![]() ![]() Pablo’s father was also present and a real treat, a dreamer who Pablo often dismisses because of his age but who has ambitions and projects he aspires to despite his son’s ageist thinking. ![]() It was painful and complicated and raw and multidimensional, rather than just a failed or non-existent relationship between parent and child for plot convenience. There was some really well-written complicated family dynamics that were explored here, and I appreciated that Pablo’s relationship with his mother wasn’t one note- though they fundamentally disagreed about a LOT regarding Pablo’s future, they still had a (strained) relationship that included awkward family dinners, dealing with his little brother’s shenanigans, and failing to understand the other’s expectations and dreams. Pablo, the protagonist, is Pakistani and Korean and is semi-estranged from his parents who are divorced and who he developed a rift with due to his academic pursuits. The MCs were also both biracial and struggling to find their places in their life and steer the trajectory of their future, though in very different spheres. With most of the protagonists in their early 20s and pursuing various life tracks (from college to acting to working full-time, etc) it firmly felt like it tackled the “young adult” issues and scenarios that are unique to the 20s. Permanent Record is also the first book in a long time that I’ve read that truly felt like a “New Adult” book to me. I think the balance of fantasy and cold reality made the story feel digestible without veering too far into one being too sad, unrealistic, ridiculous, etc. The story was equal parts unrealistic wish fulfillment (flying halfway across the world at a moment’s notice, secretly dating someone who is regularly on billboards, etc) and painfully realistic situations (America’s educational debt crisis, affordable housing crisis, etc). I am a huge fan of books that have regular protagonists who somehow end up dating celebrities/royals/etc (I just find the premise so improbable and fun) and this book has Pablo (legit named after Pablo Neruda) a college student working nights at a Bodega having a chance encounter with an Ariana Grande-tier pop star while working one night which leads to a whirlwhind turn of events in his life that’s currently crumbling from a financial crisis. Choi can write a great New Adult novel and I really enjoyed this slice-of-not-so-ordinary-life novel. I apparently missed the wagon on Emergency Contact because I still haven’t gotten around to reading Mary H.K.Choi’s debut (oops) but I saw so many bloggers flailing about the gorgeous dust jacket for Permanent Record that I decided to request it from my library via Overdrive to see what all the fuss was about. But it takes about three seconds before the world finds out… So, they keep things on the down-low and off Instagram for as long as they can. in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn, they both know they can’t be together forever. ![]() When Leanna and Pab randomly meet at 4:00 a.m. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street. Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is. Permanent Record follows a flawed but lovable character as he learns to accept the mistakes he has made during that time and finds a way to build a future around them.Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 3, 2019Īfter a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. But I had a hard time believing in or investing in a romance that's so one-sided, so ultimately, I don't think I would call Permanent Record a romance.Ībove all else, it's about that murky time between high school and everything that comes after, where you're asked to make huge decisions that will affect the rest of your life but you have no idea what you actually want. This is probably intentional - in fact, it's part of the point. So much of her is pretense and show that it's hard to know her. There are little moments where she feels like a real person and we understand why Pablo is interested, but for the most part, she feels more like a distraction than a character. But we get only Pablo's perspective, and through his eyes, Leanna is kept at a distance. It seems inevitable that Permanent Record will be billed as a romance, as the plot hinges on the arrival of Leanna in Pablo's life and their will-they, won't-they love story. Choi has a real gift for creating a character so real and complex that she can crack his psyche open like a melon and pick through all the gnarly seeds.
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