First Impressions

I got an ARC of Emmy & Oliver from The Regulator Bookshop in February. I saw it and was immediately intrigued. I picked it up once I got home and liked it right off the bat. Emmy & Oliver is unlike other books I've read. It deals with things that YA books often don't and manages to be happy despite hard situations.

Characters

Emmy is awesome. That said, I have a feeling things would be a tad easier if she just told her parents things. Her parents practically wrap her in bubblewrap, which is horrible, but I think they would start treating her more like and adult if she showed them that she was. I still want to slap her parents a couple times though.

I really like Oliver too. He's complex and has issues without being whiny. Oliver was kidnapped by his dad as a kid, and hadn't even realized it. He comes back at the beginning of the story and it's obviously a rough transition. Still, he manages to come back into the fold and figure out life. Also, Emmy and Oliver are the cutest ever.

Writing

I've tried to read a couple other Robin Benway books and haven't been able to really get into them, but this sucked me in immediately. Emmy & Oliver is a face paced book that is both fun and mysterious!

World-Building

The book takes place in California, a place I love to read books in. It's interesting seeing their world develop and take shape as Emmy and Oliver figure out their places in life. Emmy has been fairly comfortable in her place, but with graduation coming, as well as Oliver coming back, she's forced to change her views, and thus change her world.

Originally posted at: http://www.tween2teenbooks.com/2015/03/emmy-oliver-by-robin-benway.html