Review : Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Summary (from Goodreads)  

Title : Emmy & Oliver
Author : Robin Benway
Publication Date : June 23rd 2015
Publisher : Harper Teen
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble 

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.

Personal Thoughts

Robin Benway's Emmy & Oliver is one of the sweetest books I've read this year. There's a beauty to this book that is terribly hard to explain in words. It's one of those books that you have to read yourself in order to experience the full spectrum of emotions that it will make you go through.

Emmy, Oliver, Caro and Drew were a tight-knight group of friends before Oliver's dad kidnapped him from his mom. Years later, Oliver is back. Emmy & Oliver shined as a book because of how charming and loveable the characters were. I loved this lovely group of friends who made me envious with how strong their bond was. I've never had the kind of friends that Emmy had; loyal and supportive. It was hard not to feel a tinge of jealousy because theirs was a bond that I knew would last a very long time. When Oliver returns, things obviously a little strained, but Emmy, Caro and Drew were willing to give be patient and slowly got to know Oliver over the course of the book. Watching their friendship unfold was truly delightful in every way. Robin Benway really makes you want to squish these characters together and never let them go. The depiction of their genuine friendship just made my heart so happy. Like friendship, family was also an important theme in Emmy & Oliver. Emmy's parents, especially, played a huge role as should all YA book parents, in my opinion. They were certainly overprotective and wanted to know where and what Emmy was doing all the time. It could be frustrating at times, but their over-protectiveness was rightful given how they had watched their friend, Oliver's mom, go through hell when she lost Oliver. I'd much rather have parents who are way too involved in their children's lives in YA than read about absentee parents.

Emmy & Oliver also had a fantastic romance. Best friends romances is my all-time favorite romance trope in books, especially in YA. If done well, they can give you the butterflies. And Robin Benway definitely knows how to execute best friend romances. I loved how slow paced the relationship between Emmy and Oliver was. Those two might have been best friends in the past, but they had changed as individuals, so the process of them getting to know each other was so sweet. I thought Robin Benway did such a fantastic job at showing what a beautiful thing romance is, and at the same time showing how much work it takes to maintain relationships. Emmy & Oliver definitely had a romance I would classify as a favorite. When I initially read the summary at the back of the book, I was sure that the book would be dark and depressing. I'm glad that it never felt that way. Sure, the book does tackle a tough topic - it is a book about a boy kidnapped by a loved one, after all. However, Robin Benway managed to keep the book on the lighter side with the humorous dialogues between the characters. That doesn't mean Emmy & Oliver wasn't a powerful book though. This was a book that punched me right in the chest with all the emotions that it evoked. Faye at The Social Potato, described the book perfectly when she said that Emmy & Oliver was a quiet contemporary novel. It's not the most eventful book, but it still manages to affect you in every way.

I have read many wonderful YA contemporary novels this year, but Emmy & Oliver is one the most memorable ones I've read in my entire life. This is a book that will stay with me a long time and one that I'll be revisiting sometime in the future.

**Special thanks to Bieke at Istyria Book Blog for buddy reading this book with me.**

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall Rating : 4.5/5**

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for the e-ARC of Emmy & Oliver.