Emmett by L.C. Rosen
Emmett by L.C. Rosen is a joyful romp from start to finish. It’s queer, it’s gender-bent, it’s Jane Austen’s Emma turned on its head and dressed in the canary yellow and robin’s egg blue of Highbury Academy, the high school that titular character Emmett attends.
Inspired by Austen’s matchmaker, Emmett is a popular, confident, perfection-focused high school student experiencing all the joys that high school has to offer: planning the school’s Winter Carnival, studying for midterms, applying to colleges – and navigating the world of romance, sex, and dating as a young gay man. He constantly acknowledges how blessed he is, in his opinion, and strives to give back as much as he can in return. Emmett volunteers at the soup kitchen, raises money for causes he is passionate about, and lately, has decided to give back by setting up his friend – the boy he’s been sleeping with – on a date.
With his best friend Taylor at his side, as well as his former best friend Miles and a cast of charming, diverse characters, Emmett is ready to take on this latest challenge – find Harrison a date, because that’s just how nice Emmett is. When things take an unexpected turn, and Emmett begins to realize that perhaps he isn’t as perfect as he thought, he is faced with the reality that life, and love, may not be as clean, organized, and controllable as he’d hoped.
From the very first pages, Rosen’s narrative voice comes through immediately. It’s fun, it’s witty, it’s clever and it pulls you into Emmett’s character right from the start. Emmett possesses scathing internal commentary and has a strong, and in many cases amusing, opinion about everything, living up to the sharp social critique that Austen is known for. I thoroughly enjoyed Rosen’s spin on the iconic matchmaker. Emmett has his quirks, and certainly his fair share of trauma that he’s dealing with, and through all of it, he strives to live by the philosophies that he has stood by up till now. Emmett doesn’t date, but he has taken it upon himself to find a date for his friend.
EXCEPTIONALLY VALIDATING
This opens up a whole assortment of problems for him as he tries to understand just what it is, exactly, that makes a couple click. Can they be forced together? Does there need to be chemistry? Is it just the right introduction? Looks? Rosen’s choices with each twist and turn Emmett is faced with in his matchmaking quest allow for a deep dive into Emmett’s own feelings.
As a reader, Emmett’s way of viewing each situation, of looking at the world, was wonderful to get lost in. We all know what it is like to go through so many of those same emotions and to endure the trials of high school. Rosen has created a world and a protagonist that are so incredibly relatable in that sense, which was delightful to read.
So much of Emmett is packed with the experiences and relationships of a range of queer characters, and Rosen writes all of it in a way that feels exceptionally validating. The conversations between Emmett and his friends, and those he has with himself, seek to explore identity, sexuality, romance and more, and are done so in a safe, positive and affirming way. The characters are multifaceted, Rosen playing into tropes only to hit you with a charming twist that you might not have seen coming.Emmett hits all the right notes when it comes to faithfully maintaining the essence of the source material while providing a bold new lens through which to imagine it. It’s entertaining, it’s cute and it’s gloriously queer; If you love a book with sassy social commentary, dynamic queer characters and more than a dash of romance, then Emmett is for you.
About the Author:
LEV AC ROSEN writes books for people of all ages, most recently Jack of Hearts (and other parts). His books have been translated into different languages, featured on numerous best of the year lists, and nominated for awards. He lives in NYC with his husband and a very small cat.
