Hello and happy Saturday. Have you read a novel by a well-known author from before they became well-known? What have you thought about it? I recently read Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway, who wrote Far From the Tree, a best-seller that was all over booktube a few years ago. I haven’t read Far From the Tree, but after reading Emmy & Oliver I’m not entirely convinced that I like this author’s style.

Emmy and Oliver were neighbors and best friends, until Oliver was kidnapped by his dad when they were like seven years old. He is found ten years later and moves back to his hometown where his mom lives, back to being Emmy’s neighbor. The subject matter is obviously serious and dense, but somehow the focus was put on the teenager’s relationship rather than Oliver navigating the trauma of realizing his father had kidnapped him and then having to come back to a town and a house that he doesn’t recognize as his own. I don’t know, the whole attempt at making this novel lighthearted didn’t really sit well with me.