I loved this book! Thank you for the ARC. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t leaving reviews on netgalley and was solely sharing on Instagram. My apologies. Huge fan of this author! I actually received the tangible copy. Trying to clean up my netgally account.

It took me some time to be able to actually get into this book, the first handful of times I tried to read it I just couldn't. But I guess it just wasn't for me at the time, because eventually I ended up enjoying it. The characters were a little flat to me but overall it was an enjoyable read.

This is a tough review to write because I was so excited about this story, but it fell flat for me. I think if I had read this in my teen years I would have enjoyed it more, but being in my mid-20s I found it hard to relate to the story and difficulties that the characters were facing. I think that if it was less dragged out, less chasing the romance and a shorter story I would have found it easier to get into it and enjoy it but unfortunately this was not the case.

Side note, still obsessed with the colours and art of this cover.

This book was a lot more emotional than I wanted it to be, I thought it was gonna be a cute rom-com but it wasn't. However, still good.

Perfect for the times and especially so now. Even more students are feeling the need to connect and the anxiety that comes with not be able to and in some cases not knowing how to disconnect. I am late to the review but this title is one I recommend because it so well captures what it is like to be a teen in such a digitally connected world. Even though I don't know the depth of the experience I can see it in my day to day interactions with students such as they are in these times.

Thank you Netgalley!! I am shocked this rating and review was not posted..well..here it is..This book was just awesome..pretty close to absolutely perfect. I love the authors work which includes her other books. I am not great at writing reviews in the sense of giving what happened in the books as I do not want to give too much. This book is worth reading and reading again. Thanks!!

This book was a relatable coming into adult hood story. It was completely relatable, with characters Sam and Penny being both socially awkward and full of anxiety. The representation was great and I loved that they were flawed in their own ways. The story line was emotional and complex, just like one's emotions during this time in their lives. Perfect.

I was unfortunately not very impressed with this novel. From the start I found myself unimpressed with the writing and character development. I couldn't really get into this novel and had to eventually put it down.

The characters felt very one dimensional and the story was therefore not very realistic. This made it very hard to force myself to read it.

All in all, very disappointed with this novel!

I really loved this book. Choi’s writing and ability to connect two characters in the simplest way (the need to connect) were wonderful and I ended up caring for everyone in the book much more than I planned. I can’t wait to read more of her work!

As someone who grew up with digital communication at the core of my friendships and relationships (AIM anyone?) this was a heartwarming walk down memory lane in some ways. The characters weren’t perfect but I found them endearing, and overall enjoyed this one.

i really liked this book, i now some people hated it. they found Pennys personality horrible. but i actually was able to see past that and i was craving the dialog between her and Sam ( the other MC).

The plot and world building was OK, i guess, i was just a a fan of the hipster conversations that turned into heartwarming scenes.

i will definitely recommend this book to my friends.

I loved this book, the cover is amazing too! All the characters are unique and fleshed out. I really appreciate that the story wasn't all about the struggle of being Korean or a minority, not that those stories aren't important, but it's also important to have a story of a girl who is going off to university and trying to live life with all it's struggles.

Mini review:

DNF

I received an E-ARC via the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard really good things about this. So I decided to request the arc. Wasn’t for me.

I didn’t care for the plot or characters. It made for a frustrating read. And Penny was very rude and annoying.

Considering all the things I’ve heard since it was published, can’t say I recommend. It’s up to you though.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although her grades were decent, and she had a boyfriend (albeit a not very attentive one), Penny Lee found high school to be incredibly mundane. Penny wants to be a writer and is looking forward to going to college, even if it is only an hour away. Maybe she can writer herself a new life, one that is not only more interesting, but one without an overbearing mother that dresses too young and tries too hard to be her friend.

Sam is a mess. He sleeps on a mattress on the floor of a spare room over the coffee shop where he works. Sam is an aspiring filmmaker that can't afford to finish school and he is also struggling to get over a bad break up.

When Sam and Penny meet through Jude who is Sam's ex-niece and Penny's new roommate, their first encounter is incredibly awkward. In spite of that, the two exchange numbers and eventually text their way to a relationship where they share everything with each other. It is much easier to type their fears, dreams, hopes, and anxieties than to say them face-to-face. Sam and Penny become each other's "emergency contact".

Choi pens some quirky, awkward, and angst ridden characters that at times seem too old in the way they conduct themselves, but it totally works. She adds just the right element of conflict and the pace of the story is spot on. This book is in the same vein as Eleanor & Park and I can see why fans of Rainbow Rowell also like this book so much. Both authors have a flair for this genre and write complicated, yet endearing characters that stay with the reader long after the last page.

My only criticism is with the timing, I'm a little confused. Jude met Sam when she was seven. She had an iPad. iPads were introduced in 2010, so if she is seven in 2010, she would be 15 in 2018. How is she old enough to go to college? Did I miss something?

Ugh. Need I say more?
I read 20% of this book (which is under my normal guideline to read at least 30% of any book). I didn't need to read anymore of it to know that I was never going to be interested.
Things that drove me crazy in Emergency Contact:
1) She covets her phone like it's sacred. It's an important device, I get that but it doesn't need to be worshipped or be anyone's "precious".
2) I know lots of young girls say these things, but I don't care how authentic it is. It's never okay to greet friends as "hey bitch" or "hi whore". Desensitizing ourselves to these words helps no one.
3) Typical cliche characters. Neither our gal or guy were anymore than a stereotypical teenage kid. I like my characters to have personalities thanks.
4) The writing is really poor. I'm sorry to say but it felt stilted and boring. I never once felt like I got an impression in my mind of the characters or what was happening. It was like reading random words on a page that I was desperate to make mean something.
5) Did I mention the phone thing?

I honestly don't have much more to say about this book as I didn't read it all. But I will say that given how many trustworthy reviews I've seen give it a poor rating I'm glad I could DNF it early on and move to better novels.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

I received an ARC of this novel via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good YA romance and this one didn’t disappoint. I was hooked from the beginning with the storyline and Sam and Penny’s characters. I absolutely loved their dialogues and text messages to each other. So many of them made me literally laugh out loud. I really enjoyed the complexities of penny’s character. She was very unpredictable, I loved her options lists when faced with a tough decision, and I adored how awkward she was. It was a good read with its ups and downs and I’d def8nitely recommend this book. Very entertaining.

I received an ARC copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no impact on my review/thoughts.

Rating: 2 stars

Where should I begin? First, the cover just got my attention. Then, the synopsis got my attention. But after I read the first few pages of the book I already wanted to DNF it. Here's why:
-I didn't like any of the characters in the book... Penny was irritating, Sam was frustrating, Penny's mom was i-don't-even-know how I feel about her.
-I'm from a Chinese-Canadian family and it's not much different from a Korean-American household in my opinion. I just find Penny's mom not realistic. I have met many Korean-Western family parents and let me say none of them behaved the way Penny's mom did.
-There were too many brand names in the book, overall too pretentious the whole book
-Take me forever to read it because it just didn't grab my attention and keep making me frustrated. Like I said early, I almost DNFed the book but since I did purchase it after the release day I wanted to at least finish it.

Even though I didn't enough it as much as I wanted to... Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC!

MY RATING: 4.5/5 STARS
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to read Emergency Contact because it had Asian representation (specifically Korean) and I wanted to see what kind of take Mary H.K. Choi would spin for her debut novel. I was not disappointed. Instead of filling pages with Korean culture or stereotypes, Emergency Contact does not follow the traditional route of representation but features the classic American-Korean culture readers crave. With words poured onto the pages that can only be written by someone born with the natural ability to write well and beautifully, Emergency Contact was a stellar read.


The young adult / new adult novel follows Penny Lee, a freshman in college. For the first time in her life, she’s free from the humiliating adventures of her ‘cool’ mom. No more witnessing her shameless antics at flirting with fathers of her friends or seeing her mom party more than her. Penny adjusts to the dorm room life with a friendly roommate and her best friend who just so happens to be an outgoing and outlandish character. During her first week there, Penny meets Sam. Sam’s her roommate’s uncle. Don’t freak out. Sam’s around 4-5 years older than Penny and the reason why he’s the roommate’s uncle is solely because of how marriage and how family relations played out. Moving forward, Penny and Sam don’t really talk. They however exchange phone numbers and become each other’s ’emergency contact’ after a panic attack suffered by Sam.

I enjoyed this story a lot and found it addicting. Both sides were extremely complicated and well developed. For Penny, we saw the troubled relationship she had with her boyfriend, her mom, and the one fateful night that changed her forever. I can imagine a lot of people not really relating to Penny. Sometimes she has a personality and sometimes, I must admit she’s a bit dry. But I think it’s Mary Choi’s justification based on her experiences and how she wants to shy away from attention when her mother has been absorbing it. For Sam, we saw his relationship with his ex. The one girl he claimed was his true love. However, we see how the relationship was never picture perfect and Sam was simply wearing rose coloured glasses. She was a selfish brat who looked down at Sam and Sam was romanticizing everything she did and threw things under the rug when it bothered him. The relationship with his ex gets more complicated and creates angst between him, Penny, and the ex. It was very interesting to read and my heart mourned for the outcome but was also secretly glad.

MY RECOMMENDATION
The writing in this novel is what sold me. Without reading Mary’s bio, I can tell she’s an experienced writer. With an impressive resume featuring working as a writer for Vice, and multiple magazine pieces, Mary writes an impressive debut that is sure to gain a lot of fans.

I highly recommend this read. I finished it in one sitting and it was cute in the most wonderful raw way possible.

Adorable read. I fell in love with the characters and I really didn't want this one to end. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Definitely check it out if you like quirky pov's with something that everyone can relate to in some way.

I really enjoyed how this book was written. Each chapter alternated between the two main characters. Their thought processes were very much so how a young 20-year-old would think about and make decisions. And when it came to Penny, she always had a list of options to choose from for situations that were awkward to her. Her brain was like a compendium of pros/cons lists.

Penny was very funny and awkward. She deals with problems in unusual ways which just makes her that much more interesting. Sam has had a hard life and is making the best he can out of what he has. His heart has been broken and he is just trying to figure out how to take the next steps in his life while keeping his head above the water. Also, he is an excellent baker :P

These two meet each other through a mutual acquaintance and become friends that only text each other but don't hang out. They are essentially support systems for each other hence the title "Emergency Contact".

If you want a cute love story set in modern day about two social misfits, then this book is for you.