This was my second Emma Lord and certainly won’t be my last. Here are some things I loved about this sweet coming of age story:

💡Self discovery: This is first and foremost a book about figuring out who you are what you want. I loved watching not only Riley but all the characters on their journeys.
👯‍♀️ Friend group: I love the group of friends and their support for each other and how they call each other out on their BS. No one is perfect but they’re all trying and in it together.
🗽 NYC: This is a love letter to NYC in the most wonderful way. I want to go and follow a Getaway List!
💕 Romance: While friends to lovers is not my favorite romance trope, it worked well here and I was rooting for them to be together.

There were a few things that irked me, including the storylines with their moms (just felt odd) and how overly mature they are for 18 years old and having freedom for the first time (felt unrealistic), but overall I definitely recommend this one.

I used to really like Emma Lord’s writing. But every book seems the same. The writing is super young and the story is so predictable. I keep saying I am not going to read anything else by her but for some reason I keep reading books by her. This book was pretty predictable and boring.

The vibes with this book were absolutely immaculate! The whole premise was so fun and I really enjoyed our main characters Riley and Tom,

Emma Lord truly kills it at the YA game and I need to keep working through her backlist after how much I enjoyed this!

A very cute read for the YA crowd! My past self would have eaten this up in one class period. I haven’t read Emma Lord before but I’ll definitely check out her other titles.

Thank you to Emma Lord, NG, and Wednesday Books for an ARC on The Getaway List!

This was a super cute coming-of-age story with a bit of romance and adventure in NYC. Riley's journey to find herself after high school while making new friends and solidifying old relationships was sweet and wholesome. I'm always a fan of friends to lovers (though in this case, make it "friends to relationship" because it's YA) so Riley and Tom having been friends for a decade that have seen each other grow was very sweet.

I really would have enjoyed if Riley had an ADHD diagnosis! A lot of her behaviors seemed to be hinting at ADHD, and I am never mad about more neurodivergent representation in books, especially YA. As it was, her behavior read sometimes as immature, whereas an outspoken diagnosis would have really explained things.

Definitely give this book a try if you're a fan of YA, young love, self-discovery, and big-city adventures!

The Getaway List by Emma Lord is a coming-of-age YA romance that follows Riley the summer after her high school graduation. Riley has always been a ‘good kid’ but after not getting into any of the 10 colleges she applied to, she finds herself a little lost with who it is she is. Deciding to spend the summer visiting her best friend, Tom, in New York and working through their ‘getaway list,’ but soon they find that their feelings for each other may be a little more than platonic.

I LOVED this. Filled with pop culture recs this was such a sweet and relatable coming-of-age novel about two characters rediscovering themselves. That transitionary period after high school is such an emotional turmoil for so many. I loved seeing Riley and Tom's budding relationship grow, but moreover, I loved seeing them find themselves and work on their relationship with their parents.

The writing is funny, heartwarming and engaging. I had a physical and audio arc and I binged it in one night on audio - the narrator was incredible.

Such a perfect read for teens, definitely recommend it.

This story was sweet and inspirational. It’s more than just a love story but also reveals what it’s like to be a newly graduated teenager. New adults trying to figure out what the world has to offer and making lasting friendships along the way.

I loved how the bond between the two main characters Tom and Riley remained true and never faltered throughout all the changes in their lives. Having a best friend who truly understands you and shows up for you is a rare gift in life. The best part about their bond is how they spread joy and laughter to their friend group.

Tom and Riley’s story can teach a valuable lesson to young adults trying to navigate this big scary world of adulthood. Growing up is scary at first but it can also be a thrilling adventure. It’s okay to not have a plan or know what you want to be because there is time to make mistakes or just have fun while figuring it all out.

Love Always, Catherine

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Getaway List by Emma Lord, 314 pages. Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2024. $20.
Language: R (137 swears, 48 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
High school has been just okay with Riley’s best friend, Tom, having moved to New York City shortly before they would have started together. They made big plans for meeting up during breaks, but something always came up, so they added the activities to their “getaway list.” Now having both graduated, Riley is going to New York to do all the things on their list—but four years apart have changed things, and it seems like everyone has a secret.
Riley has inspired me to want to go on some mini adventures—too bad my town doesn’t have the same kind of opportunities as readily available as fictionalized New York. Nevertheless, I think it’s important to go out and do fun things with other people because you want to figure out who you are—no matter your age. The characters, their adventures, and little mysteries along the way are written in a dynamic way that made the book itself feel like it had personality. I enjoyed my time spent reading it.
Riley and Tom are depicted as White on the cover. Mariella is Puerto Rican. Jesse is part of the LGBTQIA community. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, innuendo, and for mentions of drugs, illegal activity, and sex.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Emma Lord is one of my favorite YA authors, her books are consistently funny and feel good!

This book has characters that have just graduated HS, and the books spans that summer that comes right after.

With themes of found family, second chances with friends, finding yourself and realizing the space you need to find yourself. This all takes place with NYC as the backdrop and I couldn’t help but fall in love with it.

This coming of age book, with light themes of romance, will have you cheering for every single character, especially Riley and Tom.

This was truly the perfect book to read while on a trip to NYC! It's certainly a love letter to the city and also a love letter to finding yourself. Riley graduates high school and wants to reconnect with her best friend who moved to NYC a few years prior. As she's getting ready to leave her hometown, she realizes while talking to her mom that her mom has been purposely filling Riley's schedule with activities to keep her away from Tom. As Riley defiantly leaves for NYC and experiences the wonder of the city, she starts to figure out who she is and what she wants. And one of those things she wants may be Tom...

As much as this is a YA romance between Riley and Tom, this really is a story of found family - which is just catnip to me. I loved every single friend and what they brought to the group. It's also a story of self discovery for both Riley and Tom. I think this worked really well as a single POV story, which I don't always say!

And of course I'd be remiss to talk about this book without mentioning all the incredible Taylor Swift references - I particularly loved Jesse's obsession with Taylor's discography because...same!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

i would like to say that i didn’t pay attention to the book’s publisher house when i requested on netgalley. i requested the book because i enjoyed emma lord’s writing in the past. i hope st. martin’s press boycott keeps going as it should and due to the boycott i won’t be promoting the book. i didn’t purchase the book and don’t plan on it. i didn’t know wednesday books was part of st. martin’s press but i hope whoever is reading this learns it and pls don’t promote the books.

I love loved loved The Getaway List. The dynamic and interesting parental relationships,the way the main characters were finding themselves and growing and changing, Emma does a fabulous job of making the most realistic scenarios for young adults going out in their own.

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. By not speaking out you are also not preventing your followers from stalking and harassing people who are participating in the boycott. Your silence speaks volumes. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. Watch this video for more information https://www.tiktok.com/@vivafalastinleen/video/7288407369313307947?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7211704101519296042

Emma Lord has done it again. This book is so cute and the perfect coming of age book.

Riley and Tom were childhood best friends, but they began to grow apart a few years ago when Tom moved to New York. They tried to remain close but life (and sometimes Riley’s mom) had other plans. They started to keep track of all their missed adventures in what would become known as “The Getaway List.”

On the day of Riley’s high school graduation, she’s feeling lost and unsure of her future. In an attempt to get away, she leaves to visit Tom in New York - a visit that was supposed to last a day turns into a week turns into the whole summer. In trying to complete The Getaway List, will Riley finally find where she belongs?

For the most part, the way we get to know Tom is through Riley’s memory of him when they were younger. We can see through some of Tom’s behavior and even hear from Mariella that Tom is not the same guy that Riley knew growing up. To me, this seemed like they need to reconnect and get to know each other again. Maybe the author tried to hit on this a little bit but it was never enough for me to feel invested in this relationship. In addition, the romance definitely was on the back burner the entire time.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Jesse’s relationship with Riley. This felt like it had a similar tone where they were closer years ago and rekindled their friendship, but it was handled so much better.

I also liked Mariella and Luca. I loved the concept of New York being a place to start fresh and how Riley was able to put herself out there in a way she hadn’t been able to in years.

One thing that bothered me was the constant Taylor Swift references - felt like the author was trying too hard, especially when a couple of them didn’t even make logistical sense.

“The Getaway List” by Emma Lord is all about self discovery, becoming an adult and family dynamics. It tackles important issues in an easy to read and relaxing way; the story isn’t too heavy which I appreciated. I would recommend this to my friends and family.

Due to the ongoing marketing boycott of St. Martin’s Press because of their continued failure to address an employee’s harmful and offensive remarks on social media, I will be withholding from reviewing this title. I sincerely hope the company takes action soon so I may resume promoting the diverse stories that SMP ought to stand by,

I really wish I had read Emma Lord’s previous books before I read this one so I’d have something to compare it to. I actually thought this was a debut novel and was surprised to see two of her other books are on my TBR.
Sitting at her high school graduation, it occurs to 18 year old Riley that she’s spent the majority of high school being exactly who her Mom wanted her to be, that she has no idea who she actually is. On a whim she moves to NYC from VA to reconnect with her best friend and finally complete all of the items on the list they created years ago, their Getaway List, basically a mild bucket list. During the summer, Riley begins to live for herself discovering many joys and a few challenges along the way.
This is very much a Gen Z coming of age story. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that except that I’m Gen X. In addition to that, Riley and all of her friends are tremendous extroverts, and I’m very much not. I couldn’t relate to anything in this. Honestly, I didn’t like any of the character interactions and I really didn’t like Riley.
I can’t bring myself to give this less than 3 stars since I’m clearly not the audience Ms. Lord was trying to reach. I have read and loved young adult fiction in the past so maybe I should be rating this based on that, but I think someone who’s a younger Millennial or an older Gen Z who is quite extroverted will appreciate this a lot more than this introverted Gen Xer did.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of this book. This hits the shelves January 23rd.

This was a really cute YA! I actually listened to this on audio and had a good time. I loved the friends to lovers storyline of this, and it felt super whimsical as it takes place in New York in the post-high school graduation time. Makes me wish I can have a lost in New York moment myself. Enjoyed the found family part of this and the slow burn romance between our two main characters. A fun one from Emma Lord!

Such a sweet read! It made me wistful for that time of life when you are trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do with the rest of your life. Everything feels big and shiny and important. The book is a love letter to NYC making any reader want to run away and make their own Getaway List of fun adventures to go on in the Big Apple.

Riley and Tom are adorable together as they try to figure out who they are and what they are to each other when they finally get to spend some face to face time now that Riley has made a big leap and hopped on the bus to NYC to visit...and maybe stay? I loved their connection through their favourite book and the list of adventures they made for themselves inspired by it. The walking tour/writing class was my favourite item. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a day! I also adored Jesse, Luca, and Mariella and how the romantic relationships weren't the only focus. Mariella was my favourite with her quick wit, no nonsense attitude and intelligence. She was the perfect friend for Riley and I loved reading about them bonding over the course of the book.

The wounded relationships between both Riley and her mom as well as Tom and his mom were hard to read as a parent. My heart broke for Tom especially dealing with an absent parent but I was happy in the end with the way it was dealt with and how it ended.

I would love to read more by Emma Lord in the future since this book felt like a sunny day filled with a soundtrack of all the best Taylor Swift songs wrapped up in the best romcom set in NYC.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars, perhaps closer to a 4.

I have read other books from Emma Lord and really loved them. And this book has so many amazing reviews. Don't take my slightly lower rating to mean I didn't like it, because I did. It was a great YA read and there were a lot of things about it that I really enjoyed. I felt like at times it was getting a little bit long winded and slightly repetitive. While it was fun, I wanted more to happen. I wanted less conversation and more action. There were also some instances of miscommunication that I felt slightly frustrated with. I found myself skimming through certain parts. But these are very minor issues and also, probably just me issues! There was plenty about this book that I adored!

NYC setting: This book was like a love letter to NYC and it's a city I love to read about. It made me want to go back so badly!

The actual Getaway list: I love the fun ideas/activities on it and it's such a great idea!

Friends to lovers: Tom and Riley were the perfect best friends to lovers. Their relationship felt very genuine and the way it grew slowly seemed authentic and relatable.

The friend group: such a fun group of characters! I loved the way they got along and each had their own unique personalities that blended well together.

The YA coming of age theme: this book took a good look at the decisions that people have to make as they come into adulthood. Also, stepping outside of your comfort zone, realizing what you want in life and learning from mistakes. Being open, honest and not afraid to be you. Loved it!

Overall, I'm glad I read this book and while it wasn't my favourite from Emma Lord is was still really great! If you're a fan of YA romance that isn't overly heavily on the romance, this would be a great addition to your shelf. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for my review copy!