Emmy & Oliver

Looking through reviews on here, it seems I might be the only person who didn't enjoy this book at all. And that is exactly why I never trust Goodreads ratings.

Emmy has known Oliver her entire life. But when Oliver's dad kidnaps him when they're seven, everyone's world is turned upside down. Now they're 17 (?) and Oliver is back. But no one is the same. Can they still be friends, etc, etc, etc. There's a heart on the cover and this is contemporary YA. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

I wanted to give this three stars so badly just because the plot line is finally something not overdone in YA. It sounded so promising and emotional. But I just couldn't give this more than two stars. I just really did not enjoy reading this book. I kind of dreaded it?? I had to force myself to finish because I JUST DNF'd a book. So here we are. The writing style is kind of painful and the romance was SO cheesy at times. I so wish it had been better because the PLOT. Childhood best friend gets kidnapped and then just shows up again 10 years later?! Come on! This had so much potential.

I really can't explain what I didn't like about this other than the writing style, the parents were absolutely clueless and AWFUL, and Oliver has just come back from being kidnapped and everyone is just pretending nothing happened??? This honestly would have been so much better if it was from his POV or dual POV. Or if it focused on that one aspect. But between Emmy's drama and the side character drama, it was way too much and nothing got focused on. Not to mention that every single “twist” and pain point was SO predictable I couldn't even believe it. It was just really frustrating to read.

TLDR; This is not it, sis.

Would I recommend?
No. Go read a Sarah Dessen or Deb Caletti if you're looking for contemporary YA that will actually make you feel something other than bored and frustrated.