The Getaway List by Emma Lord
"High school is over..now what? Join Riley as she reunites with her best friend in NYC for a summer adventures and discoveries."
Review By: Katie Feulner
Published: 2024; Wednesday Books
Genre: Coming of age; Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Teen
Audience: 9, 10, 11, 12
Triggers: Emotional struggles, Personal Trauma, Social Pressure
Goodreads Review: The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List ― a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away ― will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.
Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young―except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart.
Inescapably romantic and brimming with Emma Lord’s signature cheer, The Getaway List is an uplifting and romantic read that will settle into your heart and never leave.
Review: "The Getaway List finds Riley Larson at her high school graduation. She’s been rejected from all ten colleges she applied to. She’s been in a funk for awhile, not sure what next steps to take. She also misses her best friend, Tom, who moved to New York City with his mom a few years ago. Once she finds out that a friend of hers, who’s also in a band, is moving with the band to NYC, she gets the idea to take a weekend trip to visit Tom and ‘recharge her batteries’. There’s also the Getaway List- a list of adventures and activities Tom and Riley made once Tom moved away. She’s hoping to do some of these activities with Tom in an effort to catch up and
reconnect.
With themes of letting go of expectations and self discovery, The Getaway List is a fun read from start to finish. Riley and Tom’s relationship evolves and changes as they spend time together and reconnect. It’s refreshing and reassuring because it shows readers that it’s ok not to know what your future holds and maybe going away to college or ‘signing your life away’ isn’t for everyone. Riley builds a small group of friends who are in similar situations and they cross items off the Getaway List together.
I think high school students will be drawn to the brightly colored cover and the cityscape as well. Some may even recognize it as NYC! I could make curricular connections with goal setting, planning for the future and perhaps even taking an interest survey to decide what classes and electives to take. Students could also make getaway lists of their own as a research activity. They could research a place they would like to travel to and make a list of fun or unique things they want to do when in this place. Or even an ‘at home’ getaway list of things they want to do or accomplish before they graduate from high school."
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