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noelishi's review against another edition
2.0
CAWPILE Rating: 2,35
Characters: 3
Ambient / Worldbuilding: 4,75
Writing style: 3
Plot: 1
Intrigue: 1,75
Logic / Relationships: 1
Enjoyment: 2
What a disappointment! This has been my lowest 2-star rating ever. I thought this would be a different thing. But it has turned out to be an almost insta-love, which I hate. At first I was trying to justify it saying "they're young and lonely", but the more I read, the less I believed their story.
I think it brings important topics to light, like third culture children, what's behind the shiny world of fame or how hard it is to find your way, but I just wasn't convinced.
I don't know if mine is an unpopular opinion or if this book's overrated. I hope it's the first option.
Characters: 3
Ambient / Worldbuilding: 4,75
Writing style: 3
Plot: 1
Intrigue: 1,75
Logic / Relationships: 1
Enjoyment: 2
What a disappointment! This has been my lowest 2-star rating ever. I thought this would be a different thing. But it has turned out to be an almost insta-love, which I hate. At first I was trying to justify it saying "they're young and lonely", but the more I read, the less I believed their story.
I think it brings important topics to light, like third culture children, what's behind the shiny world of fame or how hard it is to find your way, but I just wasn't convinced.
I don't know if mine is an unpopular opinion or if this book's overrated. I hope it's the first option.
sierrarozen's review against another edition
3.0
i really wish i had liked this more. i was definitely under the impression that this was going to be dual POV so i was disappointed when it wasn’t. i also just felt like nothing really happened? don’t get me wrong i felt bad for pablo but so many of his decisions made me want to scream! i enjoyed it, just not something i would pick up again.
readingwithathena's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 / 5
If there ever was a book to truly embody “emerging adulthood” (both the genre and the age group), Permanent Record would be that book. Focused on a confused 20-something, Mary H.K. Choi paints an increasingly uncomfortable portrait of what it’s like to be young and kind of stuck. If you’ve read Emergency Contact, the writing style is familiar, even if the perspective is different.
Pablo Neruda Rind (really, that’s his name) is a Pakistani-Korean American living in New York City. He dropped out of NYU, his dream school, for financial reasons. He works at a bodega/health food store, but credit-card debt and student loans are burying him alive. One particularly cold and terrible night, superstar Leanna Smart walks into his workplace. After that, nothing is ever the same for Pablo.
At its core, Permanent Record is about growing up, and the discomfort that comes with it. Pablo spends most of the book feeding into his delusions- he can make a relationship with Leanna work, he can get back into NYU, and he can crawl out of debt without anyone’s help. Most of Pablo’s character growth happens in the last 50 pages, which is a shame. In a book over 400 pages long, I wanted that growth sooner.
Which leads me to my biggest critique- in a book centered on being unfocused and stuck, much of the plot is also unfocused. The core idea keeps the plot moving, but it takes way too long to get there. There is an overwhelming abundance of side characters. The book doesn’t truly find it’s footing until the 100-page-mark, making a messy introduction to easily a dozen people. Had a few characters been cut, or had the book simply been shorter, it would have been a more enjoyable read. The ending was bittersweet, but it made sense.
If you want a romance-tinged coming of age story, this book is for you. But be prepared for an awkward ride.
If there ever was a book to truly embody “emerging adulthood” (both the genre and the age group), Permanent Record would be that book. Focused on a confused 20-something, Mary H.K. Choi paints an increasingly uncomfortable portrait of what it’s like to be young and kind of stuck. If you’ve read Emergency Contact, the writing style is familiar, even if the perspective is different.
Pablo Neruda Rind (really, that’s his name) is a Pakistani-Korean American living in New York City. He dropped out of NYU, his dream school, for financial reasons. He works at a bodega/health food store, but credit-card debt and student loans are burying him alive. One particularly cold and terrible night, superstar Leanna Smart walks into his workplace. After that, nothing is ever the same for Pablo.
At its core, Permanent Record is about growing up, and the discomfort that comes with it. Pablo spends most of the book feeding into his delusions- he can make a relationship with Leanna work, he can get back into NYU, and he can crawl out of debt without anyone’s help. Most of Pablo’s character growth happens in the last 50 pages, which is a shame. In a book over 400 pages long, I wanted that growth sooner.
Which leads me to my biggest critique- in a book centered on being unfocused and stuck, much of the plot is also unfocused. The core idea keeps the plot moving, but it takes way too long to get there. There is an overwhelming abundance of side characters. The book doesn’t truly find it’s footing until the 100-page-mark, making a messy introduction to easily a dozen people. Had a few characters been cut, or had the book simply been shorter, it would have been a more enjoyable read. The ending was bittersweet, but it made sense.
If you want a romance-tinged coming of age story, this book is for you. But be prepared for an awkward ride.
cicadas_brood_too's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
chaibookfaerie's review against another edition
3.0
Pablo is a character that I see a lot of myself in, struggling to find what they want to do in life—finding their purpose. Working a job they might not necessarily enjoy. Reading through some of the reviews people find him unlikeable and I can see why. I personally found Leanna Smart to be the truly likeable one for me because while she has her shit together which yes girl boss moment, she also failed Pablo in a way because she knew that Pablo had nothing going for him and for her to keep him at her side while also not explaining things properly to him as an adult would—her outburst after being confronted just showed that she is just as flawed as any other person. But she also pissed me off because she complained about her many first world problems that from my standpoint as someone that is struggling to pay for college...just really put in a sour mood.
booksrachelreads's review against another edition
4.0
I love the writing style in this book and the dry humor that Choi’s characters have. I didn’t love this one as much as Emergency Contact, but I like that it covered a wide array of themes and issues like love, family relationships, being biracial, complicated friendships. Pablo was frustrating at times, but in the end I liked following his journey and seeing his growth. This wasn’t a conventional YA story, and I appreciated that
not_alexandra's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
kaylarage's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0