I really enjoy Emma Lord's writing style. She manages to create a story that encompasses YA romance, as well as a lesson about how to live a better life. As Riley graduates from college, she discovers that she has missed out on a lot of life, mostly due to all the activities her mom made her sign up for. One of the biggest things she's missed out on over the last few years is her friendship with her best friend Tom who lives in NYC. In a spur of the moment decision, she decides to head to NYC to spend the weekend with Tom and accomplish some things on their Getaway List. During her time in New York, Riley starts discovering herself and finding some new friends along the way. Her friendship with Tom sparks new feelings. But what kind of risks is Riley willing to take on this new journey?

It's a heartwarming tale of self-discovery that makes you root for Riley, Tom and all of their friends. It's a fun, happy book that will give you all the feels.

Riley graduates highschool and wants nothing more to get out of her town and travel to New York City to see her long lost best friend Tom. Even though she goes against her mom’s wishes this is the only thing in the world she feels she needs to do. And not only that she has a getaway list of things she must do with Tom and has had this list since they were kids.

While a weekend turns into a summer Riley learns so much about herself. She’s becoming independent without her mom constantly babying her. The city changes Riley and even her relationship with Tom. She makes friends, she finds out her passions. And even rebuilds a relationship with her mom.

This is a cute easy YA read I did enjoy it. It’s friends to lovers, big city vibes.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advanced in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Getaway List is another YA coming of age story from Emma Lord and much like her other books, it's charming, full of heart, and reminds what it's like to be young and finding your place in the world. At her high school graduation, Riley realizes her high school years have been focused on making her mom happy and now has no clue what SHE wants out of life. The solution? Go against Mom's wishes and hightail it to New York to see her best friend so they can work their way through the Getaway List they crafted years before.

This was such a sweet story with a fantastic setting and a delightful cast of characters. I loved the banter between Riley and Tom as well as the balance between finding out who you are as you grow and change and how to navigate important relationships amidst those changes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

The fluidity of this author’s writing style is beyond impressive. She has a way of captivating her audience of all ages and making her characters relatable, though she is writing a YA novel. This book is entertaining and has a nostalgic feeling when it comes to plot. The feeling of being carefree with friends while also finding your place in this world.

It’s a really good coming of age story that takes place in that weird transition from high school to adulthood. Reading the personal growth and new found independence was refreshing to see in a YA novel. The emotions felt authentic and reflected the actions that a newly graduated high schooler would do. This was such a good read and I would highly recommend this to anyone. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC

Much like every other Emma Lord book I’ve read, The Getaway List is another captivating coming-of-age story of a young woman working on figuring out who she is and who she wants to become. Riley is a recent high school graduate with no plan for her future who has spent the last few years having all her free time scheduled out by her single mom. Missing her best friend Tom, who moved away a few years prior, she defies her mother’s wishes and runs off to NYC to surprise Tom, and to give herself freedom to pursue her interests and dreams. Along the way, the pair fulfill items on their long running ‘Getaway List’ and pick up some friends along the way. As Riley and Tom become closer and rediscover their tight bond, secrets drive them apart, and they have to come to terms with who they want to be, and whether they fit into each other’s futures. Exciting, earnest, and endearing, The Getaway List is perfect for any age reader, and asks the question if its ever too late to figure out who you want to be.

After graduating from high school, Riley realizes she doesn’t know what she wants. Having spent the last four years trying to be the perfect daughter to her mother, she doesn’t even really know who she is. So instead of dolling her current path, she packs her bags and heads to NYC to visit her best friend Tom for the summer. What started as running away, leads to a summer Riley will never forget.

I just love a good coming of age story! Add in the streets of New York City and it just makes it the much better. I struggled so hard with both Tom and Riley and their relationships with their mothers. I remember those years and how hard it was to communicate with my own mom, Lord hit the nail on the head with navigating those times. I listened to this book while I moved all my furniture away from the leaking ceiling, and it made such an un-fun activity so much more enjoyable! I love Emma Lord’s books and this one was no exception!

I adore Emma Lords writing. Her books are always so lovely and enjoyable, which says a lot coming from me as I’m a very hard YA sell. I almost never fully enjoy them, and I definitely never choose them over other books but I always do hers. They feel real and relatable without over doing it.

While I do feel like a lot of her books follow very similar paths with very similar characters, they’re all special in their own way and they always tug at my heart and put a smile on my face. This one was no exception - I loved it. I loved the relationship with her friends, with her mom and with Tom. I loved her personal journey so much too! Overall it was an excellent book, with excellent writing - just lost that one star for me because I can’t super differentiate between all her books.

“Oh to be young and in New York and living out a rom-com trope…”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Riley is graduating high school and has no plans or college acceptance letters to lean on. She feels like she’s been living for other people (namely, her mom) and is hoping to use the summer to get back to the old Riley.

What better way to find yourself than to jet off to NYC to visit your childhood bestie?

I LOVED being in Tom and Riley’s world.

It was a wholesome whirlwind of sentimental bucket lists, new friends and hobbies, finding yourself and where you belong, karaoke, brownies, love of books and writing, anonymous DoorDash (omg love), lovable side characters and summer crushes, stargazing, and grand gestures.

This was sugary sweet while not shying away from the complicated feelings of growing up and navigating friendships/parent relationships.

Emma Lord is a comfort author to me and this is a new favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc.

Emma Lord books are truly just like a warm hug.

The Getaway List is charming and fun; a story of a summer of friendship and love. Riley graduates high school with no offers for secondary education and decides to take a trip to New York to reunite with her childhood best friend. Together they embark on their “getaway list” to try to make up for lost time together.

I loved that this book explores teens finding their own way and managing parental expectations. It was the perfect mix of cute and real. Emma Lord writes fantastic young adult contemporary stories, blending tough issues with humour and fun. I just love the wholesome vibe of it all!

4.5/5 ⭐
0.0/5 🌶️
5.0/5 🎧

The Getaway List was a really cute coming of age story from Emma Lord. The audio was fantastic and I thought it was a great listen. I really loved these characters and their friends and was rooting so hard for them all to find their way as young adults. Tom and Riley were best friends and their journey to being more was filled with angst, right along side Mariella and Luca's. I also loved the bi rep in Jesse and what we saw of his relationship with Di.

As a mom, it broke my heart seeing Tom and Vanessa's relationship... Especially at the end as we find out exactly what's up with her. But ultimately I was happy with how it all turned out. Riley and her mom's relationship was rocky, but I understood her a little more, not wanting Riley to repeat past mistakes, even if those mistakes were the best part of her life.

Up next from Emma is her debut adult novel and I'm so excited to dive in.

This book was such a fun ride -- I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Riley and Tom are great leads, dealing with very relatable "growing up" issues the summer after high school. All the peripheral characters are fully fleshed out, and the resolution is sweet.

I would feel comfortable handing this one to my younger teenager -- aside from some swearing, it felt very innocent.

This has been the year of Emma Lord for me. I have read all of Emma Lord's published works this year and out of the 4 of them 3 are 5 star reads and 1 is a 4.5.

The Getaway List was a 4.5 star for me, but when I get my hands on the audiobook, I'm sure that it will go up to a 5 star read.

This book is about two best friends separated by circumstance. They have both just graduated high school: Riley has been rejected from every college she applied to and while she's been rushing around to all the activities her mother has signed her up to to keep her out of trouble, she really doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. Her response, visit her best friend Tom in New York. A week turns into a summer, and they complete "the getaway list" a list that they've been making of things they want to do when they see each other. Riley figures out who she wants to be, Tom has his own things happening, and he's feeling out of sorts, and generally it's a great story of friends, and found family, and a love of New York.

Part of the reason that Emma Lord books have hit so hard for me is the emotion that they have in them. This book is no different. The intense emotions that Riley and Tom feel throughout this book as they're really trying their best really hit home for me. They just jump off the screen. These characters are nuanced, imperfect, fun and funky, and I love every single character in this book. The items on the list and the way it all comes together was so much fun to watch, and I had a lot of fun with this group as I read it.

My one issue is that I am very used to the endings of Emma Lord's books hitting really hard, and I felt that this ending was a little rushed for me. While this had been building all book, the solution seemed to come pretty easily, and it was solved a little too quickly for me.

All in all, I had an absolute blast reading this, and I've already preordered the physical book and I am desperately waiting for January 23rd.

this was such a fun and lighthearted YA set in new york. going into this i didn’t know it was YA, which typically isn’t my speed, but this more than made up for it. the characters were incredibly endearing and emma’s writing truly captivated me. i can’t say this’ll be one of my absolute favorites due to some minor character issues (i’m just used to new adult/adult, sue me) but i had a great time nonetheless and would still wholeheartedly recommend

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC.
This is my new favorite Emma Lord book. I have enjoyed all of her previous novels, but the fight for independence in this one resonated with me, and I know it will resonate with young adult readers who are ready to fly, even if their parents are hesitant to let them go. I think this mother/daughter relationship exploration was just so good and needed in this book. While there is some romance here, which is standard for her novels, it did take a backseat to some parental conflict. Lord so eloquently explored what happens when a parental relationship changes due to growing up and wanting to move out/on in life. Riley's exploration of NYC with her friends is the perfect balance to the serious parts of this story. I liked all of the characters here, and they were each richly developed and so fun to spend time with. I just felt like the balance struck in this book was so well done and it kept me engaged and wanting more.

Emma Lord is without a doubt, one of my favourite young adult writers of ALL TIME. Every single release, she continues to progress as a writer... and her characters have so much HEART, and LOVE so hard... I fall in love with every single one of her characters. Main or side. I can't wait to see Emma dive into the Adult romance and know I will just LOVE it!

This is a cute rom com with happy endings for all. The characters are 18 and high school graduates, but the story still feels very innocent and cute. The worries and struggles that they have feel very much like the things that all of us worry about at some point in our lives, and it makes the story and characters so relatable. Even the moms in the story, but that might only be because I'm a mom myself so I also have that POV personally. All of the characters are done really well, there aren't any that I found to be annoying. The setting did seems almost fairy tale-esk since it was supposed to be taking place in New York city - and by that I mean like we were looking at New York with Rose colored glasses, everything was sunshine and rainbows and kids just running around freely. I think if I was a parent of one of these kids I'd be a little more concerned to their safety and well being.

I guess my biggest issue with the story, wasn't really an issue at all - I just don't think that this book was done as well as some of her other ones. There were times where I just didn't want to keep going with the story, because being a rom com I knew it would have a happy ending. That doesn't mean that the story was bad, I just started to lose interest. This is probably a totally personal issue. I'm still a huge fan of Emma Lord and can't wait to read more of her books.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an advance e-copy of #TheGetawayList by Emma Lord to read and review.

This book has so much heart. Gah. I loved it. As an adult who has been out of college for a good while, I loved seeing a fresh-out-of-high school protagonist who has literally no clue what she’s going to do with her life. Seriously though, who actually knows what they actually want at 18?

(Spoiler alert: none of us do. Seriously, none of us. Some are just better at pretending than others.)

This gem of a book leans right into that. The vulnerability that’s occasionally so hard for these characters to lean into is devastating when we actually get to witness it, and the chemistry between Riley and Tom is perfect.

Recommended for those who like:
✨YA romance
✨best friends to lovers
✨New York
✨found family stories
✨complicated families
✨mother-daughter stories

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

The Getaway List is another adorable YA coming of age story from Emma Lord. At her high school graduation, Riley realizes she has spent the past few years trying to please her mom and has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Her solution? Go to New York to see her best friend and complete their childhood Getaway List together.

This was such a sweet story with the most perfect setting. It had a Sarah Dessen in the City vibe and I really enjoyed it. I loved the banter between Riley and Tom and wanted all the scenes with them. The audiobook format is also excellent.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Lord creates the most heartwarming YA romance novels that I have read, and this one is no different. In The Getaway List, we meet Tom and Riley and we see them embark on an adventure to complete "the getaway list", which is essentially a bucket list. Riley meets new friends along the way and discovers so much about herself in the process. I think what Emma Lord does best is create relatable YA characters, and Tom and Riley are no different than the characters in any of her other novels. They have very real feelings and insecurities that get explored in the novel. I really enjoyed reading this novel, and I will always recommend Emma Lord to people that are looking for a cute YA romance story.

There's nothing like an Emma Lord book to make me squeal with glee and want to fly off to New York. The way she romanticizes it in her YA books is my favorite. There are so many places she creates that make me wonder - Is that real? (Brownie Bonanza, please have a real life counterpart)

Riley just graduated and she's in a state of "now what?". I feel like this book bridges the YA and NA audiences and those questions of identity - What am I going to do with my life? What do I want to do? What brings me joy? Riley is effervescent and glowing throughout, due in part to the stunning narration. Pair this with her subtly hot best friend and the mysterious gifting app taking the city by storm and you've got a romcom plot for the ages. There were moments of drama where I had to set my headphones down to really let it sink in and it accented the complete and utter joy throughout the book quite nicely. Emma Lord is a sunbeam and I just want to bask in her writing forever.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC*