What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook

Title: What Would Emma Do?

Author: Eileen Cook

Summary:

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?"

Rating: 4/5

Review:

This book was very easy for me to get into, and even more easy for me to enjoy. It was funny-- hilarious, even. Emma was one of those characters who was just fun to listen to. She wrote lists practically every two seconds (and I LOVE lists, especially sarcastic ones) and the way she narrated her story was just so entertaining, I couldn't help but be drawn to it from the very beginning.

Emma also made it very easy for me to empathize for her. I can very easily imagine myself in her situation-- she and I both have dreams too big for the small towns we live in. Also, both of our towns our very religion based (although hers is probably more so than mine, although I'll get to that.)

That is all fine and well, and things go great for the beginning, but then things started to get a little iffy for me. A lot of the story seems too far exaggerated, like the EXTREME emphasis on religion. Maybe that happens in real life, but I wouldn't know about it... I have never been to or heard of a modern-day place that is so religion-focused. I also wish that the story were more original, more of it's own. I had high hopes, but I just can't help but want to scream SALEM WITCH TRIALS! Obviously it's not a coincidence; it was written entirely intentionally to be like a modern-day Salem. So it's like a retelling, which would be alright if not for the fact that in my honest opinion, the book had so much more potential than what it turned out to be.