Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
Published by HarperCollins on June 23rd 2015
Pages: 352
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Edelweiss

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.

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Well, I don’t know that there is a coherent way to review a book that got me out of a mini reading slump, is there? I kind of just want to hug it (fine, hug my Kindle, since it was an eARC) and say thank you while petting it (again, the Kindle, I suppose).  What made me love it so much? Basically that it was cute and adorable and fun, but also tackled some serious issues and provided the feels.

Let’s explore some of the things I adored about this book, shall we?

The Characters

No, I do not just mean Emmy and Oliver themselves, though I do quite love them. Every character in this book was just fabulous, and multi-faceted and imperfect but wonderful. So Emmy has been missing Oliver since forever, and in part because her parents are ultra-insanely productive since his disappearance (another win- present parents!), but also because they’d been quite close, living next door. And of course, Oliver is so confused/hurt/mad that he doesn’t quite know what to do or who to trust.

The side characters are equally great. Christy @ Novel Ink summed it up better than I could:

“Caro and Drew were also so wonderful. They are both the epitome of what a best friend should be and I would love to have a Caro and Drew of my own. “

Seriously, I found myself wishing for people like this in my life- those friends you know you can count on, who’ve known you forever and will continue to be there forever, even though you come from different backgrounds and may end up on very different paths. I just loved their dynamic. On top of that, they were just so fun! Here was one of my favorite moments:

“Caro and Drew were both doing shots and inventing some sort of complicated drinking game that involved a basketball, a feather duster, and some refrigerator magnets, and made no sense to anyone but them.”

Yes, let’s hang out please, fictional characters!

The parents in this story seemed like -gasp- actual human beings! Not only was it not Parent-in-Ya Syndrome, it wasn’t generic parents either. The parents were going through a lot of emotional upheaval too, and the book showed this. They didn’t always make the perfect choices, and sometimes they acted out of fear, regret, etc., but it was clear that they were acting out of love too.

The Relationships

No insta-love. No love triangles. Extremely slow romance, which was absolutely perfect, considering the circumstances. Oliver wasn’t even sure he could be Emmy’s friend at first, let alone anything else. But she was there for him, and you know, things started to happen. It was lovely, so lovely. They were so independent, they didn’t need to be in a relationship, but they were so, so good for each other at the same time.

The parent-child relationship was a huge focus as well. Obviously, Oliver and his family dynamic was a huge plot point, but Emmy’s relationship with her parents was just as strained at times. The whole cast of characters had to do a lot of soul searching to learn to navigate the process of growing up, and it was so lovely to see this in a young adult book.

And the friendships, as I have mentioned, were amazing. It wasn’t all happiness and unicorns either, there were times that things were very complicated and tense. When Oliver returned, the trio of Emmy, Drew, and Caro was obviously thrown off. Of course, Emmy and Oliver began spending even more time together, things got even tricker. Add in your typical trust issues and such, and these friends had to really ask themselves if this friendship would stand the test of time- and inevitable change.

The Plot

So, it isn’t just high school and romance and friends, there’s an incredibly serious and hard hitting topic being brought up: non-custodial parental kidnapping. This is a thing that happens all the time, and I don’t know all the statistics (because I didn’t look any of them up) but I can’t imagine that they often end happily. I think the author did such an amazing job of setting the tone for this part of the story. On one hand, everyone is thrilled that Oliver is home, but on the other, adjusting is hard. Especially for Oliver, who never asked to be kidnapped, and who didn’t think of his dad as a kidnapper. I think this aspect was handled beautifully, showing how stressful it was for Oliver and his family.

But there were such amazing lighthearted moments that it offset the darker moments with a perfect balance. It was neither too heavy nor too fluffy, it was the right combination.

Bottom Line: I would just basically encourage the reading of this book. It’s cute and sweet, but with plenty of real world issues and emotions. Do it.

5s

Posted June 22, 2015 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review , / 26 Comments

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26 responses to “Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

  1. MY HEART MY HEART. I think you totally summed everything up perfectly (and better than me hahaha). There was just so much pain but then it was happy at points and GAH. I also want a friend group like that. Poopers.

    Awesome review SHANNNNNNNNNNON

  2. Love, love, LOVE your review! I haven’t read this book yet, but a lot of people said that it was really good which makes me very curious about it. I like how there is no love triangles and insta-loves. AND THE FRIENDSHIPS. I’m always in it for books with amazing relationships + friendships so I’m really happy to hear that this book has it! Thanks for the awesome review Shannon! I’m so excited for this book and I’ll definitely buy a copy real soon!! <3

  3. I’ve been intrigued by this one ever since I first read the synopsis; however the blurb recommending it to Sarah Dessen readers left me a little iffy (not a fan of Sarah Dessen’s writing/novels). But your review has more more excited/intrigued than ever for it. I especially love to hear that the parents are actually *there* and that the secondary characters are more than cookie cutters. I’m definitely picking this one up.

      • Thanks Shannon. Blurbs offering comparisons to other authors can be such a double-edged sword. It can either be an immediate hook or, like this one did for me, an immediate turn-off. Glad to hear you consider the Sarah Dessen comparison off-base. I feel a lot better picking this one up now! 🙂

  4. I loved this book! Christy wouldn’t shut up about it haha So of course I started it and I loved it! The romance is realistic, the parents are definitely how a parent is nowadays and the friendship! OMG I wish I had a Caro and Drew in my life!! Btw, I love the new look!! It’s fantastic! Great review, girl.

  5. I’ve never heard of this book but it sounds so good! I’m so glad to hear there is a focus on parent-child relationships and that there isn’t any insta-love (because that’s always pretty annoying). I don’t think I’ve read any books that handle this topic but it sounds like the author writes about it extremely well. Thanks so much for sharing this book and great review!

  6. I was worried this book was going to be as good as I thought it was. I got the eARC too, but I’m perpetually behind on everything so I’ve barely started it. Plus, I’m in a mini slump of my own where all I want to do when I’m not writing is watch old reruns of Facts Of Life…

    The relationships though! I need to read all about these, and there are real parents in the book??? No way! Basically, awesome review Shannon and I shall get back to reading this one ASAP. =)

  7. Well, everyone seems to be loving this one. It sounds like the cutest contemporary novel though & I also adore that cover, the font shows you don’t have to have a fancy cover to be appealing. Awesome review Shannon, going to pick up this read over the week 🙂

  8. I was hoping this book would be good. The cover remonded me of another very popular ya contemporary romance, the name escapes me right now. I am glad it got you out of a reading slump. We can’t have you in a slump, you have too many books I am coveting from BEA for that!

  9. This book sounds amazing!! I really need to put this one on my TBR. It sounds wonderful. And I LOVE the slow romance part. I am so over insta-love.

  10. This is the second absolutely glowing review I have seen for this book today. I have had an ARC for so long now and I have just put off reading it. I AM REGRETTING THAT SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am definitely bumping this up my TBR and getting to it as soon as I possibly can.

  11. YES YES YES, see, I knew you’d love this one! I did love how they actually acted like best friends, the banter, the, well, just everything. AND DEFINITELY SO DAMN CUTE. AND HILARIOUS. And ha with the parents, right? I loved how Emmy’s were with her (even if they were a little overbearing at times with the college thing, but you can get it) and with Oliver’s, I mean, she was trying her best and you can tell it’s a situation that you just wouldn’t know what to say or do and you could feel that.
    I so wanted more romance though, shipped them so hard, haha. And that scene in his room with his mother coming back and forth doing laundry, I can’t.
    The most important win of this book though? Definitely the reality of it, especially with how Oliver felt with his father, just totally spot on. Can we get like companion novels for everyone just so we can continuing reading about them? IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.

  12. I was already going to pick this up, but seriously Shannon I need this NOW! I actually had no clue that it had something to do with kidnapping, and I’m so excited to read about this topic! I’m in such a contemporary vibe right now, so I’m adding this to my ” next-to buy ” list! Great review girlie 🙂

  13. I am now SO excited to read this one, and I actually have it as well. I love the idea of such a slow moving romance because those are particularly my favourite. And even though the synopsis sounds so brilliant, it seems like the book digs even deeper than that, on an emotional level too, especially.

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