Another perfect Emma Lord title! The concept for this book was incredibly unique and masterfully executed.

I was drawn in from the start by the idea of a girl rejected from every college she had applied to, and stayed for the ode to NYC and friendship that this book was. I also loved the novel idea of the “Dear, Love” app, as I’ve never heard of anything similar in real life, but would looove to use it if it were. Oh how I wish I could take off on an adventure of friendship and discovery like a heroine in an Emma Lord novel 😄.

As per usual for Emma Lord, this book will leave you feeling warm, fuzzy, and hungry for monstrously sugary and delectable treats.

3.75 STARS

I thought that this, just like all of Emma Lord's books that I've read up to this point, was a cute coming of age story. I think this one dealt with a bit more of a difficult topic in regards to depression and parental issues.

I thought that "The Getaway List" was a fun concept that teenagers definitely would come up with to do, and getting to watch Tom & Riley (and the crew) go through and complete the items was really fun! It made me want to run away to New York for a summer.

Overall though, I thought that this book was very sweet and will leave you feeling like you got exactly what you went after in reading this book!

3.5/5 rounded up

This book captured what it means to be young and unsure and entirely human. Riley's fears and hesitations and conflict with her mom felt like something so real that so many people can relate to. The time after high school and the question of "what next?" is sooner or later on every persons mind. Finding your place in a city as grand as New York is everyone's dream (or at least mine!) & the author Emma Lord captured this so well. The writing was the perfect balance of beautifully written and cheesy. Riley and Tom felt destined for each other from the very beginning. As a reader it was so clear the type of love between them. This was friends to lovers, a reunion, hidden feelings, and so much more. It was the perfect balance of a light summer of exploration and emotions and insecurities.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This was such a fun YA romance that made me not want to put it down. It’s got childhood best friends to lovers, found family, book lovers, and so much character development. It follows a girl and her childhood best friend as they explore New York together and complete a bucket list they made when they were kids. This is definitely worth the read for any YA romance lovers or anyone that wants to a fun adventure.

I will be withholding all reviews and promotion for St. Martin's Press titles and their imprints until the publisher addresses the concerns of BIPOC and Muslim creators who are being stalked, harassed and feel unsafe due to the actions of a racist employee.

Riley's childhood partner-in-crime Tom moved away due to his mother's job in the entertainment industry, so they created The Getaway List (a sort of teenage bucket list for when they are reunited) and the last few years they have seen little of one another, with Riley's mom seeming to be actively keeping Riley from Tom due to their mischievous misadventures. Usually harmless and sometimes even beneficial, their shenanigans included random acts of kindness, like when they paired up to anonymously leave thoughtful little gifts in the lockers of friends who seem down. Now based in New York, Tom works for an the Dear, Love Dispatch app that pairs anonymous gifters with consenting recipients (and one thing on the list is for Riley to make a delivery for the app). Riley doesn't want to spend her summer post-graduation working in her single mom's coffee shop, and maybe wants to write, so she rather spontaneously decides to go visit Tom in New York. Mom vehemently disagrees... but Riley is eighteen and off she goes. The weekend turns into the summer, and Riley intends to stay and make a go of a life in New York.

The writing is strong--NYC details are vivid, the emotions shimmer off the page, and Lord's "chaos beans" are fully fleshed out characters, as are authentic supporting characters across a range of ethnicities and sexualities that becomes a quick clique: Tom's quirky best New York friend Marissa; Luka, a new buddy met in a writing class who might have a crush on Riley; Jesse, Riley's old boyfriend; Di, who might have a crush on Jesse. The subplot of who likes who and the subsequent angsting adds drama, as does the conflict resolution between Riley and her single mom, and Tom's estrangement from his own career focused mother.

In spite of the time and distance, Riley and Tom pick up their friendship warmly... but the temperature increases when she realizes he movie-star handsome friend has gotten tall, muscled, and well, even hotter. Neither seems to want to make any romantic leap that could jeopardize their friendship, but the chemistry and FEELINGS are there and this slow burn has many romantic moments, even before they declare themselves (there is some passionate kissing, but any further details are left behind closed doors). Their initial meet cute was over a fantasy fandom, and part of their getaway list is based on locations, fanfic, and events central to the invented Tides of Time franchise. Pop culture mentions may eventually date the story, but Taylor Swift and McFlurries are perennial.

I received a free advance readers copy (and listener's audio edition!) of #TheGetawayList from #NetGalley; this will post to The Hip Librarians Book Blog on January 23, 2024.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ <b>The Getaway List</b> by Emma Lord

<b>At a Glance:</b>

👫 Friends to Lovers
🏠 Found Family
⚔️ Fandom Rep
🏙️ NYC Backdrop
👧 Coming of Age

Emma Lord consistently delivers high quality YA. This book is no exception and just might rival <i>Tweet Cute</i> as my favorite read of hers overall.

Riley's voice is strong in this thoughtful narrative of a young girl navigating her way through life after college. It's a tale as old as time, but Lord breathes fresh life into it with hilarious one-liners and pithy dialogue. The characters are as relatable as they are lovable. (Luca was just an absolute delight. I'd read an entire book about him alone!)

One of my favorite parts of this was the focus on fandom and how it brings people together. As a writer, thinking about how Lord expertly crafted a world within a world was just so damn clever. And the way she weaved the pieces throughout the entire story? Genius. I'd give her five stars all over again just for accomplishing that feat so smoothly.

There are a few plot points that I can already see some reviewers hating. This is classic YA and a lot of the thematic issues are par for the course. I'm not going to lower a review for characters making decisions that are completely in line with their motivation just because I don't personally agree. So, sure, I didn't love <i>that thing that character did</i>, but I understood it. Being a teenager is hard.

This book is so heartfelt and tender that it even got me to shed a few tears. (All of the exploration of the relationship between mothers and children? Water works over here.) Getting me to cry at YA? Here are your stars. 👑

Grades 9 and up. There is some mild cursing, but not much else by way of seriously mature content. I just don't know that kids who aren't yet considering life after high school would be interested or could relate just yet.

Needless to say, Emma Lord remains one of the reigning queens of YA and will continue to be an auto-read for me. (I also can't wait to read her adult offering! Ahh!)

ARC provided by Netgalley via Wednesday Books. All thoughts are my own!

The Getaway List is my third read by Emma Lord, so I was very excited to see what this story had to offer. The story opens with Riley graduating high school, which is a bittersweet moment for her. She sees her friends going off to college and her best friend, Tom, has moved to New York to be his mom. Riley takes it as a sign to take a gap year to accomplish the “getaway list” that her and Tom crafted. The two begin adventures together during their time in New York, which highlights some great times in the city. The story focuses on two pieces where the reader follows Tom and Riley along with their friends, Jesse, Luca, and Mariella, accomplishing their list and exploring Tom and Riley’s past. The main plot seems to be the evolution of Tom and Riley’s friendship and how they may or may not feel more.

Tom and Riley have spent time apart before meeting again in New York, so it was nice seeing how the well-acquainted friends came back together. Their adventures throughout New York to try and make the most of their time together were very enjoyable. I liked seeing the two of them getting closer than best friends. There is a lot in the story with the coming of age, the transition period after high school, and the evolving of relationships. Overall, this was a great read by Lord and I can’t wait to read more in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Sometimes I'm just in the mood for some good fun YA rom-com escape, and Emma Lord is peak of this sub-genre for me - cute but not cutsey, light but not too fluffy, and always these infectious main characters and overall feeling of cheer and energy. Plus this one, like my all-time favorite of hers (Tweet Cute) is back in a New York City setting, which just feels so vicariously fun, like living the best parts of the city and of teenage life/friendship in a great teen movie or something. In The Getaway List, Riley is graduating high school in a bit of a funk - she hasn't felt quite herself for a couple of years since her best friend Tom moved to NYC, her mom over-scheduled her with extracurriculars to keep her from getting into more antics/pranks, and she didn't get accepted by any of the colleges she applied to. Before starting her summer of work, she spontaneously decides to drop in on Tom for the weekend so they can finally do at least one thing on their "getaway list", a list created over the years of all the things they wanted to do together but couldn't because of some sort of disappointing last-minute cancellation in plans by one of their moms. Reunited after a few years, they pick right back up where they left off in their friendship bond, but there's another little spark too... and one weekend turns into a whole summer as they have fun together, create a fabulous little friend group (such good found-family feels! almost felt -in a good way - like reading the YA, summertime version of The Christmas Orphans Club, since I read that so recently), and all work through their personal situations (reconnecting with sense of self, overcoming loneliness, navigating parental expectations with personal dreams/goals). There are some real emotions and coming-of-age considerations, but it's not an "issues" book - so it feels fizzy and fun but still manages to avoid the fluff. Delightful.

Riley’s life is not going the way she expected. So when she graduates high school without any concrete plans, she decides to move to New York for the summer to visit her best friend Tom. Tom moved away a few years ago, and Riley is hoping they can make up for lost time and make progress on their “Getaway List” — a list of various adventures they made after Tom left. When Riley gets to New York, she senses something is amiss with Tom but the two quickly fall into old patterns, even as Riley begins to notice new types of feelings for Tom. As the two develop a group of friends and go on adventures across the city, Riley faces whether she’ll return home at the end of the summer and what that choice will mean for the future of her and Tom’s relationship.

This was a great book. Alternatively heartwarming and heartbreaking, it is a touching story about first loves and first steps as an adult.

Highly recommended!

Emma Lord is an auto-read author for me, and she stays true to what she does best in her latest YA novel. She articulates well the coming-of-age struggles of teenagers, and mixes in a sweet love story too.

Tom and Riley, or shall we say TomandRiley or RileyandTom, are childhood best friends who have been physically separated for the past few years. Riley decides to head to New York to see Tom in a spur of the moment decision, and after a fight with her mom, she decides to stay in NYC to help find her old self... or find her new self. Tom, Riley, and their new friends set off to complete tasks on their "Getaway List", which takes them all over the city, and helps them learn more about themselves and come to terms with who they used to be and who they want to be.

This story is adventurous, fun, and relatable. I found the characters endearing for the most part. I loved Riley's curiosity but disliked her attitude at the beginning. I loved Tom's willingness to do so much for others, but disliked how uncommunicative he could be at times. But all of that is what led to the struggle of the characters as they learn and grow. Tom and Riley are sweet together - and while I think their level of BFF always seemed more physical than just friends, it was sweet to see them realize their love for each other and to come together.

All in all, this wasn't my favorite of Lord's, but I did really enjoy it!

CW: lots of cuss words including lots of F-words (which surprised me, I don't remember her previous books having so much language), kissing only

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the free advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

{ Vivid. Ragtag. Uplifting.

Emma Lord has done it again. 

The Getaway List *may* have replaced When You Get the Chance as my favorite of her novels. 

The characters are lovable, the dialogue is hilarious, the emotions are heartfelt, and the pacing is perfect. 

It's truly a must-read for fans of young adult coming-of-age stories.

Riley graduates high school and has no idea who she is anymore, so she packs her bags and moves to New York for the summer to reconnect with her best friend Tom and get in touch with her old adventurous self.

This is a sweet coming of age story as Riley grows up and learns how to make decisions for herself. There is a great group of supportive friends, fun bucket-list adventures, and explorations throughout New York City.

We see complex family dynamics between Riley and her mom, and some brewing romance with her bestie Tom. It's an uplifting story for anyone who has felt a bit lost in the world.

Emma Lord is an auto-read author for me so I always recommend her books, and now I'm even more excited for her contemporary romance debut this summer.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my complimentary copy; it hits shelves January 23.

I am trying very hard to not scream about this but I’m so sorry I cannot contain it. I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THIS BOOK!!!!!! I’ve loved everything Emma has ever written and I will follow her to the ends of the earth but this was my favorite book she’s written.

I very rarely highlight the books I read and I found myself highlighting so many lines because they felt like they came deep from within my soul. The best way I can describe this book is that it made me feel seen while also hugging me.

Thank you, thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I absolutely cannot wait to buy a copy when it releases!

“The Getaway List” is an adventure through New York City! Taking place at a pivotal time in the main character’s life, she must decide what’s next after high school graduation. This story is fast-paced, and filled with fun and friendship.

For those who enjoy:
🌇 New York City
🌆 Friends-to-Lovers
🌇 Young Adult
🌆 Found family
🌇 Adventures with your best friends

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 STARS

Content Warning: neglectful parent, challenging parent relationships

+ There is a lot I like about this book. I could relate to Riley’s confusion about what to do with her life now that she graduated high school and how she and her mom don’t see eye to eye on her future. I loved seeing New York City through her eyes and trying to find herself after being what her mom wanted for years in high school.

+ New York City is the perfect city for this story. It’s a place of endless possibilities as Riley finds out, but I did also like Riley’s mom’s backstory about why NYC wasn’t the best place for Riley. In the end it’s a good fit for Riley and she makes a bunch of new friends and even helps her best friend, Tom, fall in love with the city. The secondary characters really bring this story to life.

+ Riley isn’t the only one dealing with parental issues. Tom’s mom is neglectful and spends most of her time on work -which really sucks for Tom. Both Riley and Tom doesn’t have any ties to their fathers or at least they’re not in the picture while this story is unfolding. But where Riley can actually argue with her mom and talk things out, Tom and his mom barely have any communication which is sad. 

+ This is a best-friends to lovers romance and it’s a slow burn. There are so many other issues Riley and Tom need to take care of to really talk about their relationship. It builds and I love their friendship so much, it almost felt natural for them to take it a step further – but they do so while keeping in mind they both have some issues to work on with their mothers and their plans going forward.

My Thoughts:

I enjoy this book a lot – there is just something about books set in New York City that is so much fun. I love Riley and Tom and the group of friends they have together. They are all in the same age group and trying to basically find their way but having fun at it! It’s a really enjoyable coming of age story. If you like a best friends to lovers romance and you love stories set in New York City – you will definitely enjoy this one.

Riley has just graduated highschool, she hasn't been accepted into any colleges. She feels lost. When she chats with her best friend Tom, she decides to go to NYC for the weekend. Her mom is less than happy about her plans. Riley and Tom decide to work on their getaway list and find new friends in the process. I really loved this book. Their friendships and adventures were so much fun. I've added some things to see when I go to NYC. This book had me laughing and crying in parts.

I really love Emma Lord's engaging YA stories and this one did not disappoint! As Riley participates in her high school graduation and is facing a mountain of college refusals, she decides to take a quick weekend trip to NYC to visit her childhood best friend Tom. Tom's been increasingly distant and Riley's hoping to get his support as she navigates figuring out what she wants to do. Like Lord's other YA stories. NYC is almost its own character and Riley's expanded friend group is wonderful. Riley grows up and navigates adult decisions including understanding her budding attraction for Tom, while also trying to establish an adult relationship with her mother.
Highly recommend if you like friends-to-lovers or fun 'found family' stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review..

Emma Lord delivers again with fun characters that one can imagine as friends. Riley's decision to visit her friend Tom and tackle the remainder of the Getaway List they made before he moved made for an interesting adventure. I love the focus on the friendship between Riley and Tom. While it is obvious they have feelings for each other, they took a backseat to the support they needed to give each other over their relationships with their moms. I really enjoyed this one!

This book was a really cute coming of age story. Tom & Riley were so easy to fall in love with along and easy to root for. I felt like I maybe would’ve enjoyed this more if I was a little bit younger and possibly going through a lot of what the characters went through (18, graduating, moving to a new city, starting fresh, etc.). Although still loveable, after awhile the characters felt really needy / complained a lot which is not what I cared to read about. It was cute, just a slight miss for me personally!

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this book / audiobook!