The Lucky List
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.
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.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
The Lucky List is a powerful story of grief, love, and accepting oneself above all else.
Amazing Depth
One of the major themes that stood out about The Lucky List is how characters deal with grief. Emily’s mother died of cancer three years ago, and she is still reeling. Her mother wholeheartedly believed in good luck, and when she passed, for Emily, it felt like all the luck was gone in the world. She isolated herself from her friends, and her father must sell the house to pay off the medical bills. For Emily, her grief is stopping her from living, from moving on, from connecting to herself.
And then she finds a list her mother made while cleaning out her stuff, her senior year bucket list. Emily feels like she can return to herself and reconnect with her mother by redoing this list her mother made.
Emily’s journey is all about overcoming her grief. In the small town she lives in, everything seems to remind her of her mother, her best friend, and she is struggling so hard not to lose that connection with her mother. However, it is coming at a cost to her. Emily’s relationship with her father and her friends becomes strained, and there is this part of herself she is keeping locked up because she was unable to share it with her mother.
Facing Fears
For Emily, The Lucky List is also about facing her fears and being true to herself. Ever since the death of her mother, she catalogs everything by the risk of death and injury. Her grief has stopped her from living. However, Blake, the daughter of her parents’ oldest friend, who has just moved back to town, offers her a helping hand. There is no judgment from her, no pity in her eyes, just understanding and acceptance. She does not push Emily; she nudges her, helps her, and ultimately guides her not only out of her grief but also out of her fear.
The Lucky List is also a coming-out story. Emily had a boyfriend, but when he wanted to take the next step in their relationship Emily freaked out and acted out, causing a rift between her and her friends.
What was holding her back was her inability to accept her sexuality, not because she is ashamed, but because she could not share this news with her mother. Her mother nudged her in her friend’s direction, thinking it was what Emily would need after passing away.
Emily believes so strongly that to hold onto this connection with her mother, she must live a lie even if it makes her unhappy. All because she was unable to share this part of herself with her mother. It is sad but moving when she comes to terms with the idea that her mother just wanted her happiness and nothing more.
By realizing this, she accepts herself and can live her truth with all the support of those around her.
Final Thoughts
The Lucky List is a remarkable and moving novel. The Lucky List is not just a coming-out story, but it also deals with grief and how moving on does not mean letting go; it means living in the place of those who have passed away.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
The Lucky List is a powerful story of grief, love, and accepting oneself above all else.
Amazing Depth
One of the major themes that stood out about The Lucky List is how characters deal with grief. Emily’s mother died of cancer three years ago, and she is still reeling. Her mother wholeheartedly believed in good luck, and when she passed, for Emily, it felt like all the luck was gone in the world. She isolated herself from her friends, and her father must sell the house to pay off the medical bills. For Emily, her grief is stopping her from living, from moving on, from connecting to herself.
And then she finds a list her mother made while cleaning out her stuff, her senior year bucket list. Emily feels like she can return to herself and reconnect with her mother by redoing this list her mother made.
Emily’s journey is all about overcoming her grief. In the small town she lives in, everything seems to remind her of her mother, her best friend, and she is struggling so hard not to lose that connection with her mother. However, it is coming at a cost to her. Emily’s relationship with her father and her friends becomes strained, and there is this part of herself she is keeping locked up because she was unable to share it with her mother.
Facing Fears
For Emily, The Lucky List is also about facing her fears and being true to herself. Ever since the death of her mother, she catalogs everything by the risk of death and injury. Her grief has stopped her from living. However, Blake, the daughter of her parents’ oldest friend, who has just moved back to town, offers her a helping hand. There is no judgment from her, no pity in her eyes, just understanding and acceptance. She does not push Emily; she nudges her, helps her, and ultimately guides her not only out of her grief but also out of her fear.
The Lucky List is also a coming-out story. Emily had a boyfriend, but when he wanted to take the next step in their relationship Emily freaked out and acted out, causing a rift between her and her friends.
What was holding her back was her inability to accept her sexuality, not because she is ashamed, but because she could not share this news with her mother. Her mother nudged her in her friend’s direction, thinking it was what Emily would need after passing away.
Emily believes so strongly that to hold onto this connection with her mother, she must live a lie even if it makes her unhappy. All because she was unable to share this part of herself with her mother. It is sad but moving when she comes to terms with the idea that her mother just wanted her happiness and nothing more.
By realizing this, she accepts herself and can live her truth with all the support of those around her.
Final Thoughts
The Lucky List is a remarkable and moving novel. The Lucky List is not just a coming-out story, but it also deals with grief and how moving on does not mean letting go; it means living in the place of those who have passed away.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
Put "The Lucky List" on your reading list!!!!
This book was soooo good. It had all the feels. Emily and her Dad struggling in their own way with the death of their Mom and wife and then there is Emily having to live through the experience of high school boyfriend break-ups and its impact on her friend group. When Blake and her Dad come home to Huckabee, PA it changes everything for Emily, especially after she finds her Mom's HS summer bucket list. Together, Emily and Blake begin the process of completing the " list," which take them on adventures and forces Emily to really discover who she is. And then there are all of the people of small town Huckabee, where everyone literally " knows your name." This book will surely be on your favorite list really soon
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