I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed. I

5/5⭐ to The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott. Much thanks to Simon Teen and Netgalley for an egalley copy to review! This book is Lippincott's solo debut and an absolute delight! It is exactly what I look for in a summer-y YA contemporary - atmospheric, adventurous, and with an adorable romance. We follow Emily in the summer before senior year, and she is having a rough time of it. She has broken up with her boyfriend, still grieving the loss of her mother 3 years ago, and now her dad is moving them to a new house and purging her mother's possessions. However, it looks as though things could turn around when new friend, Blake, moves into town and Emily finds a bucket list among her mother's things from when she was Emily's age. Thus begins a summer adventure she won't soon forget, reconnecting herself to her mom, and making new connections. I appreciated the journey that Emily took with her grief, and how working through the list not only helped her create new memories of/with her mother, but it also helped her move on and fully live her life. I imagine there will be many readers who will find comfort and relate to this part of Em's story. Beyond that, the whole adventure these girls went on to fulfill this bucket list was so fun! Definitely made for the perfect summer story! Lastly, I adored how a relationship blossomed between Emily and Blake from their friendship over the summer! Their connection was so genuine and sweet, and made me swoon so much. Please go check this one out either from the bookstore, or request it from your local library! So, so good!

DNF @ 33%
2021; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

I really liked All This Time with Mikki Daughtry but this novel did not work for me. This is Rachel Lippincott's solo novel, so maybe I only like her work with Daughtry. I am looking forward to reading Five Feet Apart.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley and Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Ah the feelings! The Lucky List is about grief and finding out who you really are. Emily finds a bucket list her mom did at the same age she is now and goes on a journey to complete it before the end of summer... and to finally find out who she really is. The last few chapters made me shed a lot of tears, and I loved every second of this book. Really great book!

TW: death of a loved one, cancer

Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy in exchange of an honest review.

The Lucky List deals a lot with grief. Emily is still grieving the death of her mother, who passed three years ago. Then her dad’s best friend and his daughter Blake move back into town. Emily finds a summer bucket list her mom wrote for the summer before her senior year, and with the help of Blake, she works on completing it.

Emily feels like she lost herself after her mom’s death so she goes on a journey this summer to find out who she really is. This is a slow burn romance and I thought it was so cute. I definitely teared up a few times at the end. I’ve been loving YA this year, and this was another one that made me so happy.

I absolutely adored this book. It was loaded full of sadness, grief, and teenage angst, but also filled with the hope and joy that comes with coming into your own. I need to see this adapted for the big screen! The perfect YA contemporary for summer with a slow-burn swoon worthy F/F romance.

(NetGalley ARC) This was very very cute! I loved Five Feet Apart, and I've been wanting to read All This Time, but then I got an ARC of this so I thought I'd read it first. Then I learned it was a w/w book and I was like yesssss plz.

It was so smooth, and the girls have a connection from the very start, and they are there for each other in the best of ways. That summer, they both needed someone, and they both helped each other, and slowly fell for each other, even though Em is quite confused as to how she feels. I also like the reason she's confused, I like that it made sense, and that it wasn't forced. I like what it entailed with all the other characters as well. Everything clicked well.

i found this book to be very sweet and earnest! i really enjoyed emily"s character development and the characters of huckabee in general. the friendship between johnny and emily's father was also very entertaining to watch.

The Lucky List is a coming of age novel that every young adult should read. It includes many themes such as illness, grief, self discovery, and LGBT.

The summer before her senior year of high school, Emily discovers her late mother’s “bucket list” while cleaning out her closet to move. Desperate to feel a closeness to her mom, Emily enlists her new friend Blake and together they complete the 12 adventures. Emily discovers her true self and a way to keep her mother’s memory alive.

The Lucky List is a well written heartfelt story. Lippincott brought the characters to life and I felt all of the emotions of Emily’s grief. I highly recommend adding The Lucky List to your summer reading bucket list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for my digital ARC.

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott was a cute romance between Emily and the new girl, Blake. As Emily and her dad prepare to move, Emily finds a box with old things from her mom, including a bucket list. Emily decides to do the list with the help of Blake. Throughout the book, Emily realizes her sexuality and falls in love with Blake.

This book was so cute!!! I didn’t want to put it down once and the romance between Emily and Blake was absolutely perfect.

I’ve been excited for this book since it was announced and I got a physical copy of The Lucky List the day it came out, I was so happy while reading it! Some parts of the book made me laugh, while others made me cry, which is something I want in every book. There were some super relatable moments for me, especially coming from a small town, it made me feel closer to the characters.

Overall, the romance was super cute and I wanted to keep reading about Emily and Blake forever. I really related to the characters and was empathetic to Emily’s struggle with letting go to the stuff that was her mom’s.

I will 100% be reading it again, as I loved every moment of the book.

On this episode of Everything is Canon, Steve talks to Rachael Lippincott all about her solo debut The Lucky List which is described as a “gripping new romance, a captivating, heartfelt love story about learning who you are, and who you love, when the person you’ve always shared yourself with is gone. Perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.”

The Lucky List is most definitely a plucky fun Sapphic romance that follows Emily as her life is turned upside down when an old friend returns to town, all that is true. But what’s also true is that The Lucky List takes an honest and thoughtful approach to grief and loss, and how to never take for granted having those you love in your life.

Steve and Rachael talk about a funny Goodreads review, international book blurbs, the fact that Rachael and her wife are doing their own lucky list, the book of course, and much, much more.

For the full interview, click the link below...

https://www.cinelinx.com/off-beat/shows/everything-is-canon-the-lucky-list/

Emily has become a pariah to her friends and most of her high school. With this being the summer before her senior year of high school Emily is avoiding everyone until a family friend and his daughter, Blake, move back to town. When
Blake comes over to help pack for a move to a new house Emily discovers a box of her late mothers with high school memories. In this box is a list of twelve tasks her mother did her summer before her senior year. Hoping to feel connected to her mom, Emily starts to do the list with the help of Blake and her summer begins to change in many unexpected ways.


I loved the lucky list. It's a very smooth flowing story about coming of age and finding who you are. You can feel Emilys struggle to try and hang onto her mother while getting over her fears that have changed her from the fearless girl to a fearful one of life. It shows the struggle of high school life and how it is as a teenager whose suffered a major loss.

I think this is a great young adult novel for anyone and faces many struggles that young people face everyday. Overall it's a cute love story in a way. And I really hope to see more from (authors) solo novels like this.

The Lucky List is a Young Adult contemporary novel that I would classify as realistic fiction.

It is a coming of age story for 17 year old Emily (1st person POV) as she tries to get over the grief of losing her mom to cancer. This book takes place over the summer before her senior year of high school.

Something happened at Junior Prom between Emily and her boyfriend Matt. And now all of their friends are mad at her. I was curious to find out what had transpired. And this reveal was very relevant to the story.

Emily works at Nina's bakery. I loved Nina and her son Paul a lot. I love when the teen characters have fun jobs.

I liked this book a lot right from the start. I enjoyed getting to see what Emily was thinking and feeling. She had a strained relationship with her dad. And it was interesting to see how they both dealt with the mom's loss. It was really touching and sad.

The dad's high school best friend Johnny moves back to town with his 17 year old daughter Blake. And I thought that Emily and Blake's friendship was great.

I really liked "the lucky list" and this was a great part of the story.

This book is really about Emily learning to overcome her loss and sadness. But it is also about her figuring out who she is. I thought that the second half was good. But not as good for me as the beginning. Emily also questions her feelings for Matt and Blake.

Overall, this was a quick enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

I’m at a lost for words, I just finished this book and I can’t function properly. I lost my dad two years ago, and it was such a painful read considering that Emily was dealing with the death of her mom. However, it was a phenomenal book and Rachael Lippincott knows how to shatter my heart as always but also put the pieces back together as it’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.

Plot
Emily is very lucky, and so is her mom. But since three years ago when her mom died from Cancer, her luck has run out.
Now she has a bunch of things that she needs to get back in check in her life, including getting her boyfriend back and stopping her dad from selling their house. But there is only so much she can do without her boundaries crashing down. Emily meets Blake whose the only girl she can talk to because her friend group has turned against her and her best friend is away for the summer.
Soon Emily finds a list while cleaning out her dead mom's closet, a bucket list that belonged to her mom during senior year. Emily learns that this bucket list helped her mom get back on track with her life, so she believes she can do the same by doing the list. She gets Blake to help her and they're off on a journey to face Emily's fears.
Finishing this list makes Emily feel closer to her mom so she's obsessed with finishing everything on the list, which includes getting back together with her ex-boyfriend and as much as she'd like to do that, she can't shake the butterflies that go through her every time Blake looks at her.


Emily
You just can't help but root for Emily. She's such a quick-witted Character but she's also pretty dumb! Can't she see that a certain someone likes her! I mean it's quite obvious...And her pushing away the feeling didn't help so much. Even from the beginning, I felt like she was really dependant upon her best friend. I know what it looks like to just want someone back and to wish for them back but Emily depended on her bff so much that she thought all her troubles would be redeemed when she returned. So as the book continued, Emily started being friends with other people and being less dependent.


Blake
Blake was such a strong character that I really wanted to learn more about especially since her mom also died but she never got the chance to meet her. She was also such warm and welcoming that I actually had a hard time thinking of Blake with someone else other than Emily. Plus I have to admit that they are good for each other :) Blake was also really open and honest about everything which made me catch the feels for her.


Overall
I loved how Emily struggled a lot. Even though that's the sad part of the book. Seeing Emily grief and question almost everything was stressful especially with her situations and love problems! I especially liked the part where Emily struggled donating her mom's clothes because she thought those were parts of her mom that her dad was just giving away. Overall this was a fairly quick read and something I'm glad I read! Get your tissues out for this one cause it made me SOB.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an Arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts/opinions are my own.

~Till Next Time!
📚 Ꮢҽαԃ σ⨍⨍ ɾҽαԃҽɾട! 📚

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I had high hopes for this book before reading it as I am familiar with Rachael Lippincott and absolutely LOVED the books she co-wrote. This book did not let me down. Emily is recovering from the grief of losing her mother, and as someone who is familiar with the loss of a parent, it made me happy that the portrayal was accurate. As a debut novel goes, it has its flaws, as most books do. I also love that the romance in the book is between 2 girls, as LGBT representation is needed in YA books. The main character is so charming and loveable and even though she requires so much growth at the beginning, you can’t help but cheer her on. Overall, this is a heart-warming contemporary read, and I devoured it in 2 days. This book came at exactly the right time for me; I hope it does that for you too.

If you’re a fan of YA novels, you need to read this book. Rachael Lippincott is the coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Five Feet Apart which you have probably heard of and this is her newest novel.

Synopsis. “Emily wrecked things with her boyfriend Matt, who her {deceased} mom adored, but her dad is selling the house she grew up in and giving her mom’s belongings away… And with her best friend away for the summer and her other friends taking her ex’s side, the only person she has to talk to about it is her dad’s best friend’s daughter, Blake, a girl she barely knows.

But that’s when Emily finds the list—her mom’s senior year summer bucket list—buried in a box in the back of her closet. When Blake suggests that Emily take it on as a challenge, the two set off on a journey to tick each box and help Emily face her fears before everything changes As they go further down the list, Emily finally begins to feel closer to her mom again, but her bond with Blake starts to deepen, too, into something she wasn’t expecting. Suddenly Emily must face another fear: accepting the secret part of herself she never got a chance to share with the person who knew her best.”

I loved this book! The story was so well written, the characters were well developed and loveable. It had me both laughing and crying at various times. It had the cute couple moments I expect in a YA novel with a perfect summer break setting. Overall I was just so captivated reading Emily’s coming of age and coming out story the entire way through. I highly recommend it to all YA fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of the book. All opinions are my own as always.

As soon as I saw that the lucky list was written by the same author as five feet apart. I knew I had to request to read it as soon as possible! Let me tell you that this book didn’t disappoint at all.
Emily’s mom died and one day while packing up her moms things, she finds a list. A list of things her mom wanted to do before her senior year in high school! I loved the list concept so much. And reading about Emily and her growth throughout the book was a breathe of fresh air.
I would read anything by this author!!!

Everyone else go home, this book made me cry like a baby.

I’ve read both of Rachael Lippincott’s other books when they came out, and have given them both average ratings, so I have to admit that my expectations for The Lucky List weren’t very high. I was obviously very excited because it’s a queer novel, which is my jam on so many levels, but I was kind of worried about the execution and portrayal of queer folks (even though Lippincott is queer herself). All my expectations have been blown out of the water. Disappeared, just like my heteronormative ass circa 2 years ago.

Honestly, I don’t think this book will garner 5 star reviews from everyone who reads it, but it really touched something special in me. I don’t have a dead mom and I’ve never even had a boyfriend, but I related to Emily and her struggles so much. The way she grappled with her sexuality and her fear towards coming out— all of that was very real, very raw, and made me stop reading several times because I was just that touched.

Sentimentality aside, I thought The Lucky List was really well-written on pretty much every level. Lippincott has always been a good writer, but I think it’s clear that as a solo author she really shines. The characters were well-developed, the pacing was perfect, and there wasn’t a single moment where I was bored.

I feel like I have so much more to say, but frankly, this is all I can put into words right now. I absolutely recommend this book, and you best bet I will be picking it up from my local indie bookstore as soon as I can.

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott
19/4/2021
0 Comments

​Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Lucky List in exchange for an honest review.

I've said before that something about Rachael Lippincott's writing constantly makes me think that her books should be screenplays and if there was ever a Rachael Lippincott book I want to see adapted to screen, it's this one. This Lucky List is part sweet, part heart breaking and although a lot of the plot threads ended in really predictable ways, I found a lot more comfort in the predictability of this one than the twist-heavy nature of Lippincott's previous works (no shade to All This Time. It's wonderful, but in a very different way).

I can see a lot of people potentially not liking Emily because she's a deeply, deeply flawed protagonist, but I think she's flawed in a really realistic way for a teenager who's lost both her mother and most of her friends in one fowl swoop. That being said, I do think she needed to contribute more to her relationship with this book's love interest who isn't manic pixie herself, but since basically every scene we see between the two of them is her doing something for Emily, it felt a bit forced when she suddenly declares her love for a girl who's made their relationship pretty one sided. What Emily does at the end of the book was so incredibly cute that it made me forget about that imbalance until sitting down to write this review though, so definitely still give this one a go.