Name: Stella's review of The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott
Item: The Lucky List
Rating: 5
Author: Stella

Rachael Lippincott

From the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Five Feet Apart comes a gripping new romance, perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Two girls, one list and twelve chances to fall in love this summer . . . Emily’s always been lucky. Well, technically her mum was the lucky one, and since she died, Emily’s started to feel like her luck’s run out. So when Emily finds her mum’s senior-year bucket list, she finds twelve ways to feel close to her again. But if she wants to check everything off, she’ll need help – help in the form of Blake. As Blake and Emily work through the list, the girls’ bond deepens. Emily is starting to feel lucky again, but she’s faced with the question: can she accept this new part of herself, the part her mum never even knew existed? A captivating, heartfelt love story about learning who you are, and who you love, when the person you’ve always shared yourself with is gone.

The Lucky List

From the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Five Feet Apart comes a captivating, heartfelt love story about learning who you are, and who you love, when the person you've always shared yourself with is gone.

Two girls, one list and twelve chances to fall in love . . .

Julia Rutgers

It fills my chest with a feeling that makes the lemonade sweeter, the night alive, the wind tugging at my wet hair as we sit here together, the soft hum of a radio somewhere in the distance.

I feel . . . exhilarated, though. Like my body's been asleep and I just woke it the hell up. Like I haven't used it properly and it wants me to, long-dormant adrenaline coursing through my veins, making me feel like I can conquer just about anything. 

Making me feel the tiniest bit . . . invincible.

Rising high school senior Emily felt lucky until her mother's death, but now, with childhood friend Blake, she sets out to accomplish every exciting, scary, and intimidating task on her mother's bucket list.

Manon Clarijs

“Even though our moms lived such short lives, think about how much good they had in them. The people they meant something to. The lives they touched. The adventures they had. The lists they finished. They were lucky, Em. We’re all lucky, not because everything works out, but because we get to wake up in the morning and take chances and make mistakes and keep trying not to.”

I like where this is going. It’s so sweet and thoughtful 

“What I’m trying to say here is that you should do something to feel close to her. In a new way. New memories to substitute for that house-shaped void you’re feeling.” She grins and points at my pocket, the outline of the folded list pressing through the fabric. “Actually, you could even do that bucket list. I mean, what’ve you got to lose?”

Everyone in Huckabee knows that you can’t go to a bingo fundraiser in the summer without going to get ice cream after. It’d be like going to the movies and not getting popcorn. Or going to the pool and forgetting your swimsuit. There would be no point going. 

This book is so good I love the romance and the way the book progresses I really really hope that there is a sequel that is Blake and Emily completing there bucket list 

Stella

nienke

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott
4.25 / 5 stars

One of my first sapphic young adult books and I loved it!
How Emily's story is told is very emotional. She lost her mom at a young age and is trying to cope with that, while at the same time going through puberty and everything that comes along with it. There was strong character development; Emily accepted herself how she is and not how others wanted her to be. 

I loved the concept of the bucket list and while some parts were a bit rushed, it still made a lot of sense. I might have almost cried and squealed while reading on the train hahah

lea da silva

what a wonderful, wonderful read! the way this book approaches grief, love, finding and accepting yourself is kind, gentle and incredibly funny. the characters are given space to grow, to make mistakes without being judged. we get to understand emily and how she pushes people away (including herself) the relationship between blake & emily is natural and very, very touching and heartwarming. blake understands emily so well, is patient enough to let find her own answers without pushing her. their relationship is beautiful from start to finish. this book is impossible to put down! and i would recommend to anyone who might need a bit of courage and heart

Joan 

Dilayra Verbrugh

Absolutely a beautiful story about self discovery, trying new things and love. 
It’s a sapphic story with short chapters and the author has an amazing writing style!

mia ¿

i won a copy of this book from a goodreads giveaway :)

i honestly enjoyed this book a lot more than i thought i would. at first, i really didn't feel like reading a knockoff of since you've been gone that also largely centered around grief. the premise did feel a little unoriginal, but it took it in a different direction than since you've been gone, and the "checking things off a bucket list" is usually pretty fun and summery, so i ended up enjoying it. 

i'm not very good at structuring reviews, but here's what i liked about the lucky list:
1. this book was very easy to read. i read it extremely fast even though i wasn't trying to. i really liked how easy it was to jump into the book, as none of it felt too dense. (BUT i still wouldn't have minded a bit more lyrical writing compared to the casual writing we did get, even if this would've made it a little harder/slower to read)
2. this book had a great summery vibe and i would definitely recommend it as a beach read. it was not only a great seasonal setting, but also a great location setting as it was set in a small town and it was very fun to read about the town's little quirks.
3. the grief aspect of the book was actually handled very well and i liked how this part of the plot tied into emily's struggles to accept herself for who she is even tho it differs from who her mother knew her as. there were also some really beautiful conversations about grief and death between emily and blake that i was not expecting, which was a nice surprise.
4. my absolute favorite part of this book was its depiction of comp-het. i haven't seen it portrayed in many queer ya stories so i thought it was really great that it was explored in this book. i think it's really important for young readers to learn that just because everyone tells you that you should be with someone, that doesn't mean you should be if you don't feel anything for them in return. societal expectations can be really hard to fight against, and not enough books show how these expectations can really confuse teenagers and young adults about their feelings and their identity.

now for the things i didn't really like about the lucky list (it's mostly just nit-picking):
1. as i previously mentioned, the writing was a bit too casual for my liking. the conversations all felt real, soi was fine with those being casual, but much of emily's narration felt a little too obvious and i thought a lot of things could've been left unsaid. there were also a few references to popular songs and for some reason that always feels really awkward to me in books, but it's not a big deal. i think younger ya readers wouldn't mind the casual writing or references, so it didn't bug me too much.
2. i honestly thought the book could have been longer. when comparing the lucky list to since you've been gone, it felt like the items on the list were tackled way too quickly in the former (though i could be mistaken, because i think i read since you've been gone at least 5 years ago). i just thought it was odd that emily didn't even find the list until about a third of the way into the book, since it left not much time to really dwell on each task. the book didn't actually feel too short, but just a tiny bit rushed maybe.
3. i didn't understand why all of emily's friends thought she should get back together with matt after ruining their relationship for like a 4th time. i know they're just kids in high school, but i feel like teenagers are smart enough to realize that if a relationship isn't working, so much so that multiple breakups have happened, maybe the two people should just move on. i completely understood emily's reasoning as to why she was committed to the relationship despite her own mixed feelings about matt, but i found it weird how keira and the rest of matt's friends really just accepted this on-again off-again relationship as healthy for both matt and emily.
4. i personally didn't like the grand gesture ending. (view spoiler)[ at the end of the book, to win blake back, emily prepares a personalized gift basket and rigs the bingo game to make sure blake wins. this is cute in theory, but it's stated that everyone in the whole town goes to these bingo games. it just seems a little unrealistic that emily, who only recently accepted her identity and came out to the people closest to her, would feel comfortable coming out to her whole town. it was just an uncomfortable scene in my opinion because after they kiss, it feels like people are going to applaud but it's subverting by a guy getting mad that the game was rigged.  (hide spoiler)] grand gestures are fine when they're done in private, but in public they make me very uncomfortable. i think this also has to do with how grand gestures of affection in public often make it hard for the person receiving the grand gesture to reject it. still, this didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story, it was just not how i would have written the ending.

overall, i really enjoyed this book and it made me excited for summer. it was really cute and beachy, and i think it would really appeal to younger ya readers. if i had read it when i was 13 or 14, about the age i was when i read since you've been gone, i think i would have fallen in love with this book. i think i may just be growing out of the ya genre, but that's ok with me. still, i think there is a lot of value in this book, whether you're a teenager or an adult. 4 stars. :)

Jane The Bookaholic

⭐️ 3.5 Stars ⭐️

It was so so cute and adorable, and definitely one of the best coming of age stories I read this year!! 
I loved the plot, characters, and just how everything was. I loved the ending and I think the story was made really well. Definitely recommend.

Alice

Alisha E Tucker

Definitely a sad start! But inspiring too! 

Emily and her mom were always super close, and lucky! But once her mom got sick all their luck faded. 
3 years after her mom's passing, during the summer before her last year of highschool, her dad decides to sell their house. Not to mention she gets into a fight with her friends, and breaks up with her boyfriend. What she thinks is going to be the worst summer turns into the best when she finds her moms summer to do list, best part is her parents old friend has moved back into town with his daughter Blake! 
Blake and Emily have a fun adventurous summer! But is their friendship more than that ?

Ainsley Lamont

The Lucky List. The one book that was finally able to beat Every Other Weekend. The book I fell in love with right from the first page. 

Emily was such a beautiful character who was a circle in square peg. She always felt off in her relationship with Matt, and felt off in the world. Until she met Blake. It was then when everything changed. 

I also loved that the book was like opening up a puzzle. You have all the pieces but the picture isn't formed yet. By the end everything is put together but you are missing one piece. That's the piece Emily has to put in. The piece that keeps you on your seat till the end.

Natalie 

This book is heartwarming and so fun to read. It's an easy read that is very light and not to heavy with info. Love this book so much!

Eilidh 

I love Emily and Blake's relationship the beach trip, tattoo parlor and ending especially.
The characters were totally believable and so was the plot.
I understand why Emily chose to do what she did but I don't support it.
Totally worth the anticipation. 
100/10. Recommend it to all. I just loved this book.

I love Emily and Blake's relationship (view spoiler)[ the beach trip, tattoo parlor and ending especially  (hide spoiler)].
The characters were totally believable and so was the plot.
I understand why Emily chose to do what she did but I don't support it.
Totally worth the anticipation. 
100/10. Recommend it to all. I just loved this book.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

This was the sweetest book about grief and loss and finding yourself and forgiving yourself and just- an all around lovely novel. 
I really loved Blake and Emily and their whole dynamic. 
Highly recommend if you like slowburn romances, summer bucket list adventures, small town charm, with a dash of heavier things, like grief, loss and heartache. 


Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss for the eARC.

Ali &
The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott

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