Permanent Record Blog Tour

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for inviting me to be part of this amazing blog tour! Not only am I excited to share more about Permanent Record with everyone reading this post, but I hope you are able to read Mary H.K. Choi's debut, Emergency Contact, as well. Choi's novels are character-driven and are the perfect reads if you are looking for YA/NA novels. It's very hard to find books about college-aged individuals and I am happy to see that Choi is closing the gap.

Title: Permanent Record
Author: Mary H.K. Choi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date: September 3, 2019
Pages: 400
Source/format: e-ARC//Publisher

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact, which Rainbow Rowell called “smart and funny,” comes an unforgettable new romance about how social media influences relationships every day.

On paper, college dropout Pablo Rind doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. His graveyard shift at a twenty-four-hour deli in Brooklyn is a struggle. Plus, he’s up to his eyeballs in credit card debt. Never mind the state of his student loans.

Pop juggernaut Leanna Smart has enough social media followers to populate whole continents. The brand is unstoppable. She graduated from child stardom to become an international icon and her adult life is a queasy blur of private planes, step-and-repeats, aspirational hotel rooms, and strangers screaming for her just to notice them.

When Leanna and Pablo meet at 5:00 a.m. at the bodega in the dead of winter it’s absurd to think they’d be A Thing. But as they discover who they are, who they want to be, and how to defy the deafening expectations of everyone else, Lee and Pab turn to each other. Which, of course, is when things get properly complicated.

M Y  T H O U G H T S

Permanent Record is a coming-of-age story that is relatable. This contemporary novel seamlessly blends the woes of young adults. Readers encounter financial struggles, family expectations, how social media affects lives, life after high school and how to live a meaningful life.

Mary H.K. Choi includes a male POV in Permanent Record which I am grateful about. I love reading from a male perspective in YA novels because YA is dominated with female voices within the novels. Diversity is important in this novel as finding your identity. Pablo Rind is half Korean and half Pakistani and he learns what it means to be mixed. He conquerors who he is and who he wants to become. I enjoyed reading his internal monologues even though he may be uncertain about himself. He struggles regarding what to do with his life. This is exactly what we see in young adults today! There is too much pressure for young adults to make the "right decision." However, sometimes, they need a break from societal expectations and they need to focus on self-care.

Pablo meets Leanna Smart, who is half Mexican and half White, at the bodega and they click despite their many differences. Pablo is currently working a graveyard shift in order to pay back student loans and credit card debt. He drops out of college in order to take care of his debt but is debating whether to go back to NYU. Leanna, on the other hand, is a celebrity who is social media famous. Sometimes opposites attract. Although this pairing is not common in the real world, this can meeting can happen.

Choi writes about financial struggles which I enjoy seeing in a book because nowadays, young adults are struggling to make ends meet. Cost of housing, food, college loans, etc. are rising to the point where young adults are willing to work more hours, cut down on meals and make huge sacrifices but at what cost?

Permanent Record is the perfect read for those who want to know more about the time bridging high school and college. If you are a fan of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or Emergency Contact by Mary H.K Choi, you will enjoy this novel.

ABOUT MARY H.K. CHOI

Mary H.K. Choi is a writer for The New York Times, GQ, Wired, and The Atlantic. She has written comics for Marvel and DC, as well as a collection of essays called Oh, Never Mind. Her debut novel Emergency Contact was a New York Times bestseller. She is the host of Hey, Cool Job!, a podcast about jobs and Hey, Cool Life!, a podcast about mental health and creativity. Mary grew up in Hong Kong and Texas and now lives in New York. Follow her on Twitter @ChoitotheWorld.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

August 26th– Vicky Who Reads

August 27th– Adventures of a Book Junkie

August 28th– Utopia State of Mind

August 29th– Read by Tiffany

August 30th– Rich in Color

August 31st– Your Tita Kate

September 2nd– Books on Pointe

September 3rd– Andi’s ABCs

September 4th– Book Scents

September 5th– Twirling Pages

September 6th– Bookshelves & Paperbacks

September 9th– YA Bibliophile

September 10th– Mary Had A Little Book Blog

September 11th– Chasing Faerytales

September 12th– Nicole’s Novel Reads

September 13th– Mel to the Any

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

Title: Emergency Contract
Author: Mary H.K. Choi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date: March 27, 2018
Pages: 394
Source/format: Hardcover // Library

Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

M Y  T H O U G H T S

Penny Lee just finished her senior year in high school and is off to college in Austin, TX to learn to become a writer. Her boyfriend Mark is just average and they don't know much about each other. Penny meets Sam Becker one day through her roommate at House, a coffee shop. However, there friendship didn't start until Penny ran into Sam on the side of the road when he was having a panic attack. After that incident, they become each other's emergency contacts.

Mary H.K. Choi writes a novel where the readers want to know more about the characters. Each character has their own unique history. I love how Penny is pensive and always give herself choices to act upon when she makes a decision. Choi even lists out the choices/reactions when Penny is trying to figure out what she wants to do. Her internal monologues are often comedic and are relatable. Although Penny's personality may be off-putting for some, she does have some difficulty making friends and being comfortable around people. Sam, on the other hand, is a social butterfly but harbors many demons that many don't know about. Penny is able to help pull him out of the darkness.

The formatting of the book include Penny's and Sam's POVs alternating every chapter. When Penny and Sam become emergency contacts, their text message between each other are formatted on the pages as if you are reading an electronic message back and forth. These flawed individuals end up relying on each other. Penny and Sam learn to trust one another. They become each other's life line and trusted advisor for difficult life decisions.

Choi delves into different socioeconomic and tough topics like addiction, unconventional parental upbringings, undocumentation, rape, etc. Sam is living on his own barely scrapping by to provide for himself. He doesn't have any close family to help him. Sam grew up with his mother in a trailer and his mother is an alcoholic who needed Sam to help get by each day. Sam is an inspiring documentary filmmaker who would love to go to college but due to his financial situation, he works at House as a manager and the owner lets him live there. Things get complicated when his ex-girlfriend claims she is pregnant.

Penny starts college at the University of Texas - Austin but her mother is more concerned about appearances and her mother dresses way younger than she is. Penny is unsure where she stands with her Mark since she doesn't really want to be with him because they don't truly know each other. I love how the romance between Penny and Sam starts off slow. Penny breaks it off with Mark because the relationship wasn't going anywhere and she was starting to have feelings for Sam. Penny finds that taking criticisms for her manuscripts is hard and she is learning how to hone her writing in order to please her professor but also to still stay true to herself. Penny is Korean-American and she discusses the many microaggressions she has to deal with everyday. I can definitely relate to the microagressions that Penny has to go through being an Asian American female.

Emergency Contact is a cute contemporary novel with just enough romance and a dash of comedy. If you love Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and/or Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, you will love this book!