Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

Love, Life, and the List

by Kasie West

What do you do when you’ve fallen for your best friend? Funny and romantic, this effervescent story about family, friendship, and finding yourself is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings, Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list, she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being.

But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems . . . and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

4 of 5 stars

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Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: Kasie West books tend to be rather formulaic YA contemporary romance novels. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as she writes them well and you know what you're in for. They're books to turn to for comforting, feel-good stories. Love, Life, and the List lived up to those expectations, even if it wasn't the most original one. What I liked, though, was that in her latest novel, the relationships were a little messier than in previous ones. There still was that happily ever after but it was tougher for the MC to get there.

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  • Started reading
  • 28 January, 2018: Finished reading
  • 28 January, 2018: Reviewed