A review by texassippiwill
Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I will go ahead and bury the lead, I really enjoyed this one. As someone dealing with grief from the loss of a parent over the past couple years; this is one of the few books that has been able to truly encapsulate what it feels like. For me, grief sucks and it feels like a permanent cloud that is always in the sky; but the sun does still come out and eventually if you just allow it to keep coming out and appreciate the things that it still shines its light on, you can begin to look at the sky and see a "cloudy day" and not just focus on the one storm cloud. This book does a good job of being able to explore the ups and downs of grief but not make the entire story feel like you are constantly stuck underneath the blanket of it but still doesn't ignore the inevitable fact that it is permanently there. There is still joy, fun and adventure throughout. I faced two main challenges while reading this book. One was that I found myself having to go back and reread a few parts, not because of issues with the content but because I would find myself thinking about my own life at times due to the different emotions you would sometimes get put through while reading. Secondly, I found the lead character challenging at times. Mainly due to the realness of her. She had moments that many of us face when both dealing with self-confidence issues and in finding ourselves again when we deal with the loss of a very close loved one. I don't view either of those things as negatives, just being real about what were challenges for me while reading. I do think that different audiences will have different experiences with this book. If you are a person dealing with grief and have a hard time with those moments where you begin to reminisce about a loved one. Not being able to escape the pain that comes with those memories and also recognize the joy in them, you may have a hard time with this book at times. I also think if you have a hard time with stories that make rapid changes in emotion this one may be a little bit of a challenge as well. But if you enjoy books that challenge your emotions or have reached that point in dealing with grief where you can absorb tough moments but still see the beauty in them as well, this is a must-read.