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About The Book

Rachael Lippincott, coauthor of #1 New York Times bestseller Five Feet Apart, weaves a “breezy…truly charming” (Kirkus Reviews) love story about learning who you are, and who you love, when the person you’ve always shared yourself with is gone.

Emily and her mom were always lucky. But Emily’s mom’s luck ran out three years ago when she succumbed to cancer, and nothing has felt right for Emily since.

Now, the summer before her senior year, things are getting worse. Not only has Emily wrecked things with her boyfriend Matt, who her mom adored, but her dad is selling the house she grew up in and giving her mom’s belongings away. Soon, she’ll have no connections left to Mom but her lucky quarter. And with her best friend away for the summer and her other friends taking her ex’s side, the only person she has to talk to about it is Blake, the swoony new girl she barely knows.

But that’s when Emily finds the list—her mom’s senior year summer bucket list—buried in a box in the back of her closet. When Blake suggests that Emily take it on as a challenge, the pair set off on a journey to tick each box and help Emily face her fears before everything changes. As they go further down the list, Emily finally begins to feel close to her mom again, but her bond with Blake starts to deepen, too, into something she wasn’t expecting. Suddenly Emily must face another fear: accepting the secret part of herself she never got a chance to share with the person who knew her best.

About The Author

courtesy of author

Rachael Lippincott is the coauthor of All This Time, #1 New York Times bestseller Five Feet Apart, She Gets the Girl, and Make My Wish Come True and the author of The Lucky List and Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, she currently resides in Pennsylvania with her wife, daughter, and dog, Hank.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (June 1, 2021)
  • Length: 304 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781534468559
  • Grades: 7 and up
  • Ages: 12 - 99
  • Lexile ® 850L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

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Raves and Reviews

"A countdown to finishing the list before a class trip keeps the pacing solid, and an entertaining unraveling of connections to her parents’ pasts adds nice depth. Told in Emily’s first-person narration, the breezy tale explores the theme of learning to live life without holding back, as Emily both questions her sexuality and learns to heal from her grief....A truly charming summer romp."

– Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2021

"Solid pacing, paired with Emily’s accessible first-person perspective, keeps the pages turning. In her solo debut, Lippincott presents nuanced characterization and pays particular respect to the grief process, offering an affecting core to this sweet contemporary summer romance."

– Publisher's Weekly, May 2021

"An enchanting novel that combines summer romance with deeper themes of coming to terms with the life you have and choosing the life you want to live."

– The Amazon Book Review, June 2021

"The first-person narrative subtly explores the interplay of Emily's grief, social pressures, and self-discovery in a quietly meaningful tone...Reminiscent of Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Jason Reynolds's The Boy in the Black Suit, this is a gentle and moving exploration of grief and what it can mean to move forward without a loved one, perfect for fans of romance and realistic fiction."

– School Library Journal, June 2021

"An involving novel of challenges, change, and growing self-awareness."

– Booklist online, July 2021

"A countdown to finishing the list before a class trip keeps the pacing solid, and an entertaining unraveling of connections to her parents’ pasts adds nice depth. Told in Emily’s first-person narration, the breezy tale explores the theme of learning to live life without holding back, as Emily both questions her sexuality and learns to heal from her grief....A truly charming summer romp."

– Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2021

"Solid pacing, paired with Emily’s accessible first-person perspective, keeps the pages turning. In her solo debut, Lippincott presents nuanced characterization and pays particular respect to the grief process, offering an affecting core to this sweet contemporary summer romance."

– Publisher's Weekly, May 2021

"An enchanting novel that combines summer romance with deeper themes of coming to terms with the life you have and choosing the life you want to live."

– The Amazon Book Review, June 2021

"The first-person narrative subtly explores the interplay of Emily's grief, social pressures, and self-discovery in a quietly meaningful tone...Reminiscent of Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Jason Reynolds's The Boy in the Black Suit, this is a gentle and moving exploration of grief and what it can mean to move forward without a loved one, perfect for fans of romance and realistic fiction."

– School Library Journal, June 2021

"An involving novel of challenges, change, and growing self-awareness."

– Booklist online, July 2021

"A countdown to finishing the list before a class trip keeps the pacing solid, and an entertaining unraveling of connections to her parents’ pasts adds nice depth. Told in Emily’s first-person narration, the breezy tale explores the theme of learning to live life without holding back, as Emily both questions her sexuality and learns to heal from her grief....A truly charming summer romp."

– Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2021

"Solid pacing, paired with Emily’s accessible first-person perspective, keeps the pages turning. In her solo debut, Lippincott presents nuanced characterization and pays particular respect to the grief process, offering an affecting core to this sweet contemporary summer romance."

– Publisher's Weekly, May 2021

"An enchanting novel that combines summer romance with deeper themes of coming to terms with the life you have and choosing the life you want to live."

– The Amazon Book Review, June 2021

"The first-person narrative subtly explores the interplay of Emily's grief, social pressures, and self-discovery in a quietly meaningful tone...Reminiscent of Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Jason Reynolds's The Boy in the Black Suit, this is a gentle and moving exploration of grief and what it can mean to move forward without a loved one, perfect for fans of romance and realistic fiction."

– School Library Journal, June 2021

"An involving novel of challenges, change, and growing self-awareness."

– Booklist online, July 2021

Awards and Honors

  • Kansas NEA Reading Circle List High School Title

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More books from this author: Rachael Lippincott