A review by bookcheshirecat
The Getaway List by Emma Lord

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

The Getaway List follows best friends Riley and Tom as they reunite in New York! Tom moved away years earlier and with their graduation done, Riley finally has the chance to meet him in person again, especially as he has been bad at keeping up via text. I liked the setup, as Riley herself is a bit unsure of what to do with herself after high school. She hasn't received any college acceptances because of a suspension on her permanent record and her mother has been overscheduling her with extracurriculars and side jobs, so she doesn't get into trouble.

I loved the discussions about finding who you are and feeling out of touch with yourself. I felt for Riley as she hated how her mother didn't leave her any time to figure out who she was and now she feels scattered and lost. I liked the complicated dynamic between Riley and her mother, it was very well-written. Riley's mother clearly means well, but her controlling tendencies when it comes to Riley's free time did more harm than good. She's so caught up in making sure Riley doesn't get into trouble like she did as a teenager, that she never considered that Riley was feeling miserable. At the same time, Riley never really voiced her feelings until she decided to ignore her mother and stay in New York for the summer!

The adventures in New York were fun to read about and I loved Riley's friend group! Apart from Tom, she also meets sweet, shy Luca who wants to be a writer and energetic Mariella, who's an aspiring photographer, but had a tough time in high school. Then there's also Jesse, an old school friend of Tom and Riley's who now has his own band! Together, they are working on the ritual Getaway List, a list of activities that Tom and Riley came up with, that they were never able to do together. There is a lot of love for New York in this book, as Riley falls for the city immediately!

Sadly, this wasn't my favorite Emma Lord book though. Despite liking a lot about The Getaway List, compared to her other books it didn't pack the same punch and the characters didn't stand out to me. I had several issues with this book which kept it from being a 4 star read:
  • The pacing was surprisingly slow and the book dragged in the end. It's on the shorter side, but compared to her other books, it took me a while to read. I never had the urge to fly through this book and kept getting distracted, as sometimes the plot could get repetitive. In the end, I was a bit exhausted by Riley's inner monologue about New York, Tom and her mother.
  • I didn't feel any romantic tension between Tom and Riley. Since the book focuses so much on their relationship, this meant I got tired of the 'will they, won't they' really fast. Tom was a sweet character, but I never completely fell for him, as he wasn't that charming or memorable. Their friendship dynamic felt realistic and supportive, but I never saw any romantic spark between them. For me, their slowburn romance felt a bit forced and very rushed in the end. 
  • The book felt like it was trying to cram too many things in at once and lost focus. I loved that the characters were fans of a fictional book series called Tides of Time and are clearly nerdy about it (there are references to fanfiction writing), but it kind of got lost among the larger plot. Between Riley wanting to become a writer, the uncertainty of her future, her feelings for Tom, the Dear, Love App and the Getaway List, there wasn't much space for anything else.
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