Bubbling up with Helena

• Title: The Getaway List
• Author: Emma Lord
• Publisher: Wednesday Books
• Release Date: 1/23/24
• Genre: Romance
• Age Range: Young Adult
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Publisher’s Summary: 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.

It is no secret that I love Emma Lord’s books. I was so excited when I got the email with the ARC to her next book, The Getaway List. I had to drop every other book on my list in order to start reading it immediately. It did not disappoint. The Getaway List is full of Emma Lord’s signature charm and Taylor Swift references.

I love the way Lord’s books center familial and friend relationships just as much as romantic relationships. Riley finds a group of friends during her summer in New York including Luca, whose parents own a viral brownie bakery, and Mariella, a budding app developer. Lord makes them feel like real people with full lives outside of the scope of the story.

Parent and child relationships also feature prominently in Lord’s work, and The Getaway List is no exception. Both Tom and Riley harbor a lot of resentment against their mothers at the beginning of the novel. They manage to help each other work towards healing these relationships in a beautiful way.

Similarly, Tom and Riley have to address some old wounds in their friendship. At the beginning of the book, Riley laments that she and Tom used to be so close, but that he barely texts her anymore. They are able to address these issues and work through them together. Lord has a knack for making her readers laugh while feeling all the feelings.

Lord has a descriptive style that is distinctively her. It is funny and incredibley vivid at the same time. Riley describes summer in NYC, “Summer in New York makes me feel jealous of fried eggs, because at least at some point they get taken off the pan.” As someone reading this line in the summer in the New York City area, I cackled reading this line, and then read it out loud to my husband. Lord so perfectly captures the specific experience of a humid day in the city.

Lord is a well-documented Swiftie, and the way she references Taylor Swift and her music in this book brings me such joy. Jesse, Riley’s ex-boyfriend, has a Taylor Swift tattoo, and Lord even describes “his punk-rock cover of ‘Cardigan.'” I love that Lord brings whimsy and humor into her pop culture references.

As someone who used to live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the little easter eggs about the UWS made me smile. Lord references a Housing Works on Columbus Avenue and 74th Street, and I used to live around the corner from that thrift store. The book also references the branch of the Strand Bookstore on 82nd and Columbus, and I go there all the time. It made me feel lIke I was in my old neighborhood.

I already cannot wait to read Lord’s next novel. In the meantime, I’ll just have to reread all of her other books while I wait for the next one. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Getaway List when it is released in January.