It’s not very often that books recommended to me by friends are ever really good, but this book, “Permanent Record”, left me putting off finishing the book for a week because I didn’t want it to end.

“Permanent Record”, by Mary H.K Choi, follows college dropout, Pablo Neruda Rind, and hotshot celebrity, Leanna Smart. The two lived completely separate lives until one early morning when they met at the bodega where Pablo works.

Something easily considered impossible in our world is made possible in this book, which is one thing that I look for in books. It’s an incredibly complicated romance because of the fact Leanna is a celebrity and Pablo is a college dropout. If you look for the improbable, this is for you.

Pablo’s mental state throughout the book is understandable and incredibly accurate. He wants to continue with his life and college, but his anxiety and his lack of knowledge in how the world and money works keeps him from being able to pursue that goal. He also doesn’t have any clue about what he wants to do with his life like so many people our age trying to figure out what to do can probably relate to this.

Leanna is having a hard time trying to figure out how to live her life as a celebrity. It’s not something many can understand well but the feeling of being trapped in a life that they don’t exactly like can somewhat be related to for some. The two characters meet and try to escape their lives with each other.

When it comes to my own thoughts and feelings on this particular book, it is not the best one I’ve read, but it’s still worth the read. The book starts off really slow, which is something I tend to avoid because I like fast paced books. Though I may not particularly like this about the book, it may be right up another person’s alley. The book started off slow, and that may have been a red flag for me about it, but once “Permanent Record” got into the nitty gritty topics and emotions that the characters go through and endure, I found myself incredibly happy I didn’t decide to stop reading it.

Though it seems like a more serious book, which it can be at times, it also has good comedic points that give you a break from the seriousness. Books where seriousness and comedy can coincide together is something that I find surprisingly refreshing in a read.

When I said earlier that I put off finishing the book for a week, that was no exaggeration. I got so drawn into the drama and the romance that I sincerely didn’t want the book to end. The book may start off slow, but witnessing and reading the journey that “Permanent Record” takes to get to the end of the book is well worth the read.