I have enjoyed all of Emma Lord’s books. This one did not disappoint. I always enjoy books with strong friendships and Emma delivers.
Riley is graduating high school and feels like she has no direction and is being left behind by all her friends. She feels stifled by her mother who scheduled every minute of her days the last few years of high school. Riley assumed it was to keep her out of trouble but when she learns the truth, she hops on a bus to New York. Tom, Riley’s best friend moved to NY when they were freshman. Through this book you follow Riley and Tom check things off their Getaway List that they made both before and after Tom moved. Along the way they form a friendship with other just graduated kids. Their antics are so fun to read about.
This book is a love story to NY as much as it is a young love story.
Note of caution- while Tom is 18 years old, he has clearly been left alone by his mother a lot over his teenage years. There is def a feeling of neglect for him by his mother.

The Getaway List is the title of the list of activities Riley and her best friend Tom want to do, started a few years before, prior to Tom leaving their small town for NYC. Now that Riley has graduated high school, without getting into any of the schools to which she applied, she is struggling to figure out what comes next. She decides to surprise Tom by showing up in NYC, even though he’s been a bit distant and they haven’t seen each other in the years since he and his mom left town. Once Riley arrives, she and Tom spend time exploring the city - balancing touristy things while also meeting up with a found family of friends.
Emma Lord’s YA books are sweet, and this one is no exception. There are plenty of Taylor Swift references for Swifties to enjoy. And if you love NYC, I think you’ll love how the city is treated as one of the main characters. As a frequent visitor, I love reading about places in NYC I’ve been (or haven’t yet visited!). Last October, while in the city with my parents, we walked the High Line and visited Little Island, one of the spots the friends visit in the book.
I alternated reading a digital copy and listening to an audio copy, and both formats were great. New-to-me (I think) narrator Norma Butikofer does a great job bringing the story to life. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for NetGalley advanced copies in exchange for my honest review. I will be recommending this book to my students - I think they will identify with Riley’s uncertainty about her future, and I love that taking a gap year is encouraged in the book (something I think more people should take advantage of after finishing high school!)

A delightful look at teens finding themselves. I suspect I'm not the only one who can relate to Riley and who wishes they had the opportunity to move to NYC to spend time with a pal like Tom. And who meets friends like Mariella and Luca. There's a bit of romance but it's more about coming of age and coming into your best self. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It might be YA but it's a delightful read regardless of your age.

This is everything I love in an Emma Lord book. This had a lot of heart and made me smile a lot. Highly recommend if you’re a fan of hers or not.

I discovered Emma last year and I absolutely love her. She is definitely an auto buy author.

This read definitely reinforces that. This read was so fun. It says for the fans of “Welcome to New York”- Taylor Swift. But a band of friends like this also always remind me of “New Romantics”.

Emma’s book just made me want to jet set off to New York. I loved the atmosphere of the book. I loved the themes of growing up, and finding yourself. And I loved the romantic undertones. Romance of life, and romance of a SO.

This is a book I would scream to people for. Definitely my favorite book I’ve started 2024 with. I cannot wait to have a hard copy in my hands.

This book was such a delightful break from all the thrillers/ mysteries I’ve been reading this month! I’ve been dipping my toes a bit more into YA novels as of lately and it’s been refreshing! The premises of this one created such a fun and quick read. When Riley graduates high school, with nothing but rejection letters from all the school she’s applied to, she feels lost. She comes up with the idea to head to New York for the weekend to visit her best friend and work on their getaway list. Her mother doesn’t think that’s the best of ideas but with Riley being freshly 18, it really doesn’t matter if her mom okays it or not.

I found the book to be such a fun one. It made me think of when I turned 18 and I thought I knew everything and felt like I didn’t need my mom to tell me if my choices were good or not. Being 32 now, I definitely value my mom’s opinion the most but also had to learn that (sometimes) the hard way(love you mom!). At 18, you are technically an adult but you still have so much to figure out in life. What a great way this novel approached subjects such as the transition between adolescence and adulthood, the meaning of family, education and career choices. Now I want to make my own getaway list!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

✵𝖬𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖲𝗍. 𝖬𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗇’𝗌 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝖤𝗆𝗆𝖺 𝖫𝗈𝗋𝖽 ＆ 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝖦𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖠𝖽𝗏𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋’𝗌 𝖢𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐.✵

This was definitely a cute YA read. Riley and Tom recently graduated high school and spend the weekend catching up after being years apart and run around NYC. Adventure and hijinks ensue. It was so cute getting to see them reconnect and just be kids. We felt young again and nostalgic for our teen years. Loved watching the characters grow and become confident in themselves. If you enjoy YA, this one is for you.

This book was amazing! I love the setting and the characters! I would definitely recommend this book to another romance lover.

So cute!!!! Such a fun book!! I really enjoyed the story and the character growth. I really liked the story between Riley and Tom.

A cute rom com, coming of age story. Riley is struggling to decide what she wants to do since graduating from high school and not getting accepted to any of the colleges she applied to. Her childhood friend has been living in NYC so she decides visiting him may help her figure some things out. Afterall, they have a bucket list of things to do that they never were able to check off before he moved away. I will say I thought the story fun and cute but I do believe I may have been a few years older than the target age. Parts were a little juvenile and I struggled connecting to the main character at times. Honestly though, had there been a point of view from Riley's mom I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Perfect for young teens, especially those trying to find there way into adulthood. Cute clean romance.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

Looking for a cute rom-com book look no further! Riley isn’t sure that do in life after high school graduation day, but she knows she needs to get away from her overbearing mom, especially after being rejected form all 10 colleges she applied to. With a sense of adventure, she hops on a bus to New York to see Tom, her child hood bestie, who she hadn’t seen in 3 years. They decide there's no better way to spend their last summer of freedom than completing all the things on their bucket list - aka “the Getaway list.” Throughout these adventures, Riley and Tom make new friends, while their own relationship becomes something more.

Riley and Tom are very relatable characters; I enjoyed Riley’s goofy nature and whimsical way of just skating through life without a ton of commitment. But when she realizes what she really wants she’s terrified. Riley's journey of self-discovery was a rollercoaster of emotions, one I was all too happy to ride.

I really enjoyed the blossoming of Riley and Tom’s relationship; if you love a good friends to lovers trope here’s a great one. There is also a lot of self reflecting and growth as indiviuals, but also anchoring to each other for love and support too. There are moments of misunderstanding, hurt feelings, and anger, but the authenticity of their feelings and love for each other really shines through.

I read and listened to this book. Lord captures the teenage essence well - full of carefree attitudes, great friend and growing pains.

Growth & Giggles
Sights & Sarcasm
Bands & Brownies
Fiction & Found Family

I loved everything about this book. I feel like Emma Lord just does YA right. If you want a book that will make you think and feel, dive into this.

Riley and Tom have been best friends for a long time, but things changed when Tom moved from Virginia to NYC with his mom. It's been years since they've seen each other, but they've done a decent job of staying in touch. The day Riley graduates she decides enough is enough and makes her way to NYC to see Tom.
Tom and Riley made a Getaway list while in Highschool and never got to it. When Riley heads to New York they start checking them off.

I loved the relationship between Riley and Tom and was rooting for them the entire time. She also had several other characters that I loved as well. This was a heartwarming fun story set in New York and I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending a copy for review.

This was a really cute story! It was fast paced and I didn't find any parts were dragging on at all! I loved the found family vibes of this little close knit friend group that Riley found after arriving in New York! Would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves YA or is just looking for a cute, clean romance book!

The Getaway List by Emma Lord, Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group for the ARC. This is the latest young adult novel from Emma Lord. YA novels have changed since I was a teen because more of the protagonists are 18 and older. This is true for The Getaway List, a love story between Riley and New York City, her mother, and her best friends. Each of these relationships are equally important in this story. Riley leaves her hometown for NYC on the day of her graduation to reconnect with childhood best friend, Tom, who has been more and more distant. In NYC Riley and Tom decide to finally do their Getaway List, a list of adventures they wish they could do together, like going camping and eating at an Instagram-able brownie bakery. Riley and Tom reconnect and feel at once closer than they’ve ever been, but not trusting enough of themselves or each other to be completely honest.



Lord writes NYC through the rosy haze of an 18 year old who sees it as a romantic, magical place of possibilities. It is a sanitized, movie version of the city, and as Riley says, has many realities and many stories crossing at the same time. Emma Lord is able to capture what it feels like to be on the edge of childhood and adulthood, as Riley ventures to make her own decisions for her life, rather than what other people want of her. Riley, Tom. Mariella, Jesse, and Luca are all very relatable and specific characters; each with a chip on their shoulder, missed connections, and guarded hearts. This book made me laugh and cry. It reminded me of the younger version of myself, and I saw myself in Riley’s mom. I would recommend this book for teens and adults alike. It made me want to read all of Lord’s novels. (And maybe hope she will write the sci-fi series the main characters are obsessed with!)

The Getaway List by Emma Lord was such a fun book to read! I felt like I was also on a getaway to NYC, visiting all of the places that the characters enjoyed!
The story begins with Riley, a high school graduate who decides to visit her long lost friend, Tom, in NYC. The two friends had been making a "getaway' list that had never been completed, so while she is there, they start working on checking off the items on the list. While doing this, they meet a slew of new (and old) friends, visit a variety of NYC destinations, and even form a crush on each other.
The characters that they meet along the way were so well developed and lovable. I really enjoyed this book from start to finish, and will definitely be recommending it to my students.
A huge thank to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Riley is graduating high school and didn't get into any colleges - even her safety schools. Tom, her childhood friend who moved to New York City several years ago, reaches out to her the day she graduates. She ultimately goes to NYC to spend time with Tom and try to check off items on the getaway list that they wrote years ago. I was never invested in the characters but this is a cute teen romance that some readers will enjoy.

3.75 out of 5 stars.

The Getaway List is about two best friends Riley and Tom who were separated at the start of high school due to circumstances beyond their control. Riley, who received no college acceptance letters, is okay with this and spontaneously books a bus ticket to New York to visit Tom who she has not seen in three years. When they were freshmen, they wrote a bucket list, The Getaway List. They are on a mission to complete the list during this summer, this last summer before whatever comes after high school.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I feel like this book perfectly captured how exciting and nerve wracking it is to finish high school and not know what you're doing next. The spontaneity and excitement from Riley to complete this Getaway List really enhanced this story that is truly about best friends and gaining new ones. I appreciated how the friendships were portrayed in this book. Everyone was so supportive of each other and they were all positive and healthy connections. I definitely identify with Tom and the "mom friend" tendencies.

Reading this book made me want to take a train to New York for the weekend and just get up to random shenanigans along the way.

This is my first Emma Lord book and it will definitely not be my last!


Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a cute book! There were times where it felt a little too young for my liking, but overall I did enjoy it! It was a such a cute story about romance, friendship, and finding yourself. I loved the whole group of friends and their quick forming bonds. The mother-daughter relationship was so heartwarming too. A cute, fun YA romance!

This book was so much fun. It's the biggest love letter to NYC and an absolute blast to follow this friend group around the city for their shenanigans. I loved that their bucket list was based on their favorite book.

Coming-of-age stories can be very hit or miss for me, but this one was very much a hit. I loved that Riley wasn't afraid to make hard choices in order to stand up for herself. She grows a lot throughout the book, and it was heartwarming to see how all of her choices came to pass.

I adored Riley and Tom's friends-to-lovers arc. The slow burn gives the reader time to fall in love with them as friends before they started acting on their feelings for each other. The side characters in this story also add some top-notch entertainment!

Emma Lord is certainly an auto-buy author, and I was thrilled to get a chance to listen to an early copy of this book. Her writing brings me so much joy, and the narrator's performance made it even better! I don't believe I've listened to anything by Norma Butikofer before, but she played the part of Riley perfectly.

I already can't wait for Emma's next book!