better. In comparison to her debut novel, Mary HK Choi’s sophomore novel has a more wistful and mature tone, yet it still presents the same thoughtful prose that encourages everyone to look deeper at their actions and passions in life.

Permanent Record follows the perspective of Pablo (Pab) Neruda Rind, a half-Korean and half-Pakistani college dropout, who works the night shift at a local health foods store in hopes of paying off his overwhelming college and credit card debt. One late night winter morning at 4AM, a strange girl stumbles into the store looking for all the possible junk food combinations. The girl unexpectedly turns out to be Leanna Smart, a famous pop star and social media celebrity, and Leanna and Pab end up flirting and joking around, beginning a whirlwind romance that is filled with emotion, spontaneity, passion, and worries.

Mary HK Choi’s writing is easy to read with one page flying by after another, and the overall tone of the story is more mature and dreamlike—reading this book felt like having a late-night talk with a close friend. In comparison to Emergency Contact which has a more hopeful tone since Penny starting her freshman year of college, Permanent Record felt unafraid to be a bit more somber. Her language manages to capture the millennial spirit from social media exchanges to everyday language with friends. The issues this book tackles and the framing of each character felt very relatable as a 20-year-old college student.

Personally, I think what makes this story so spectacular is that it goes beyond a simple love story. The synopsis does set the book to seem like a budding romance after an accidental meet cute. However, I would argue that Permament Record is more about Pablo’s story of picking himself up again after life knocks him down. Faced with crippling amounts of debt and no college degree, he’s unsure of how to support himself and his family, and Choi isn’t afraid to show the harsh realities of society through an unfiltered lens with raw, genuine emotions.

Another underlying subplot of the story is Pablo’s relationship with his family, specifically his misfit younger brother in middle school who never fails to rebel and get into trouble, his South Korean mother whose relationship with him is strained due to him dropping out of college, and his Pakistani father who is less hands-on in his life. He struggles with identity as a child of diaspora, and throughout the story, he contemplates each family relationship and how it has shaped and will continue to shape him for the future.

Permanent Record was the thought-provoking, coming-of-age story that I didn’t know I needed. If you read and enjoyed the plotline of Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo or fell in love with the late night setting in Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett, this is a book that you NEED to pick up. Set as a slice-of-life story, Permament Record spoke to my 20-year-old heart, and I can’t wait to see what Mary HK Choi writes next.

Permanent Record deals with issues of student debt, college pressure, fame, and relationships in a way that will certainly resonate with older teen readers. The prose is elegant while still using current slang and references in a way that feels fresh and authentic. Mary H.K. Choi has a gift for writing the unique existential dread that unfortunately seems to come with being an older teen these days, and I'm excited to get this book in the hands of teens who loved Emergency Contact and teens who are facing some of the issues addressed.

*3.5 stars*
I honestly enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I don't always jive with longer contemporaries but this one flew by pretty quickly. I truly thought that this book featured some of the most realistic characters I've ever read about. They all had little quirks and traditions that felt so real, random, and genuine that I oftentimes felt like they had to be based on real people. That being said, there were a LOT of these characters, and I had a hard time keeping them all straight and getting attached to all of them.
As far as the plot, it featured a lot of unique elements that I haven't seen a lot of in YA before. The romance was handled differently, and I loved the talk about college and debt. I was constantly taken aback by how modern this book is - the references to social media and current trends were very prevalent, but they always felt natural and realistic. There were some tropes that I'm not always a fan of in this book, but they wrapped up differently than I expected and I ended up not minding them.
I would definitely recommend this book if it interests you; the only reason I didn't give it a higher rating was because I didn't necessarily get a lot out of it in terms of a "bigger picture" until later towards the end. But for the most part, it was consistently entertaining throughout.

I have been looking forward to reading Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi and I’m so glad I was able to read it early because I really enjoyed it and found it extremely relatable. I have read and loved her debut Emergency Contact, so I knew I already enjoyed her writing style and character development.

Permanent Record follows Pablo, a college-aged main character who has dropped out and is now a bit lost. He’s a person who ignores his problems and responsibilities because he’s afraid to deal with them, and the plot of this book follows him as he tries to figure out his way in life.

I think this book will definitely be relatable to a lot of young adults around Pablo’s age, right at the beginning of adulthood trying to find their path, and I think they’ll really enjoy it. It really captures what it’s like to be someone in their early 20s, maybe just after high school or college graduation, and not knowing what they want to do with their lives. It really captures that feeling of being lost, of being confused on your life’s journey and feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of adulthood. Looking back, I definitely wish I had a book like this then because it’s exactly how I felt. I had no idea what I wanted to do, what my options were and how I wanted to go about them. I ignore my responsibilities, pushed my problems to the side and did exactly the kinds of things Pablo did.

That’s what I really enjoyed about this book. It’s about finding yourself, a real “slice of life” kind of novel and I really loved it. I also appreciated the dynamic location and atmosphere. I’ve never been to NYC but I felt like I was there. The family dynamics were interesting and I loved the friend group.

There is also a romance in this book that was, surprisingly, not my favorite thing. As a romance reader, I love when love is involved, but to me this felt more of a self discovery kind of book. You could take the romance out and it would feel almost the same. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy reading it, because I did, but it almost felt like it wasn’t needed. It was still fun, felt a little like insta-love but I liked it anyway.

Overall this book was a wonderful read. I found it extremely relatable and one I hope gets into the hands of many young adults who will take it’s message to heart. I’m thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi, 432 pages.
Simon & Schuster BYFR (Simon & Schuster), 2019. $19.
Language: R (250 swears, 62 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Working the graveyard shift at a neighborhood health food store is not ideal, but Pablo needs to pay rent and the other unopened bills piling up in his room. When the monotony of his shift is disrupted by a familiar face walking checking out, Pablo almost convinces himself she was a dream. But then she comes back. Pablo’s world is turned upside down and responsibility is falling by the wayside -- but, when something feels so right, it’s hard to care.
As I read Permanent Record, I was reminded of The Catcher in the Rye. This book is like an evolved coming of age story that is about how 20-year-old Pablo decides to take responsibility for his past actions to change how he wants to be in the future -- even if it all seems hopeless and difficult in the present. Not all the connections I made to this classic were positive, though. I like Pablo as much as I like Holden -- which is not at all -- and the swearing is just as bad. I started to like Permanent Record more after finishing it and making myself think about the story in order to write this review. I like the message and the hope it offers, and I like the unique interests that Pablo finally starts to pursue, but I am not a big fan of all the thoughts Pablo shared throughout the story -- I started skimming a lot through his random stream of conscious thoughts about a quarter of the way into the book. The mature content rating is for mentions of pubic areas, sex toys, nudity, and sex.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

This is a fantastic book that will satisfy fans of Choi’s Emergency Contact. I loved Pablo and Leanna’s relationship and the modern way it’s presented will appeal to YA readers. The characters’ struggles are relatable to young readers and their relationship is something to root for. Definitely recommended.

I love going into a book knowing not a single thing about it. I knew Mary HK Choi wrote Emergency Contact, and I know people liked it, and I knew she wrote for upper-YA levels (as in over 18) but I had no idea what Permanent Record was about. Frankly, even after reading it, I'm not entirely sure, but it was an interesting ride and I didn't hate it. I'd give it three stars.

Pablo is working late-nights at a health food bodega to pay the bills while crippling credit card and student loan debt piles up around him, making snack combos and taking pictures of them, but then a literal star walks into his bodega. Not once, but twice. Leanna Smart is the Taylor Swift of this world but on crack--music, perfumes, ads, wants to get into movies, private jets, the like. And they hit things off because this is YA and of course they do. But it's not all fun and games. Sure, there's immediate chemistry and cute chats with grandmothers and private hotel suites, but there's also lying to your friends about where you are and singing Non-Disclosure Agreements and oh yeah, feeling inadequate. Throughout the book, Pablo is both trying to be with Lee and also figure out what the hell is going on in his life.

I liked the star-crossed-lovers aspect of this book, almost like inverted fanfiction, but I was just so uncompelled by Pablo's character arc. It's not there. He's kind of a loser, tbh. Yeah, I feel bad that he's got caught up in all these loans, but also...what does he want? Lee? Why? What makes him happy? Snacks? As Lee says at one point...where's the ambition? I was still into this book because I wanted to see how it would all play out, but Pablo is like the complete opposite of a book boyfriend and I was so unattracted to him the whole time. Sorry, not sorry.

The book does deal with some great topics related to celebrity culture, student loan debt, and family, but ultimately, it was just fine.

I really enjoyed Choi's previous book, and was looking forward to reading more of her work, but I struggled with this book, and sadly, had to set it aside. Initially, I loved being in Pablo's head, and found his thought interesting and amusing, but after a while, I was just hoping for more to happen. Part of me feels like, if I wasn't being bombarded by certain things in the media, I would have pushed through, and maybe, it would have gotten better for me, and this may well be a case of bad timing.

Sadly this book isn't for me. There is something about it that I'm just not clicking with. I'm sure there will be plenty of people this is for, but this is a case of, 'It's not you, it's me'.

I just loved Emergency Contact, and couldn't wait to dive back into the witty and wise musings of Mary H.K. Choi, and Permanent Record definitely did not disappoint. No one writes disaffected millennial angst like Choi. I think Permanent Record is a timely, character-driven story that offers plenty of food for thought (like actual snacks as well as social commentary). I would definitely recommend this to adults who like YA as well as high school and college readers.

A very pleasant surprise. I haven't read Choi's first novel but I heard wonderful things about it so I wanted to give this one a shot. I originally thought it would be a dual narrator novel so I really liked that it was from Pablo's point of view. The dialogue was very current and realistic. Plus, the ending was nothing like what I expected and it really brought the book together for me.

Alright. I loved this book, but I do have to clarify one thing before we get into things. If you read Emergency Contact and were expecting another dual-narrator story, delete that preconceived notion from your head. Kinda seems from the description like we'll be rotating back and forth between Pablo and Leanna, but nope. It's all Pab. Nothing wrong with that, just putting it out there for anyone who shared my expectations.

Now, on to actual review-y things! The cover blurb makes it sound like Pablo and Leanna start dating, their spot gets blown, and then the book is about them navigating the fallout. Not the case, and honestly I think what actually happens is so much better than what I expected based on the description. Pablo is working nights at a bodega health food store after taking out a bunch of student loans, signing up for multiple credit cards, and then flunking out of NYU. In the middle of what promised to be an uneventful shift, Leanna stumbles in, severely under-dressed for the sub-zero weather and looking for a middle-of-the-night snowstorm snack. The two fall into an easy exchange, and shortly after realizing that he kind of has a thing for this mysterious, clearly half-frozen stranger, he also realizes that oh my god...she's a super famous pop star. And there goes that starry-eyed dream.

Until she comes back. It's obvious that they have a connection, but it's also immediately apparent that the two lead very different lives. Leanna jets from place to place, chauffeured in private cars, flying in private plans, to manage her vast media empire. Pablo is actively dodging calls from collection agencies and refuses to open his mail to avoid confronting the massive mountain of debt he is being buried under. Leanna knows exactly what she wants from life and is hustling to get it. Pablo hesitates to make firm plans with his little brother, let alone come up with a longterm plan for his life. Can their burgeoning relationship survive their differences? And is this new relationship even what Pablo should focus on when, if it isn't to answer a phone call or respond to a text from Lee, he can't even find a reason to get out of bed most mornings?

At first blush, this seems like a sweet doomed-romance novel about an A-lister and a kid just scraping by, which I was into because in case it wasn't clear, I love Mary H.K. Choi. If she hadn't written this, though, being honest? I probably would have passed this up. Been there, done that. Nothing new. And that's why I had to point out earlier that this book is so much better than the description makes it sound! There's so much happening here. It isn't just Pablo falling in deep with Lee and trying to avoid public scrutiny, it's Pablo struggling to manage his relationships with his roommates, his parents, and his younger brother. Drowning in the expectations of others while feeling too frozen and buried to do anything or even begin to evaluate his own expectations. It's such a frank look at the weight and expectations put on young people, on the massive hole you can wake up one day and find yourself dug into because you were expected to make all these huge decisions and you didn't know what to do. This review is getting wordy as hell, but I swear it isn't enough to convey my love of this book and the perfection Mary Choi has created. I honestly don't know how she managed to build so many vibrant characters up in so short a time, but if you don't immediately fall in love with Rain, Tice, the Kims, and everyone else I don't know what's wrong with you. Permanent Record is perfection, from the first page to the last.

Pablo Rind is a recent college dropout working the graveyard ship at his local twenty-four-hour health food store. This Korean/Paksitani kid dropped out of his dream school, NYU, after a single semester and is trying to build the courage to reapply while saving up money as the debt collectors continuously flood his phone with calls. 

Pablo desperately wants his life to go well, but he does not know what he wants. He does not even know what he wants to do in college. He just does not know. Then one night while at work, a young Mexican girl comes crashing in getting an arrange of snacks that Pablo appreciates. While ringing her items up he realizes that the girl in front of him is none other the Leanna Smart, one of America’s biggest star…so he does the only logical thing and asks about credit cards with the best flight mileage points.

While this is a “romance” contemporary novel, the romance plays a small factor in the story. Yes, Pablo is header heels over Leanna Smart, but during their relationship, he has other things on his mind. He is constantly thinking about how his life is currently falling apart and he wants this relationship to work so he could at least have something positive occur. Through Leanna, Pablo can discover who he is and get a general idea of what he might want to do with his life. 

Pablo’s inner monologue throughout the novel is witty, agonizing and relatable. Life is hard when you have a strict Korean mom who happens to a be a doctor and a college professor Princeton alum dad with a loose Muslim faith that is trying to become a playwright. The relationship Pablo has with his family is a bit heart wrenching, because you, as a reader, can see how worried his mom, dad, and brother are, but Pablo is too ashamed of his failures to truly face them.

Choi’s language in her writing allows the characters to be undeniably millennial. She’s able to truly make the reader care for Pablo in moments of anxiety and emergency. She was unforgivingly brutal how money shapes and changes a person, painting a clear picture of how painful it is to see $400 disappear in front of your eyes for the sake of health and how baffling it is to watch someone drop $4,000 on a gift. 

Pablo is the true essence of what it feels like to be in your twenties in the USA — struggling to pay got college, realizing the dangers of credit cards, trying to pay rent, and having an anxious pit in your stomach while you watch people around you be successful while you feel like you are stuck in a singular pothole with no way out.

Mary H.K. Choi's Permanent Record is not a love story.
It's a coming of age story.
Choi's writing style is refreshing and extremely appealing to an infrequently catered to market. It's labeled as YA by Simon and Schuster (14+), but I think the people who will enjoy and relate to this the most are college students and 20 year olds.
It's a story about making mistakes and picking yourself up. It's a story about finding your passion. It's a story about dealing with everything life throws at you and trying to stay afloat in our deeply flawed society.
One of this story's biggest triumphs is how it's truly a piece of 2019 fiction.
Choi seamlessly incorporates subtle details that really make her novels modern and relatable and contemporary. Like her debut Emergency Contact, Permanent Record takes into account how social media is influencing life. We get meme culture, checking out your crush on Instagram, New York slang, and so much more.
Even writing from a male point of view, Choi manages to get it. Pablo sounded authentic and just as tired as all of us are.
I think anyone who is familiar with millennial culture will really relate to, or at the very least understand, this--crushing student loans and credit card debt, a sort of lost feeling that Pablo has. He's trying to get his life back on track as a 20 year old college drop out, and it's not easy.
He's half Pakistani half Korean and has diaspora struggles that many of us feel. He has depression and it's a huge factor in his actions.
I was definitely undecided & wary about Leanna Smart.
If you didn't know already, this book would fall under the "includes a romance with a famous person" category, but like I said, it's not a love story.
I won't spoil it publicly, but I'm pretty sure you can deduce based on my reactions. But for a large portion of the book, I was on edge about Leanna Smart and her relationship with Pablo. But by the end, I really appreciated what Choi did.
Pablo, to be frank, is not in a place where he wants to start a relationship--especially not one with such a high-profile person. And the way Choi writes it all out makes this more apparent, and I really appreciated it. I think she did a really good job with this specific element, and it really is a good ending.
I thought Leanna was super cool and definitely a nice juxtaposition of a love interest, but she's not the main protagonist and this is Pablo's coming of age story. At age 20. (Which is something that's missing from our current landscape of commercial fiction.)
Permanent Record brings the same modern relatability in its story that Emergency Contact did--and it's a well-needed development.
I do think there were areas where I wasn't completely hooked, and part of that is definitely attached to my hesitancy about the relationship with Leanne, but I think overall, Permanent Record is doing important work in opening up a new space for a group of readers who don't normally get represented in fiction.
Although I wouldn't necessarily call Permanent Record YA (it's definitely more NA or plain old adult with its story geared more towards 20 year olds), I think it's still a really relatable read to older YA readers and 20 year olds, as well as a really honest and genuine coming of age story of Pablo.
It's a lot of things woven seamlessly together and I'm looking forward to what Choi writes next.

Permanent Record serves as my introduction to the witty and engaging writing and storytelling of Mary H.K. Choi. Halfway through Permanent Record, I stopped reading and browsed her backlist, putting last year's release, Emergency Contact, on my immediate to-be-read list. I can't wait to jump into more of her stories!

So what is it exactly that I like about Choi's writing? First of all, she has a way of pulling you in to descriptive and imaginative worlds with compelling storytelling. Her characters are fully-fleshed and leap off the page. It is not difficult to get a clear and accurate image in your head of what her leads are like. She also has a way of tapping into the world of the modern young adult - Choi is up on cultural references and writes in a way that today's youth can easily relate to and see themselves in.

Choi's newest novel Permanent Record follows twenty year old NYU dropout Pablo as he works at his neighborhood bodega - although he insists it is not a bodega - maintains an Instagram page where he posts creative pairings of snacks with shoes, and dodges calls from the student loan office and credit card companies. His life changes, however, when Leanna Smart walks into his store one early morning in search of sustenance and perhaps some anonymous human contact. See Leanna is an uber-celebrity. She got her start as a Disney TV star and later became a teenage pop sensation, a la Britney Spears. However, she feels disconnected from the world and her life because everyone wants a piece of her. Who is the real Leanna and what does she really want out of life?

When Pablo and Leanna meet-cute, it is insta-love of the most unimaginable kind - at least to Pablo. Could a mega-celebrity really fall in love with an ordinary guy? As Pablo is introduced to the sleek, sexy, and highly-controlled and publicized life of Leanna Smart, he finds himself falling more and more in love with this girl who is nothing like how she appears to the rest of the world. Tied to a non-disclosure agreement, Pablo can't speak about his relationship with Leanna, and he finds himself unable to explain his erratic and mysterious actions to his family and friends - disappearing for days at a time as he and Leanna jet off to foreign countries, dodging bill collectors, and not showing up for work. Pablo feels this is all too good to be true, and he is afraid his relationship with Leanna won't last. Furthermore, he can't continue to ignore his "real life" forever. Should he follow his head or should he follow his heart?

Readers who enjoy pop culture stories, intense relationships, and glimpses at the life of the rich and famous will enjoy Permanent Record. Furthermore, this isn't just a glitzy, celebrity-fueled novel. These characters have heart and are all working through realistic and relatable problems of their own. There are as many takeaways from this book as there are hours of entertaining reading. Enjoy!

This was my second book by Mary H. K. Choi, and her sophomore novel didn't disappoint. She's such a good writer. It's a good book for those who like reading YA with older characters, rather than teens. Pablo was a great character, and it's written in his POV. It was an accurate portrayal of life in NY for a millennial.

Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi follows Pablo as he struggles to get his life together after dropping out of college and running himself into massive debt. Just when Pablo thinks his life is on repeat, Leanna Smart, ex-Disney star and singer, appears at his bodega and turns his world upside down.
I love the way Choi writes. We're in Pablo's head for the long haul, pingponging between his thoughts and anxieties. The writing is immersive and real. As a 20 something, the language may not be for older readers, but it rings true (especially the slang and New York attitude). It's refreshing to see characters who don't have their lives together at all. Pablo contrasts heavily with Leanna (Lee) who runs her vast media empire as she globe trots between events. Caught in her orbit, Pablo at first feels sorry for her not having a life, but he quickly realizes that Lee has chosen this destiny, while he has not.
The other aspect of this I greatly enjoyed was Pablo's family. His father is quirky in a college professor eccentric sort of way while his mom is the quintessential type-A mom without being stereotypical. The discussions about ethnicity and the complications that come with being biracial are well-written without monopolizing the book or coming off as moralistic. The interactions between children and parents are realistic and nuanced, but my favorite part is Pablo's found family. The Kims are probably my favorite characters, and the Pablo's roommates remind me of people I went to college with.
Overall, this novel is an interesting take on figuring things out/being aimless in your twenties while still dealing with heavier topics like power dynamics and being ethnic enough even within your own culture.

Permanent Record was on my immediate tbr list since I adored Choi's debut, Emergency Contact. And her sophomore novel was no slouch either. While I might not relate fully to Choi's characters here, there are bits and pieces of them that everyone can see themselves in. Permanent Record tells a story of being aimless in your 20's and of finding yourself when you didn't think you were lost.

I think this book was a lot more like Choi's personality; to me, the prose read a lot like her tweets, mostly the hype stuff. Also, this is very much a new adult book. Pablo, the protagonist, is 20 years old, and, having dropped out of college, is now in that weird limbo of dealing with "adult" issues but not really feeling much like one.

This is such a contemporary book in a way that I've found a lot of books aren't. Choi really understands social media and how teens/young adults interact with it. Pab went viral for his promposal video where he's rejected, except it was all staged. He then used that clout to gain thousands of followers on his account where he posts pictures of snacks and sneakers. You cannot get more post-2016 than this.

Anyways, he's flailing and struggling to get his life together because, past getting his life together, he doesn't know what he wants to do. When he meets Leanna Smart, pop-star extraordinaire, they fall head over heels in love with each other. Pab's pulled into her world of private jets and fancy hotels and room service, but it's all just a distraction from the mess of his life.

That's really what I found so relatable in this book: Pab doesn't really know how to get his life together. The motivation is there, but not the actual carrying out of it. This is just so real to me, especially in our society. Being in your 20's is just aimless wandering around honestly.

I also very much related to Pab's spiraling and obsessing over little things. I have a tendency to fixate on little things, like some random interaction I had with another person, and it quickly turns into something more.

It was also interesting having a celebrity as a main character. With Lee, we get to see a deconstruction of the modern pop star: all the nitty-grittyness of fame, paparazzi and non-disclosure agreements and last minute jetsetting and fake hair. This also feeds into what I was saying about how contemporary this novel is. Fame is very much something kids today are obsessed with, and I liked seeing about the negative aspects of it.

Lee and Pab's relationship is so real in a world of fake. I really loved them together, and their scenes were so cute. I mean, at one point Pab doesn't know what to text back so he reflexively sends the corn emoji and panics! I actually laughed at that part.

They also discuss what it means to be biracial. Lee is half-Mexican, half-white; Pab is half-Pakistani, half-Korean. He, in particular, thinks a lot about being in between the two cultures.

I also loved his relationship with his family. He's fighting with his mom because he dropped out of school, he's trying to take care of his younger brother, and he's finding his dad embarrassing because of him drifting through life. But through it all, Pab really loves them, and they love him, and there's just so much support. Also this is such an Asian household, like Pab swats his brother across the head when he finds out he was high.

Pab's friends are also very supporting in their own ways. I liked reading about them, and they have their own humors and whatnot.

Ultimately, though, this is a story of Pab finding himself and discovering what to do with his life. I think so many people around this age now will relate so strongly to this; I know I did. Choi did something so special with Permanent Record, capturing the nuances of social media and societal expectations and the current obsession with wealth and fame. This book is a brilliant follow-up to her debut, and I'm eager to read whatever she writes in the future.

**This review will be up on my blog Magical Reads on August 29, 2019.**

First off, props to the team behind Mary H. K. Choi’s marketing and design. This is some of the best work I’ve ever seen making a sophomore novel visually compatible with the debut but still distinct enough to make sure it doesn’t look like a sequel. Choi is on her way to a gorgeous, recognizable brand.

[IMAGE: side-by-side cover comparison]

Swoon. They’re both beautiful and both perfect for the story inside. They’ll look lovely on a shelf together, but nobody would mistake them for a series.

As a reader, that design cues me that I’m probably in for a book with a similar feel as the first. This was great news for me. I loved Emergency Contact, so seeing another contemporary (hyper-contemporary, I’d say) YA/NA romance coming down the pipeline sounded great to me. I’m sure I’m not the only reader who went into Permanent Record with Penny and Sam in the back of my mind. Perhaps unfairly, this book is going to be directly compared with its predecessor. With that in mind, how does Permanent Record stack up as a follow-up to Choi’s bestselling debut?

At first, Permanent Record delivered faithfully on the EC formula. The very different paths of two lovable but objectively horrible young adults cross one fateful day, leading to emotional intimacy nurtured by their cell phones but complicated by their outside lives.

For the first third of the book, I got what I was expecting. The banter was cute, the kisses were sweet, and the sexytimes were firmly fade-to-black. Choi uses the romance to explore tightly contemporary facts of life in the digital world. Where Emergency Contact was about emotional intimacy in relationships that can be conducted entirely by text,Permanent Record is about identity and relationships in a time when your actions and experiences leave behind an indelible trail–on social media and in others’ perceptions.

But as the book wades into the second act of the story, something shifts. It’s so gradual and organic that I couldn’t pinpoint to you exactly when it starts–maybe it was there from the beginning–but somewhere along the line, Permanent Record lets go of the constraints of EC‘s romance structure.

Unlike EC, Permanent Record is told in a single first-person POV. This allows Choi to turn up the intensity on the “affection porn” of the early chapters as the relationship blossoms, but it also lets her dig much deeper into the interiority of Pablo.

I’ve had an unlucky recent string of YA reads that feature characters I struggled to understand. Permanent Record reminded me that, in the right writer’s hands, a character I can’t personally relate to can still be deeply understandable to me. Pablo walks a different world than I do, wants different things, and makes a lot of choices I don’t think I ever would. Through it all, though, I felt I was able to understand his perspective deeply. I could join him on his journey, feeling his pain even when he brought it on himself. By the end, Pablo was able to put words to feelings I recognize intimately.

Reading Permanent Record, I kept coming back to that old writing advice about the universal only coming through the specific. By staying laser-focused on Pablo–not his romance, but his inner life–Choi is able to hit the bullseye on some pretty wide-ranging themes. By then end, Permanent Record has become a thoughtful examination of what it means to have ownership of your life and an inspiring love letter to the hustle.

A final note: Permanent Record and Emergency Contact have something else in common: I’m not sure either are properly YA. In a publishing world with a thriving New Adult label, I think both titles would be shelved as NA. But alas, earwax.

The publisher provided me with a review ebook at no charge in expectation of an honest review. No money changed hands for this review and all opinions are my own.

It took a while to get into the book - I really wasn't feeling it at first. It got better as the story went along, though I still feel like there times when there was just too much when it came to describing things that happened in the past to connect it with the present. Overall, good book, though Emergency Contact was my favorite so far by this author.