3 reasons Permanent Record is the quirky contemporary novel you should be reading

Mary H.K. Choi is back with her latest release, Permanent Record, and it strikes a perfect balance between being a fun contemporary and tackling serious issues.

Mary H.K. Choi’s Emergency Contact received plenty of praise around its release date last year, and her newest release, Permanent Record, is proving to be just as quirky and relevant as its predecessor. A novel following 19-year-old Pablo as he navigates the “What now?” of adulthood, Permanent Record strikes a perfect balance between being a fun contemporary story and being a tale that tackles serious issues young adults are facing.

The story opens with Pablo working at a 24-hour deli — which is not a bodega, by the way — and contemplating what he wants to do next. After recently dropping out of NYU, he’s struggling to pay the rent and all of his debt. And despite his mother’s frequent pleas to return to school, he just isn’t sure what he wants to do with his life.

Enter a celebrity who just happens to have a great taste in snacks and an interest in Pab, and his life begins to change. Leanna Smart gets Pab doing and trying new things for a change. And even if the two of them can’t be together with all the fame surrounding her, surely this fling will change Pab for the better.

If you aren’t into snack-centered relationships, though, there are some other compelling reasons to pick up Choi’s latest addition to the young adult shelves at Barnes and Noble. Here are three that especially stand out.

It focuses on the older end of the young adult population.

Only recently have young adult novels centered around college-aged protagonists become more common, and thank goodness for that. The years after high school can be some of the most trying times young people face, and Permanent Record doesn’t shy away from pointing out the struggles that come with that transition period.

High rent prices, debt, existential crises — all of these things are present in Pab’s life, and if you’ve ever been in your late teenage years or early twenties, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to relate. It’s nice to see authors diving into these issues instead of glossing over them in favor of a more glamorous but less realistic depiction of becoming an adult.

It’s got a sweet and fun romance at its center.

While Choi definitely covers some important issues in Permanent Record, the novel still has a fluffy and fun romance at its core. Much like the one in Emergency Contact, this relationship involves two quirky young adults who just happen to mesh perfectly with one another. I mean, they’re compatible when it comes to snacking, which is really the most important thing in any relationship — right?

And the course this relationship takes isn’t predictable, either. While the two characters may not necessarily be endgame —  I mean, just look how different their lives are — they share plenty of gorgeous moments together that the readers get to experience alongside them. (Okay, there are a few painful ones too…)

It isn’t all about the romance.

While the blossoming relationship between Pab and Lee is what moves the story forward, there are so many other beautiful relationships that Choi focuses in on throughout Permanent Record. Pab’s fraught relationship with his parents and younger brother come to mind first, but his roommates also make for an interesting and humorous supporting cast.

And of course, Choi manages to tackle some important and relevant topics over the course of the novel. Whether she’s exploring the unfortunate side effects of growing up famous or having the teens figure out exactly how their multicultural upbringing factors into their identities, Choi gets the reader thinking about more than what’s happening between Pab and Lee. And that sort of depth is what takes a contemporary from good to great, isn’t it?

Do you plan on reading Permanent Record? Tell us why or why not in the comments section.