Ever since her best friend and next door neighbour, Oliver, was kidnapped ten years ago, Emmy's parents are extremely overprotective of their only child. At seventeen she feels as though she's not allowed to grow up. But now Oliver has returned home. After being picked up by his father from school one day, Oliver spent the last ten years with him, not knowing he was kidnapped and thinking his mother didn't want him anymore. With Oliver back, Emmy hopes to get to know him again and see where their friendship takes them.


The whole book came together so well - the pacing, the characters, the writing - everything was so, sooo good. It didn't lack anything. There were no slow parts. I loved Emmy. I loved Oliver. I loved Emmy and Oliver together. I loved her relationship with her best friends Caro and Drew, their bond felt strong and genuine. Caro and Drew themselves were three-dimensional with their own joys and problems. Her relationship with her parents was frustrating but realistic. Even the ending was great. There's nothing about this book that I disliked.

Quick review for a quick read. I loved reading "Emmy & Oliver" and consider it one of my favorite reads this year. There were many moments in the narrative where I found myself smiling at the interactions between the characters, but at the same time, it proved to be an emotional journey considering the weight of the overarching story.

The story revolves around its titular characters, taking place mainly in the present as Oliver returns home to live with his mother and half-sisters after having been abducted ten years ago by his father. Emmy is his best friend - as she was the last person to see him when his father walked away with him all those years before. It's a steady road to coming to terms for the two of them as Oliver adjusts to life with his family and new school. Emmy has an irresistible humor and confidence (not to mention quirkiness), so it's hard not to be drawn into the novel - though I'll admit there were moments I really wanted to be in Oliver's head. I think the narrative does a great job of showing their perspectives and friendship. Eventually that friendship becomes more as they spend more time with each other, and their relationship is sweet and palpable. Though they each have their respective struggles in the narrative, this was a surprisingly funny and charming story that I couldn't put down as I went through the narrative. I genuinely liked the collective cast of characters in the novel and found myself drawn in not only by how strong the chemistry was between the cast, but also how emotional it was considering how it deals with how Oliver's abduction - not only affecting him, but the group of people in his life, including Emmy and her family. I know this is a novel I'd want to read again, and I really enjoyed the experience. Honorable mention to Pheobe Strole for a wonderful narration of the audiobook.

Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.

This book was good.  And it was a fast read.  BUT it was really forgettable.

To be honest, it really wasn’t that memorable.

The premises is fantastic though.  There are lots of YA books about child abduction, but most of them involve the narrator-if the book is written in first person.  I thought having Emmy be a bystander to the whole ordeal was an interesting twist, but at the of the day I didn’t LOVE this book.

It was just a okay fast read, that I probably should’ve library-ed instead of bought.

Maybe because there was a slightly bland quality to both the main characters.  To be fair, Emmy on paper seems decently formed.  She has hobbies outside of boys, conflicts in her family, and great friends.  But I really felt like I only got to know her on a superficial level.  Oliver, on the other hand, wasn’t even superficially formed.  Sure, we got angst but I really didn’t feel for this character as much as I probably should’ve.

Which is a shame because Oliver is dealing with a lot of shit.

However, I sort of get why Benway didn’t try to focus on Oliver as much since he wasn’t the narrator.  The thing was Emmy’s story was just not strong enough when you have the premises of Oliver’s story which just has a lot in terms of drama.

The story works….but at the same time I wanted to know more about Oliver.  So maybe this would’ve worked better for me if Oliver would’ve been the focus character or at the very least there could’ve been dual narration.

Aside from the characterization, the pacing is decent.  Not a lot happened (after Oliver was found) but it made for a nice light-ish contemporary.  Though really I don’t think you can call a contemporary light when it deals with child abduction, but the book didn’t  feel dark to me.

Sure, there was some fallout from the kidnapping, but the fallout wasn’t that much considering that the book took place in Emmy not Oliver’s point of view.  Sure, we saw her parents’ anxiety but compared to what Oliver’s family was dealing with it was sort of, well, boring.

A lot of these complaints are more about what I expected for a reader than what I got.  It’s not that Emmy’s story is bad, but with what else is out there available for Benway to work with this plot I was underwhelm.

If you want a nice contemporary romance, I say go for this.  But don’t expect huge character development or major drama. There is some drama, but for the most part it is trivial at best.

Overall Rating: A B-.  While decent, I feel I will soon forget this one.

3.5 stars

If there’s anything you’re going to take away from this book, or a few other Robin Benway books, is that family is number one. Always. (I really hope most of you can relate to that, because if not, it really breaks my heart).

Many times, and I’m talking about most of this book, I wanted to get up and go hug my parents or my brother. The sense of familial warmth seeped out of this book. Out of Emmy and Oliver’s families. That this books emotional level was so real and down to earth that I couldn’t help but get choked up.

This isn’t your regular best-friends-fall-for-each-other type of romance. It has a small twist.

And when I say small twist, I mean one of our best friends was kidnapped by his father when he was younger and isn’t found until 10 years later.

Yeah, not your average YA novel, eh?

And I was expecting so much! I was ready to be blown away and dig into this kidnapping scenario.

Nada.

Oliver coming back and his submersion into high school was heavily blanketed by Emmy’s minor issues. Like, a boy has just returned home to his mother who hasn’t seen him in 10 years and you’re complaining about how your parents are too protective of you?! Appreciate the family you have, girl!! (Yeah, I may have over thought this, but it irritated me nonetheless).

The kidnapping fell in second to the romance, but I’m okay with that. I still appreciated this book.

It was extremely cute and, as always, hilarious!

I will always expect simultaneously grinning and crying in any one of Robin Benway’s books. They are seriously so adorable!

Emmy & Oliver is going to be the book to impact you right where it matters. A book about all sorts of relationships that really hits close to home for most of us (minus the kidnapping). 

review at yabookscentral.com