What Would Emma Do by Eileen Cook

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pub. Date: December 2008
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: from author

While juggling friendship issues (her best friend isn't speaking to her), a love triangle-turned-square (okay, maybe she shouldn't have kissed her best friend's boyfriend...but it was totally an accident!...sort of), and escalating mayhem in her small religious town (uh-oh...what would Jesus do?), Emma realizes she has to stop trying to please everyone around her and figure out what she wants for herself. It's time to start asking, "What would Emma do?"

If you take a glance at the cover and think this book is gonna be a super duper cute just like how it looks, then I assure you, you don't have to think again. What Would Emma Do is a light-hearted and fun read you will enjoy really much. But hey, don't think it's just a lovely book about this one girl kissing her best friend and how she copes with it after. It's actually more serious - it deals with other teenage matters as well, just in another way for you to take it easier.

I really like Eileen's writing style. It's fun and nice to digest. Everything flows naturally thus on reading about Emma, I felt as if I was in a informal conversation with my bestfriend instead. What Would Emma Do is just really teenage - the praying, the whining, the happiness, the sadness; all of them are pure and very relatable. The portray of feelings of love in this novel is also something the readers will dig. How the characters feel for each other is really unclear, sometimes conflicting to be exact. Well, it's so like us isn't it? Young adults always find themselves in the positions of not knowing if they're truly in love or not.

You know what's surprising about this book? The characters are not likable at all. Some of them are really annoying to be honest. Colin for example. What was his jealousy all about? And he changed his mind so dramatically that I was taken aback - I mean, you cannot like one today and like another one a few days later. It's a bit confusing. Joann, too, is not a cool one. She might be too naive but I don't like the way she treated her bestfriend. I actually like Emma though. She's not a flawlessly good girl but I'm always on her side during my read. She could be too self-centered, sarcastic and indecisive at some moments but she tried hard for what she wanted and stood up for what she believed. And her tone of narration is so funny you cannot hate her. Well, I'm not mean but even when she's sad, I still find the part hilarious.

My only problem with the book is its ending. It feels rushy. The biggest problem was solved and then BAM, it ended. I would have loved it more if Eileen had written one more chapter to tell us what happened to Emma afterwards. Some questions are left unanswered and I just can't stand that.

Rating: 3.5/5