Let's explore some of the things I adored about this book, shall we?
The Characters
No, I do not just mean Emmy and Oliver themselves, though I do quite love them. Every character in this book was just fabulous, and multi-faceted and imperfect but wonderful. So Emmy has been missing Oliver since forever, and in part because her parents are ultra-insanely productive since his disappearance (another win- present parents!), but also because they'd been quite close, living next door. And of course, Oliver is so confused/hurt/mad that he doesn't quite know what to do or who to trust.
The side characters are equally great. Christy @ Novel Ink summed it up better than I could:
"Caro and Drew were also so wonderful. They are both the epitome of what a best friend should be and I would love to have a Caro and Drew of my own. "
Seriously, I found myself wishing for people like this in my life- those friends you know you can count on, who've known you forever and will continue to be there forever, even though you come from different backgrounds and may end up on very different paths. I just loved their dynamic. On top of that, they were just so fun! Here was one of my favorite moments:
"Caro and Drew were both doing shots and inventing some sort of complicated drinking game that involved a basketball, a feather duster, and some refrigerator magnets, and made no sense to anyone but them."
Yes, let's hang out please, fictional characters!
The parents in this story seemed like -gasp- actual human beings! Not only was it not Parent-in-Ya Syndrome, it wasn't generic parents either. The parents were going through a lot of emotional upheaval too, and the book showed this. They didn't always make the perfect choices, and sometimes they acted out of fear, regret, etc., but it was clear that they were acting out of love too.
The Relationships
No insta-love. No love triangles. Extremely slow romance, which was absolutely perfect, considering the circumstances. Oliver wasn't even sure he could be Emmy's friend at first, let alone anything else. But she was there for him, and you know, things started to happen. It was lovely, so lovely. They were so independent, they didn't need to be in a relationship, but they were so, so good for each other at the same time.
The parent-child relationship was a huge focus as well. Obviously, Oliver and his family dynamic was a huge plot point, but Emmy's relationship with her parents was just as strained at times. The whole cast of characters had to do a lot of soul searching to learn to navigate the process of growing up, and it was so lovely to see this in a young adult book.
And the friendships, as I have mentioned, were amazing. It wasn't all happiness and unicorns either, there were times that things were very complicated and tense. When Oliver returned, the trio of Emmy, Drew, and Caro was obviously thrown off. Of course, Emmy and Oliver began spending even more time together, things got even tricker. Add in your typical trust issues and such, and these friends had to really ask themselves if this friendship would stand the test of time- and inevitable change.
The Plot
So, it isn't just high school and romance and friends, there's an incredibly serious and hard hitting topic being brought up: non-custodial parental kidnapping. This is a thing that happens all the time, and I don't know all the statistics (because I didn't look any of them up) but I can't imagine that they often end happily. I think the author did such an amazing job of setting the tone for this part of the story. On one hand, everyone is thrilled that Oliver is home, but on the other, adjusting is hard. Especially for Oliver, who never asked to be kidnapped, and who didn't think of his dad as a kidnapper. I think this aspect was handled beautifully, showing how stressful it was for Oliver and his family.
But there were such amazing lighthearted moments that it offset the darker moments with a perfect balance. It was neither too heavy nor too fluffy, it was the right combination.
Bottom Line: I would just basically encourage the reading of this book. It's cute and sweet, but with plenty of real world issues and emotions. Do it.
*Copy provided from publisher for review
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight