Emergency Contact

This book gave me ALL. THE. FEELS. I loved it right from the swoon-worthy cover to the forgivably cheesy final scene. What I loved most about Penny and Sam is that they're so perfectly millennials, just trying to figure out who they are and what they want. And, plus, the fact that most of their relationship takes place over text message.

I'd recommend this new adult read to anyone who savours a slow burn kind of quiet love story.

Finished this book hours ago and I'm still thinking about it. The best part of Emergency Contact was the characters (major and minor) and their distinctive, well-rounded voices. Penny and Sam were so relatable, endearing and flawed and you just can't help but to root for them. It was the perfect, millennial-esque love story, but I also loved the focus on friendship - both between Sam and Penny, but also Sam and Penny and the supporting characters.
I found the pacing at the start to be a little bit slow and the ending felt slightly rushed. Nonetheless, I will definitely be recommending this to contemporary loving friends. A confident, engaging debut.

Goodreads Synopsis:
For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

My Review:
I received a copy of Emergency Contact from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the cover for this book. It's really what drew me to it in the first place, and after reading the description I knew I wanted to read it. It starts off with a girl named Madison asking one of the main viewpoints, Penny, why her mom's a slut. Even though she isn't, she just likes to wear crop tops. That's high school for you, right? Obviously this shocks Penny, and she scrambles to figure out the best possible way to deal with this. She tends to make lists in her head, which is super relatable for me, and although I wasn't too sure about it in the beginning, I actually really like the way that two characters text each other in their separate chapters. This book is exactly what I needed to read, even if I didn't know that coming into it.

The story switches viewpoints from Penny to Sam by chapter. Usually I don't like viewpoint changes, but it's refreshing and helps the story progress in this case. The characters are lifelike, and have problems like you or I would. Penny is dating a boy she doesn't like and heading off to college. Sam is a baker and he's still hung up on his ex. They meet and something happens, and they deal with life. That's what Emergency Contact is about. I love the characters, and just the way the story is written, It's just an enjoyable smooth read and I'm glad I got the chance to check it out. This is a wholesome book and honestly it's probably one of my favourites. You should definitely give it a chance if you haven't already.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon, and another link to the authors Twitter.

https://www.amazon.ca/Emergency-Contact-Mary-H-Choi/dp/1534408967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515796674&sr=8-1&keywords=emergency+contact

https://twitter.com/choitotheworld

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
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Rating: 4.5 stars.

I love this new wave of YA books set in college, mostly because I'm currently in university.

Emergency Contact is about these two college students who are each other's go-to person for random or deep conversation (i.e. Emergency Contact). Penny is just starting university and is distancing herself from her trying-to-be-cool mom. Sam just found out that his love-hate ex-girlfriend is pregnant. Penny and Sam meet when Sam has a panic attack and they both realize that they need a friend they can tell anything to.

I think my favourite character in the book was Sam. He felt very genuine to me and his life was interesting: he likes to bake, he wants to make documentaries, and he is dealing with feeling like he loved his ex more than she loved him. Penny, while her life story was unique, I didn't really like her. Penny's studying writing in university and had to break up with her younger boyfriend so some of that was kind of interesting but Penny does come off sometimes a bit cold. You sort of find out why she's so closed off later in the book but as a person who is really close with her mom, it was hard to relate to and like Penny.

Overall, I liked the concept of this book and felt like the characters really fit with the story. The story felt so current as well. There are discussions of rape, alcohol addiction, young adult pregnancy, cell phones, etc.

I would highly recommend Emergency Contact if you're looking for a different YA book set in college.

This might just be one of the cutest books I've read in a while - and it was exactly what I was looking for right now!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.

This story follows Penny as she starts her first year of college. Her high school career had been uneventful and she is ready to make a new name for herself outside of her association with her mother. Sam is stuck. He's got no money, no future, and he lives above the cafe he works at. Caught up in a toxic relationship, a friendship with Penny was the last thing he was expecting. But when she is assigned to be his sort-of niece's roommate, their paths collide. After swapping numbers, they become inseparable - on the phone - daily texts about everything from favourite baked good to mom issues to panic attacks.

Ok, so first of all, I thought this book had a really unique premise and one that really should be used more in YA - getting to know people online. In this day and age, you're more likely to make awkward conversation online than you are in real life, that's just how teens are these days. (oh boy, that makes me sound old! "Those teens these days!" *shakes stick*) Anyway, I really enjoyed that their relationship was set in a believable and unique 'location,' if you will.

I also loved the characters on their own, and then (of course) together. I really related a lot to Penny (I'm the grandma of the group and am always prepared!) and loved her insights into writing. Sam was great too, he had a lot on his plate and even when times were desperate, he persevered. They had a lot of chemistry between them, something else I've been noticing lately in YA - you can't just stick two people in a story and assume the reader is going to be fine with their relationship, regardless of chemistry - and I think Choi did a really good job of recognizing that.

This book was super cute at times, but also really deep and emotional. There are some more serious issues that both characters have to deal with. I won't get into spoilers, but I appreciated that (for the most part), these issues were well integrated into the story. There were a couple where they felt a little bit like they were thrown in last minute but, for the most part, Choi made them a part of the character.

The diversity in this book is also something I'm noticing as a big selling feature for a lot of people, and I think Choi does a great job of addressing that in the book itself. Penny is in a writing class at college and they have a very interesting, frank discussion on voices in literature and diversity. It was really great to see the concerns of POC echoed in the novel, one of the things Penny mentions is that she wants to be a writer, but doesn't know of many Korean writers like herself, and when she pictures the character a story, she automatically pictures white characters. I know this is something that a lot of people have mentioned more recently in regards to reading more diversely, and it was really interesting to see it reflected in a fictional character.

Overall, there were a few very minor issues I had with this book, but otherwise, I thought it was adorable and thought-provoking. I would highly recommend!

Emergency Contact is smart, witty, and remarkably engaging once it gets rolling!

Penny is a college freshman who is studying to become a writer. Sam is struggling to finish a filmmaking course while trying to make ends meet. Bizarre serendipity throws them together after Sam has just found out that his cheating ex-girlfriend (whom he silent-nicknamed “Liar”) tells him that they are pregnant. In one of many delightfully entertaining quirky moments, Penny and Sam become each other’s “emergency contacts”. They seem to have nothing in common. But in time, you find out that they sort of do.

This is a great book for readers who love profound, well-developed characters that are entirely relatable. Sam and Penny really grow on you with their sincere introspections and secret insecurities. I really enjoyed the clever insights, ironic commentary, and precious details that were poured into this story.

While the side premise of a student writer discussing writing in class and writing a story-within-a-story as her final assignment might be a distraction to Emergency Contacts main storyline, I found it very entertaining as well. I feel this author’s love of writing. Mary H K Choi is a debut author to watch.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review. Amazing read. This book was absolutely up my alley. The characters were engaging and captivating. Will definitely be buying this to add to my collection and will be keeping my eye out for future works from this author

Eighteen-year-old Penny Lee happily escapes life with her mother to head off to university in Austin, Texas to study creative writing. Sam Becker is the twenty-two year old employee at House Coffee, living in a room upstairs from the café, baking tasty treats in the early morning hours, and struggling to find the means and the inspiration to continue his film studies and make a documentary. They meet one day at the café when Penny’s roommate, Jude – who happens, in a complicated, blended family sort of way to be Sam’s niece (well, ex-niece, since the marriage between Sam’s mother and Jude’s grandfather didn’t stick) – insists that she, Penny, and another friend, Mallory, go for coffee.

If this all sounds complicated, well, it is. Both Penny and Sam have complicated, messy lives, and they’re doing their best to muddle through and make something of those lives. When Sam’s toxic now-ex-girlfriend announces she’s pregnant, Sam finds himself so stressed that he has a massive panic attack (which he, understandably, mistakes for a heart attack) right on the street. Penny just happens to be there, and helps him through it – leading the two to exchange phone numbers and become each other’s “emergency contact’. Though it’s meant to be only for emergencies, Sam and Penny begin messaging each other, staying in touch via their phones, sharing both the mundane details of their lives, and asking each other questions they might not have had the courage to ask if they were face to face.

Emergency Contact is Mary H.K. Choi’s first novel, but she brings a wealth of experience as a writer for such publications as The New York Times, GQ, Wired, and The Atlantic to the table. Choi’s prose is sharp and witty, and she manages to explore themes and issues that are relevant to the generation she’s writing about. Penny experiences casual racism, which she counters with logic, never brushing it off. That said, she’s also ambivalent about her Korean-American identity – she’s frustrated that she can’t seem to write characters like herself, but she’s also aware that she’s never actually encountered them in the books she likes to read, either.

Choi manages to capture the relationship between Penny and her mother, Celeste, in the course of a few short paragraphs. Penny feels she needs to protect her mother, who she sees as air-headed and flirty. It’s clear, though, that Penny sees only the “mother” – Celeste is in her late 30s, but her daughter can’t see that her mother is still quite young, and she doesn’t see the “woman” in her mother (understandably so, though a photo of Rain in Celeste’s “Korean corner” of their home might have given her daughter a clue), which leaves Penny feeling she has no option but to protect her mother, adding a stress to her plans for leaving for college.

Choi explores, to some extent, the ways in which we communicate and connect using technology, contrasted with the ways we do that without the use of our various devices. Penny finally finds a story subject that allows her to present a Korean protagonist and combine it with her love of science fiction and gaming; she realizes, eventually, that her story parallels what is happening to her and Sam as they take their relationship off their phones and into “real” life.

If there’s any downside to Choi’s work, it’s that I found the story’s resolution a little bit abrupt – but perhaps, too, that’s a reflection of the fact that I was so invested in these characters and their stories that I just wanted to keep on learning more about them and their relationship. Penny and Sam are terrific characters, both vulnerable, both misfits on some level, yet intelligent, funny, and caring in equal measure. I liked them so much that in the end, I don’t think I was ready to let them go.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book - all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into this story - and it completely stole my heart.

Penny Lee has never fit in anywhere in her life, and she cannot wait to get to college, far away from all the things she is dying to leave behind. Sam is a local barista whose life seems stuck in a holding pattern that he can't break out of, trapping him and holding him back from being the adult he thinks he should be. When their paths cross in completely unexpected ways, they find themselves connecting beyond anything they ever thought possible.

This story has two of the most awkward, strange, flawed and completely lovable lead characters I have ever read. I became so quickly invested in both Penny and Sam's lives, that it felt like having them as friends of my own.

That being said, I can genuinely say that every main character was remarkably likable, even when they were doing unlikable things. Mary H.K. Choi writes such humanity in her characters, making the reader intimately connect with each one time and time again.

I fell so deeply in love with this story, rooting along for Penny and Sam and the absolute magnificent awkwardness of their quietly budding friendship. I would happily read volumes of stories about these two and where life takes each of them.

Mary H.K. Choi has written something truly magical with this tale of the perfect imperfection that is life and growing up. This is an incredible debut, and should without question, be on your to-read list this spring.

Choi is a born story-teller.

As a massive contemporary lover, this book was perfect for me. It was cute and awkward and delightful and stressful and sad and sweet. This story is told from duel POVs.

The characters are so beautifully flawed.
Penny's neurotic nuances were charming and fun, and it made her very relatable.
Sam...a lanky guy with tattoos who can bake? Sign me up please! Reading his POV and learning of his past, just completely captured me heart.
I couldn't even say whose POV I enjoyed more.

My only criticism would be that I would have liked to know how Penny's story and Sam's movie turned out.

If you're a contemporary fan, you definitely need to pick this baby up! It's a great read after reading heavy subject matter. Not too fluffy so that you feel disinterested, but sweet enough that you completely loose yourself in Choi's incredible story.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mary H. K. Choi for allowing me to read and review an ARC of Emergency Contact. I thought it was a solid novel, and I will be recommending it to a few teens that I know would like it. 4/5

I've had Emergency Contact in my (Indigo) cart for weeks and I've been anticipating it for months. I was SO excited to see it on Netgalley, and ecstatic when I was actually approved. In the end, after actually reading Emergency Contact, I found myself looking for more. How much of that unsatisfied feeling was due to me over-hyping the book and how much was actually due to the contents of the book? I don't think I'll have a solid answer to that question until I do a reread sometime in the future.

In the meantime I can say with all honestly that I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Emergency Contact has a cute concept and is well-written. I only found three solid issues with the book itself. First off it took me a while to get used to the language, maybe I'm too old for it but I highly doubt teenagers talk like that in real life. It wasn't offensive but instead every other word was a slang term, some of which I hardly recognized. My next two issues have more to do with myself as a reader. I found the ending was quite abrupt. We have so much buildup of relationships throughout the novel. With family, friends, and other romantic partners that when the main characters finally got together (which was implied more than anything) I felt like I was cheated. I wanted more, especially since I came to expect that with the rest of the relationships. Lastly, I found Emergency Contact to be quite overdramatic in some areas. When I read a fantasy novel I can justify everything that happens to that one "special" person because hey it's a made up world anyways, why can't it all be about him/her? But with Emergency Contact (a real world contemporary romance) I thought that everything the main characters went through was a little too over the top to be believable.

Overall did I enjoy Emergency Contact? 100% I did. I loved the premise and layout, and found it only to be lacking on MY terms for a novel (some of which I'm sure other readers wouldn't bat an eye at). My main issue is that I felt I over-hyped the novel. I enjoyed it but it never reached my expectations...maybe I would have been raving about it had I not set the bar so high. That being said I definitely recommend this novel, and can give a more accurate description of my feelings toward it after a reread in the future.

Penny, newly starting in university, is excited to get away from her MILF mother and become the Sci-fi writer she has always dreamed of being. Sam is still hung up on his beautiful ex-girlfriend and needs to get his life together. The two of them seem to find themselves by finding each other and they lean on one another, over text of course (because IRL is scary and who needs human contact?), through the hardships they are both facing. This book is laugh-out-loud funny at times and heart-wrenchingly real in others, blending to make a current and familiar story of moving through pain and learning to grow.

It has been a very long time since a book has pulled at my soul the way this one has. It is achingly real and current, the dynamic, flawed characters and the intense relationships that bond them bringing an insight into connections in a digital era and our own insecurities. Each chapter felt like a journey that I was both living in my own life and watching happen to a friend. I think the relationships and concerns in this novel are relevant to everyone growing up and coming to terms with their own pitfalls, which, incidentally happens to be most of the population. Everyone at one point has likely found themselves in a time of loneliness and struggle, held things back from the people around them or pushed people away because it all seemed “too much”. This novel does an excellent job at showcasing the desperate need to lean on others and to open up even if it is terrifying, even if you aren’t particularly close with anyone.

Penny was relatable, I could se myself in some of the decisions she made. She was far from perfect, but unlike some other contemporaries where the flaws make the characters “quirky”, Penny’s flaws made her real. As an individual that keeps everything in her bag from band-aids, to snacks, to lysol wipes, I could relate to Penny’s scattering brain and need for structure. I enjoyed that the texts between her and Sam weren’t flirty or serious, but everyday things that come to ones mind, meaningless and nonsensical. Penny was clearly a character that was continuing to develop even as the book came to a close, not neatly wrapped up with some sort of epiphany at the end, making for a satisfying and hopeful character arc. Sam was much the same, still figuring things out throughout the novel and past the end of the book. I enjoyed that Sam felt like a typical contemporary “bad boy” but in a more realistic way. He wasn’t stereotypically masculine and it was clear that he struggled with self identity among other things, giving him depth. Overall I felt the characters, even the side characters, had very real struggles, not just plot devices, which was refreshing to see in a contemporary novel.

I will fully admit to wanting to read this one because of the cover, it’s stunning and sometimes that’s all I need. Luckily the contents of this book are even more beautiful than the cover and even though it’s been a few days I’m still not sure how to properly express how much I adored this story. I don’t consider myself to be a massive contemporary fan but then books like this come along and make me rethink my stance on my favourite genre because how could I not love a genre that contains masterpieces like this?

I loved the premise of this one, the POV’s alternate between Sam and Penny and it worked so well to show how their relationship progressed and what they were both going through. Penny’s chapters mostly took place in her dorm room or during her classes and Sam’s really focused on his life at the coffee shop and on his other relationships. I loved that the characters in this one were a bit older, 18 and 21, it made the story more relateable for me. Leaving home and experiencing life as an adult is something that most people have gone through/will go through and I think that it was done really well! I also found the way that these two met and how their relationship developed was super well done, it’s a series of accidental meetings that really bring them together and they end up growing while talking to each other and it’s just so beautiful to read!

I also really really loved the focus on other relationships in this one! The focus on friendship and making true friends later in life was so well done. I loved Jude and Mallory and it was so much fun watching Penny break out of her comfort zone a little bit and get to know them. I also loved the focus on family, both Sam and Penny have very different relationships with their mothers and both were seen as valid and full of different emotions and it was just beautiful. Also Sam’s relationship with Lorraine was really important, the way it was written was so important because toxic relationships and friendships are often romanticized in literature and it was nice to see a more realistic approach to it.

I really just loved Sam and Penny though, both as individuals and together. I could gush about how precious they are all night but this is a book that you really need to experience yourself. The way that it’s written is just absolutely stunning and I can’t recommend it enough. Pick this book up, it will hopefully leave you a mess of emotions like it did to me but I literally could not stop reading it and I will without a doubt be picking up a finished copy once it’s released.

Seriously. Read this book.

This story was a bit slow to get into but I'm glad I came back to it because once it got going after Sam and Penny found each other on the street it was really intoxicating. The characters felt real and had a lot of issues going on. I love quirky characters, and when stories are told through alternating characters and through text message instead of just reading a story! Very touching, while I found it a bit juvenile for college at the start, it grew to feel more young adult than teenagey. It was a good touch that the author focused on many issues because lots just focus on one which doesn't feel as true to life where there's always so much going on.

The cover of this book is so pretty!! I requested this book expecting a light, fluffy romance. What I got was all that and more. The characters in this story were very developed in that their flaws and insecurities were right out in the open for everyone to see. No one is perfect and everyone has some type of emotional baggage. You have to take the good and bad; past, present and future. No sugar coating, although this is a sweet romance. Loved this story!

I have noticed (new people I follow on BookTube) that when some people are discussing a book, they give trigger warnings. I had never thought of this before and I can understand the need for it. So I thought I would share that I think this book has trigger warnings for alcoholism, anxiety and sexual assault.

FEEEEELINGS!

Just like with Nice Try, Jane Sinner and Fangirl – I am LOVING these YA books that are set after high school. Penny and Sam’s story just felt so real! Their friendship starts awkward and then, like a lot of friendships today, blossoms over technology. Both Penny and Sam are in their own ways, artists. Penny, an aspiring writer, has some serious problems with her mom, and couldn’t wait to leave her hometown behind. Sam, an aspiring movie director, is fresh out of a crap relationship, is broke, and is sleeping on the floor of the coffee shop he works at. The characters were realistic and loveable and the book was adorably awkward, overall a delightfully cute contemporary that I would totally suggest to YA contemporary fans.

4.5/5

I was actually surprised by this book. I expected a light, typical YA romance, but this book is so much more. Told in alternating points of view, the reader gets to see the struggles of both Penny and Sam, and how they manage to pull each other through some intense situations.
I loved how real the characters were. They were awkward and flawed, and that was okay. Some parts were difficult to read, but that just made the book that much better. It touched upon real life problems that many people deal with, and it did it in a way that completely sucked me in.

For aspiring author Penny Lee, beginning her first year of college is a welcome escape from so much that is lacking in her life. Now she has a chance for a new start, but will her shyness prevent her from the better future that she is dreaming of?

Sam Becker, a coffee shop baker with no money, a failing laptop, and a manipulative ex-girlfriend, dreams of being a movie director, but the odds seemed stacked against him. Will he ever gain enough footing to find some joy and purpose in life?

These questions and more set the stage for Mary H. K. Choi's new novel, Emergency Contact. Sam and Penny meet by chance in a minor emergency, swap phone numbers, and become "emergency contacts." Neither of them expect anything to come of it, but both find that they can text each other with ease. Soon they are texting daily, able to express their thoughts, opinions, darkest secrets, and dreams without any of the social awkwardness of actually having to see each other or meet in person. Sam and Penny "click." They understand each other so well, and it is wonderful to always have someone there "at the touch of a button." When their relationship unexpectedly escalates into a second real-life meeting, will it be able to survive and even thrive, or will reality and face-to-face conversation crush the freedom and ease they both felt with only texting?

Sam and Penny's text message conversations are confusing at times. There are a few sections where it isn't readily apparent which texts are sent by whom until much later in their conversation. This confusion is amplified by the fact that sometimes Sam's texts are on the left side of the page and Penny's on the right, but not always. (As my copy of the book was an uncorrected ARC, hopefully this issue will be corrected in the editing process).

Emergency Contact is a light and fun read, but it does have its dark and serious moments as well. At times it seems too heavy for the young adult audience to whom it is targeted. Both main characters have serious issues with their moms, and there is a heavy amount of cursing and bad language for a young adult book. The story that Penny works on for her writing class is dark and morbid. That aside, Emergency Contact is realistic, yet fun to read, and the ending is satisfying without seeming false. The pros definitely outweigh the cons with this book, leading me to give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Emergency Contact had my attention from the start—Choi is able to draw the reader in and keep them there. Her writing style is relaxed, her descriptions clever, and her dialogue realistic yet witty. Choi's characters are a flawed blend of light and shade, some realistic and likable, other realistic and hate-able—a sign of a good writer. Emergency Contact is dialogue-driven and drama-based, with enough subplot to keep you reading until the last page.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book was so good and refreshing. It was nice to read a book based solely on friendship, and that only had a bit of romance near the end.

Both Penny and Sam are intelligent and accepting of others and each other. They also learned lessons about honesty and keeping secrets. It was also nice that the main protagonist were a minority group and not one of the majority groups in society. I enjoyed that the main character Penny did not always get along with her mother, and sometimes had to be a mother to her mother. It was also a good depiction of anxiety and how different people deal with this as a mental illness. Sam is very supportive of her, but does not come across a person who is going to swoon any time she looks at him or vice versa. The book covers many modern topics in a realistic fashion without coming on to strong or preachy. I also enjoyed how the chapters switch between both Sam and Penny's viewpoints.

I think fans of John Green and Turtles All the Way Down would enjoy this book. I think this book would also appeal to fans of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. I also really love the cover and think it would make a great print. As people are saying now, this book provides all the feels!

When I saw this on NetGalley, the first thing that drew me in were the Rainbow Rowell references. What can I say? I really liked both Eleanor & Park and Fangirl that those comparisons get me every time! But the second thing that made me really want to read this book was the texting bit! I really like the idea of people getting to know each other more through text, opening themselves up when they wouldn’t have otherwise. So, needless to say, I’m really grateful that my request was approved by NetGalley and the publisher!

Firstly, I really want to say that these characters were great! They really popped in this story, every single one of them! Sometimes, I find that while the main characters are really developed within a story, the secondary characters are either flat or aren’t seen as much, and thus become flatter characters in comparison. And yes, while Penny and Sam take center-stage in this novel, the other characters are given such detailed description that I feel as if I know every character within the book!

But honestly, I did love the dual POVs alternating between Penny and Sam! I think it was seeing how they saw themselves versus how the other person saw themselves that made it really worthwhile! If it was just one POV though, I probably wouldn’t have liked it as much. Especially with Penny constantly berating her looks and personality. It just rubbed me the wrong way. It wouldn’t be once in a while; instead, it would occur in every other chapter. I get the fact that she has such a beautiful mother as well as the fact that girls are taught to monitor their appearance and find themselves lacking is a part of it. But seriously, I wish I could read about a character who was mostly confident in their appearance. They don’t have to be Mary Sue confident about it – I just would love for it not to be a main hang-up sometimes. Sam’s also insecure about his appearance, being really skinny and covering himself with tattoos to compensate, which helps. The great thing, though, about their inner thoughts is that you see that the things that bugged them are loved by the other person. It was the balm that soothed my soul!

I did enjoy reading about Penny’s journey as a writer in school as well as Sam going to community college to study film. Penny’s experience did remind me a lot of Cath’s in Fangirl, so the comparison to it was pretty accurate! I loved seeing her written story develop within the main story, and kind of want to read it in its entirety now! Likewise, it was interesting to see Sam’s process on how he filmed his documentary and I wish that I got to know more about what happens afterwards, in terms what he does with it later…

Well, that’s all I have to say about Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi! For now, at least (I honestly have a whole lot more good things to say 🙂 )! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of Rainbow Rowell or contemporary novels in general! Especially if they’re looking for YA novels with a post-secondary setting!

4.5/5
I received a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

The First thing I’m going to say is that I want more. Way more. I want to read about Sam and Penny for the rest of my life. I want to know everything about them. I fell in love with the characters the minute I started reading.
The author created amazing, diverse, and strong characters. They are humans, with flaws, and weakness, but they are also so real and raw. I enjoyed the awkwardness their relationship brought up. I love the fact that neither of them had to change for the other. They both did a personal search to be a better person without even realizing it.

I enjoyed the writing style, I will definitely read more from this author. I can say that Emergency Contact is a new favorite. This book gave me so much feels.

**Spoilers**
The only negative point I have is the rape story. It didn’t bring anything more to the character of the story, and it was unnecessary. I understand why the author wrote that part, but Penny had enough background story and complexity, it didn’t bring more to who she was already.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the e-arc.

An interesting and sweet story. I enjoyed reading it.

What a pleasant surprise. I went into this book with no expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters were relatable and easy to feel for. I only could partially relate to some events, but I could easily sympathize with the characters since they were well-written. I grew to really like Penny throughout the book and further felt for her and her flaws.

Emergency Contact follows Penny and Sam at pivotal moments in their life and how their lives become intertwined. They develop a relationship through texting and we explore each character as they go through big life events and how they connect with each other as "emergency contacts."

The story was slower moving, but it worked. You get invested in the thoughts and feelings of Sam and Penny and go through their life with them. It somewhat reads like a lighter contemporary, meanwhile you're being hit with heavy and real things. There's a lot of issues hit on in Emergency Contact, and it gives you a glimpse into the harsh realities that some people face daily.

What I felt was lacking, however, was some more plot. There were ongoing issues that were eventually resolved but an overarching plot was on the weaker side. The story was still enjoyable, as the writing and characters are well-done. The book remains more character-driven than plot-driven, and just a bit more to the story would bump this up to a 5-star.

PS: This is a really great #ownvoices book.

** spoiler alert ** I had to immediately request this book from NetGalley when I saw that it was recommended for fans of "Eleanor & Park". Much to my excited glee, my request was accepted!

While I really enjoyed this book, I wouldn't necessarily plunk it down in the same grouping as "Eleanor and Park".

I loved the characterization in this novel. The witty banter between Penny and Sam was my jam. I loved that they were two normal humans. With regular human problems and feelings, as well as the regular drama that pops up like it does for us non-fictionalized characters.

I didn't mind that there wasn't much plot, but I do wish that some of the YA cliches weren't thrown in. Not every young adult needs to have been raped - stories can still have gravitas without that happening.

Overall, it was a well-written book, with characters that I fell in love with. I would read more from this author! Recommended for anyone who likes smart and witty YAs.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the eARC!

I enjoyed reading the story from the POVs of the two main characters--they each had a unique voice and were entertaining in their own ways. I thought they had great chemistry together. The colloquial prose made this a quick and easy read.

I went into this expecting a light fluffy romance and came away with so much more. The characters are well developed and have a lot going on in their lives. They are so complicated and human that you really feel for them as you follow their story.

Penny and Sam's interactions are delightful, and I loved how they helped each other through their hard times. Well written, definitely more to it than a cute romance!