Wow! I love this! I’ve enjoyed every Emma Lord book I’ve read, but this might be a new favorite. I loved Riley and Tom and tbr found family they create with their friends in the city.

Riley heads to NYC and her best friend after she graduates from high school. She’s listless and not sure what she wants to do with her future. She only plans to spend a weekend with Tom, her best friend who moved away a few years ago, but after that she can’t seem to leave the city and stays for the summer. I loved their adventures, completing the items from the Getaway List and just finding themselves and their place in NYC. I just loved this one. I binged it in just a few hours and I think it’ll stick with me.

Emma Lord nails down the feeling of being young and carefree in NYC. The characters were relatable in this breezy, fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read exchange for an honest review.

Emma Lord is such an amazing author, especially when it comes to writing rich and real characters. I absolutely love how she depicts the relationship between Riley and her mother. The strong family bond can often be ignored in YA books, but not here. This is a wonderful books about knowing yourself first and foremost. Secondary is the relationships between friends and what having a strong support system means, particularly for young adults.

This is a sweet story about an 18 year old girl named Riley, who has just graduated from high school. She takes a bus to New York on a whim to visit her best friend, Tom, who moved there two years prior. Riley falls in love with New York and decides to stay for the summer, against her mom’s wishes. She makes new friends, has many adventures, and has to determine who she is and what she wants for her future.

This story is perfect for older teens and young adults who can relate to the characters and their need to be independent - while still needing a connection to their parent(s).

The book was an easy read and kept my attention. While as an adult, I found it to be a bit repetitive at times, with overdone teen angst, it fits the audience it was meant for. I have high school students I know would definitely enjoy the novel.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC of #TheGetawayList by #EmmaLord in exchange for honest feedback. - 3.5 stars

This is the second book I've read from Emma Lord and I loved it just as much as Begin Again. Emma has a way of writing witty, down-to-earth, relatable characters that I can see parts of my younger self in and characters that I would want to be friends with. I loved the unique, fun, and supportive friends in NYC and the idea of having a list of life goals to complete with a friend/friends. I adored Tom and Riley together and they had the perfect amount of chemistry to make this slow burn, friends to lovers romance one of my new favorites.

4⭐️

Overall I thought this book was a really charming story of new adults finding themselves beyond their parents. Learning independence while finding themselves.

There was a lot more to this story than just the best friends to lovers romance between Riley and Tom. This focuses primarily on Riley as she learns how to
step away from her mothers helicopter style parenting, going out on her own to
New York but it places a strain on their relationship as her mom is worried. I enjoyed this part of the story as we watch Riley learn how to do this while not hurting her mom. I also enjoyed Tom as well as he tries to determine what he wants to do with his future.

The part I struggled with was the romance. I just couldn't connect and found myself invested. There just didn't seem to have chemistry between the two characters and felt a bit out of place.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I am clearly not the demographic for this novel, but I still enjoy a solid YA story and loved the premise of “The Getaway List.” There was so much good here, that I’m surprised that I didn’t really enjoy this one. The cast of characters is interesting and quirky, the romp through New York is delightful and I had to look up whether “Dear Love” was an actual company and where to find a “Milkshake Club” because those ideas are genius!

Where things fell flat for me was the relationship between the two main characters, Riley and Tom. I guess I sort of understood the friendship due to history, but never really bought into them as possible romantic partners. There just wasn’t much chemistry. Or maybe I am just too old to spot it?

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. This is a coming of age story about stepping out on your own and finding yourself and your people. Riley feels stuck after not getting into college but decides to visit her best friend in NY for a weekend, right after graduation. Since they were young they have been putting together their getaway list, a list of things they would do together when they finally saw each other again after their many year apart.

This was such a fun story of friendship, love, finding yourself and growing up.

4.25⭐️

The Getaway List is a wonderful, sweet YA story that centers around Riley. Riley has just graduated from high school and has no idea what her future holds. All she really knows is that she’s spent the last four years miserable, doing everything to try to gain her mother’s trust and approval, while setting her own needs and personality aside. And she also misses her best friend, Tom, who moved away at the start of that dark period, and who she feels further and further removed from even as she needs him more.

Then Riley realizes, what’s really stopping her from going to visit him? She’s done with school, she’s an adult now, she has no plans at the moment, why not take advantage of that fact? And so she does, beginning a delightful journey to reclaiming her agency and her sense of adventure, building new friendships and strengthening old relationships along the way to finding herself at last.

This was such a lovely and enjoyable story and the characters were impossible not to root for. A heartwarming tale that left me hoping Emma Lord will revisit these delightful characters in the future.

Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars

I'm an incoming fan of Emma Lord's but with the caveat that while I've really enjoyed some of her books, I've found others just okay. Though this one leans more toward the "just okay" end of the spectrum, the audiobook was still a worthy listen with a great narrator.

Riley and Tom are friends with a long history, but they've more recently been a little distant. Readers start off at Riley's high school graduation where we learn immediately that things are NOT going as planned for her. She's decorated her graduation cap with university rejection letters, and this fashion statement matches the title; there's simply a lot to get away from right now. That's where the getaway list - and a reconnection to Tom - come in.

Some of Lord's characters have really pulled at me. They feel round and developed, and I love rooting for them. These two were just harder for me to connect with in part because I found their reactions to each other and their general trajectory a little too predictable.

I was fortunate to receive both an electronic and audio copy of this book and devoured the latter, which does have great narration. This is the version I'll likely recommend to students when and where accessible. And while this one wasn't my favorite of Lord's collection, I did enjoy it overall and am looking forward to what she reveals to readers next.

Emma Lord is my favorite contemporary YA author. Her dialogue is funny, her characters are unique, and I love the relationships between the teenage protagonists and their parents. While she has some similar themes in each book—and many of the books are set in NYC—I think enjoyment really hinges on how well you connect to the specific cast of characters and their coming-of-age stories.

This book follows best friends Riley and Tom, who have been separated for years before meeting again for a summer in New York. Because their friendship is firmly rooted in the past and there are so many flashbacks, I didn't really fall for this story the way that I wanted to. It's still very funny and sweet with a large supporting cast, and I liked that the protagonist, Riley, strikes out on her own without conventional college plans. But I found myself less interested in Riley and Tom's past, and that dominates a large part of the book. If you want to read about the evolution of a lifelong friendship (and don't mind a lot of descriptive backstory), you'll probably enjoy this more than I did.

If you haven't read any Emma Lord, I loved When You Get the Chance (it made me cry!) and Tweet Cute. I am very excited for her first adult romance to come out next year!

And of course, thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

This was a cute YA contemporary romance. Quick read but well written with a fun storyline and characters. I've only recently started reading romance and would read more books by this author.

I loved this book set in NYC. It made me want to visit and made me feel like I was there all at once. Tom and Riley were adorable and relatable. Loved their love story.

This is now my favorite Emma Lord book. I really enjoyed Riley, Tom and their friends. I loved the adventuring around New York and them discovering who they are and who they want to be. This is such a great coming of age story. Andrew while friends to lovers isn’t necessarily my favorite trope, it was done so well here. I loved Riley and Tom’s friendship so much. Also, Luca, Jesse and Mariella were such great supporting characters. Honestly, my favorite part of the whole book was the humor. There were so many amazing puns and clever word play and I found myself laughing out loud several times. I did think that the story dragged the tiniest bit around the 70% mark, but I was still very engaged with the story. Highly recommend this one for fans of Emma Lord, friends to lovers and found family tropes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

The Getaway List is another hit from Emma Lord!

As Riley graduates from high school, she realizes that she's tired of her Mom dictating every move Riley makes, so she decides she is going to see her best friend Tom. Riley and Tom have been best friends since childhood. They created a "getaway list" of all the adventures they wanted to do together, but Tom moved to New York with his Mom over a year ago. With graduation over and no college acceptance letters for her, Riley decides that she will go see Tom and finish some items on the list. What happens next is a sweet romantic coming of age story with plenty of wit and charm that Lord is known for writing.

I can't wait to share this with my young adult readers!

This book was really CUTE! That word kept popping to mind as I read this. It read more like YA to me with some swear words sprinkled in.

I fell in love with all of the main characters and their bond together. Very sweet and fun book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Emma Lord is becoming one of my favorite YA/ 'new adult' authors. I read her release last year Begin Again and liked it a lot.

If you remember at all, a book that came out a long time ago, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Getaway List has the feel of it: in the sense of siblings who run away from home to the Metropolitan Musuem of Art in New York, it has a certain magic. Two kids, barely adults and their new friends, let loose in NYC for a whole summer without much of an adult presence.

Riley just graduated High school finally, and having been rejected for every 4 year university she applied to, plans to stay home and work as a barista in the coffee shop her mom manages in VA, and attend community College. However, her best friend Tom, who had moved to New York 4 years ago, hasn't seen her and she misses him. Riley was a bit of a prankster in high school and ended up suspended, so her mother put her in all these extra curiculars and kept her busy. Riley decides to go visit Tom for a weekend, even though her mom doesn't want her to go. Riley and her mom have a Gilmore Girls thing going on, although her mom just doesn't want Riley to end up like her.

Riley and Tom and their friends take to New York with their wings. Riley's friend Jesse and his band mates had planned to move to the city, and they met Tom's friend Mariella and met Luca in a writing class. Riley and Tom may be best friends, but there's chemistry between them and also secrets. They spend time fetching items as part of a delivery app, go see their friends play at a Millshake club, karaoke, and other things that are age appropriate. Riley wants to complete her Getaway List, which was written when Tom moved away.

As the summer goes on and Riley wrestles with her future plans, and her feelings for Tom, the group gels and works on completing the Getaway List. Only a secret threatens to break up the group, as well as the 2 possible romances in the group (there's a 3rd, and an odd person out). Riley has to be honest with herself and with her mom about what she wants. And who she wants.

Because Tom's mother works as a screenwriter and is on set on location in Hawaii, we don't meet her until the end. The lack of parents or adults around just turned 18 year olds in New York is wild and unrealistic. Especially with this generation of helicopter parenting. Even though the kids (sorry they're kids to me lol) have jobs, it seems hard to believe they can live in New York, and specifically Manhattan. But it's fiction.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. Trigger warning for parental abandonment, mild alcohol use in 1 chapter, bullying in past. PG rated, no sex scenes. Book release scheduled for 1/23/24.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

I love all of Emma Lord’s works. Tom and Riley were fun and so cute.

3.5 stars.

I have enjoyed most all of Emma Lord's books, and this one was right on par with her other novels.

The Getaway List is about Riley, who just graduated from high school and feels completely lost about her future and who she is. On a whim, she takes off for New York to visit her old best friend Tom. Since Tom moved to New York, their friendship has been strained and distant. But Riley is determined to redeem her friendship with Tom and tackle their getaway list together, a list of things they promised to do together that has been on the backburner for years.

This was a cute and fun story, and exactly what I have come to expect from Emma Lord. I enjoyed Riley and Tom's relationship and watching it move from friendship to something more. There was a fun cast of characters who joined them in their adventures.

I did feel like the ending wrapped up too quickly. I wanted more from Tom and Riley as they realized their feelings for each other. It ended way too fast for me, but otherwise I enjoyed this one.