Title: Emmy & Oliver
Author: Robin Benway
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
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.
My Thoughts
Emmy and Oliver have been friends since they’re born, until one day Oliver’s dad kidnaps him. For ten years Emmy waits for Oliver to come back, and when he finally does, her life is finally back on track. She doesn’t have to wait anymore for that friend who’s lost. With the eager approval of her parents, Emmy easily befriends Oliver again with her lovable cuteness and open nature; she doesn’t try to “give him space” or walk around topics, and Oliver is thankful for that. Soon, Emmy finds she is deeply attracted to Oliver (no surprise here) and would like to be more than friends. The thing I like about Emmy is she’s not clingy or whiny like so many book girlfriends. Some heroines turn to mush the minute their boyfriends declare their love for them, just UGH. Thankfully, Emmy retains full brain capacity to support Oliver though all the crappy situations they get into AND stands up for herself to finally make her own choices. Yep, Emmy’s parents are super controlling and protective after the kidnapping of the kid next door a.k.a. Oliver. Curfew, college near by, no suspicious dilly-dallying. Unsurprisingly, this heavy parental love suffocates Emmy and prompts her to seek refuge in surfing--covertly (they live near the beach, so yeah). She stashes her surfboard in her trusty old car and makes up excuses to her mom and dad for being outside. Throughout the novel I love Emmy more and more, because she’s just so relatable and likable, without all that self-pity or millennial entitlement a lot of YA protagonists display. Finally.
And then there’s Oliver. Given his background I was expect the standard dark, brooding jerk who is softened by the heroine when he falls in lurrrrrve. Oliver really surprises me in a really good way. When kids from school taped milk cartons (kidnapped kids have photos on milk cartons) to his locker, Oliver doesn’t lash out or sulk. Emmy is worried he’s hurt, but he just offers a carton of milk in case she’s vitamin-D deficient. At last a sweet, considerate guy who doesn’t treat girls like crap. Even better, Oliver deals with deeper things like reacquainting himself with his old life and not hating/worrying about his dad. His mother is constantly fussing over him because she spent the last ten years looking for him, fretting about him, and when she suddenly gets him back, she doesn’t know how to deal with this grown-up version of Oliver, making him feel like an intruder in her life. I’m very happy to see Oliver treating his twin step-sisters with sweet respect and a fun attitude I’d want a guy to exhibit towards small children. He even reads bedtime stories to her sisters and does funny voices for the characters. The difference between his messed-up background and his considerate character gives him a lot more depth than a simple flat jerk that usually results from a messy, “dark” past. His relationship with Emmy is also very real and at a reasonably slow pace. No insta-love, my friends!
Even though Emmy’s parents can be annoying sometimes, I like how Benway gives them tons of redeeming qualities. The bantering between Emmy and her parents are entertaining and endearing to watch. It defies the usual bad-parenting (negligent/un-understanding) parents trope by presenting two caring but protective parents---completely acceptable and conceivable. The dynamics in Emmy’s family is really cute and authentic, adding yet more brownie points to this book!
Another thing I really like about this book is the friend group Emmy & Oliver has: Caroline and Drew. Caroline is a neat freak who is the youngest of six children, while Drew is THE gay best friend. They’re portrayed realistically and in an unbiased, un-stereotyped light. The interaction among the four is real and enviable. Benway has created a group of friend that is just like a bunch of people that I want to hang out with, not those drama-filled ones found in Gossip Girls or other teen TV series. Caroline and Drew also deal with bad things in their individual lives, and we can see they’re not flat, 1-D characters whose roles are solely Emmy’s friends. In short, Emmy & Oliver has a set of well-rounded, enjoyable characters.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a Young Adult contemporary novel that doesn’t involve me silently cursing the protagonists and wishing they’d grow up or at least stop whinging and air their millennial entitlement. Emmy & Oliver is truly a breath of fresh air for my weary lungs filled with catty heroines and dark males. If you’ve been waiting for such an adorable, fun book that’s not brainless, you must go read Emmy & Oliver！
