Scan barcode
laurenisallbooked's review against another edition
4.0
This was so cute! I loved this strangers to secret beasties trope. BUT we need to stop cutting toxic parents slack. Both of these main characters are going to have lots to discuss in therapy and this we shouldn't be directing youth to be more appreciative of their emotionally/financially/generally abusive family members.
maia_with_an_i's review against another edition
4.0
3.5.
This book was super cute, but it also dealt with many real things. I very much enjoyed the complexity of the characters. Penny and Sam were both flawed in some way, shape or form, but I loved them and wanted them to do well anyway!
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would love to see what Choi’s next book will be like!
This book was super cute, but it also dealt with many real things. I very much enjoyed the complexity of the characters. Penny and Sam were both flawed in some way, shape or form, but I loved them and wanted them to do well anyway!
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would love to see what Choi’s next book will be like!
nataliexf's review against another edition
medium-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
1.75
yet another entry to my “I read another book by the same author and loved it so I picked up another one of their books only to be disappointed” list. the voice was so cringey, the characters were unlikeable, and the romance lacked chemistry. at no point did I care what was going to happen to any of them. wanting to read something that didn’t require any brainpower was the only reason I didn’t DNF this within the first 50 pages. it had some redeeming lines about life that I liked so not a complete and utter wash, but overall it’s pretty high on my list of worst books I’ve ever read 🤗
sumsunalli's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounding up - not Choi’s best, but when you start with Yolk, nothing will compare.
emmaub's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE OR FEEL ALONE WHEN YOU'VE GOT AN EMERGENCY CONTACT
"I like knowing that you exist. It doesn't make me feel any less lonely, because life is lonely, but it makes me feel a lot less alone."
I loved it! For all the non-english readers out there, I'd say this book is pretty easy to read (B1/B2).
At first, I was annoyed by the fact that the writer focuses more on Penny's pov, leaving Sam with short chapters. However, this is a very entertaining and fast read and i'm sure it will make you smile. Things get interesting when Sam and Penny decide to keep whatever is going between them a secret.
If I'm being honest, I didn't expect to like it that much, but it exceeded my expectations. Even so, there are a few things I didn't like at all because they were surrealist or didn't make any sense with what I was told while reading.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE OR FEEL ALONE WHEN YOU'VE GOT AN EMERGENCY CONTACT
"I like knowing that you exist. It doesn't make me feel any less lonely, because life is lonely, but it makes me feel a lot less alone."
I loved it! For all the non-english readers out there, I'd say this book is pretty easy to read (B1/B2).
At first, I was annoyed by the fact that the writer focuses more on Penny's pov, leaving Sam with short chapters. However, this is a very entertaining and fast read and i'm sure it will make you smile. Things get interesting when Sam and Penny decide to keep whatever is going between them a secret.
If I'm being honest, I didn't expect to like it that much, but it exceeded my expectations. Even so, there are a few things I didn't like at all because they were surrealist or didn't make any sense with what I was told while reading.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
4.0
CW: rape (not explicit), addiction, child abuse/neglect
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had a rollercoaster of a time getting into this book. I DNFed it weeks ago in a rage because I haaaaaaated Penny, then a week ago I decided to give it another shot….and I really liked it!
Admittedly Penny is not an easy protagonist to like. She’s judgemental as hell - which was the reason I initially ragequit the story - and she’s got some resentment toward her mother that never feels fully fleshed out. While she’s a college freshman, she very much reads as an angsty 15 year old who is irrationally convinced that her mum is ~*The Worst*~. She all but slutshames her mum and is quick to form negative opinions of others, particularly the women around her.
In spite of that I grew to appreciate her neurotic behaviour; the way she never starts a story at the beginning; and her inability to connect with people. She’s undoubtedly still a judgey fuckhead, but she demonstrates growth over the course of the story in the way she learns to let go and let people in. She confronts her unresolved trauma and her parental hangups, though the author doesn’t try to heal her by the end of the book - she will be working through her issues far beyond the final page.
Additionally, I am SO HERE for the way Penny calls out casual racism! She's not afraid to make a particular character feel uncomfortable for their racist comments and this. is. what. we. need.
I really liked Sam as a character! I don’t read a lot of male protags in this age bracket, and he was a complex breath of fresh air. He’s really going through it: dealing with generational poverty owing to his mother’s alcoholism; body dysmorphia; anxiety; a toxic relationship; and. He felt like a living, breathing person and that’s so rare for me!
I love how this novel centres friendship, and particularly online friendship. While it’s aimed at younger readers, it feels very much like a love letter to the millennial. My parents never understood the concept of online/internet friends, and Emergency Contact feels like a love letter to every teen and young adult who’s ever found solace, comfort, and worked through trauma with the friends they’ve forged and maintained online.
It’s honestly so refreshing that Mary HK Choi doesn't make it clear whether Penny and Sam’s friendship will develop into something more; it’s given the room to just be.
I’m really glad I gave this one a second chance. It was such a pleasant surprise!
Representation: Korean-American MC, low income/poverty, anxiety representation
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had a rollercoaster of a time getting into this book. I DNFed it weeks ago in a rage because I haaaaaaated Penny, then a week ago I decided to give it another shot….and I really liked it!
Admittedly Penny is not an easy protagonist to like. She’s judgemental as hell - which was the reason I initially ragequit the story - and she’s got some resentment toward her mother that never feels fully fleshed out. While she’s a college freshman, she very much reads as an angsty 15 year old who is irrationally convinced that her mum is ~*The Worst*~. She all but slutshames her mum and is quick to form negative opinions of others, particularly the women around her.
In spite of that I grew to appreciate her neurotic behaviour; the way she never starts a story at the beginning; and her inability to connect with people. She’s undoubtedly still a judgey fuckhead, but she demonstrates growth over the course of the story in the way she learns to let go and let people in. She confronts her unresolved trauma and her parental hangups, though the author doesn’t try to heal her by the end of the book - she will be working through her issues far beyond the final page.
Additionally, I am SO HERE for the way Penny calls out casual racism! She's not afraid to make a particular character feel uncomfortable for their racist comments and this. is. what. we. need.
I really liked Sam as a character! I don’t read a lot of male protags in this age bracket, and he was a complex breath of fresh air. He’s really going through it: dealing with generational poverty owing to his mother’s alcoholism; body dysmorphia; anxiety; a toxic relationship; and
Spoiler
potential fatherhoodI love how this novel centres friendship, and particularly online friendship. While it’s aimed at younger readers, it feels very much like a love letter to the millennial. My parents never understood the concept of online/internet friends, and Emergency Contact feels like a love letter to every teen and young adult who’s ever found solace, comfort, and worked through trauma with the friends they’ve forged and maintained online.
It’s honestly so refreshing that Mary HK Choi doesn't make it clear whether Penny and Sam’s friendship will develop into something more; it’s given the room to just be.
I’m really glad I gave this one a second chance. It was such a pleasant surprise!
Representation: Korean-American MC, low income/poverty, anxiety representation
janelle_chen's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 Stars. The beginning was slow but worth it. Also I need a lot more closure because that last chapter was not enough. But still I loved it. I loved every character and I want to know more about them. They’re all just so real and relatable. Reading this honestly made me laugh hysterically sometimes like right now I’m on a road trip and my mom thinks I’m psychotic. That’s okay though.
- A book that’s published in 2018
- A book that’s published in 2018
markake123's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ashlyns_booknook's review against another edition
2.0
I’ve decided to give this 2.5 stars because I enjoyed Sam’s parts. Penny, on the other hand... I just couldn’t get myself to like her. She was extremely mean and judgmental to those around her, and it definitely sucks the enjoyment from the story.