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 … 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.
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Love! 😀
I appreciated reading about someone who wants to better themself and deal with change! You see a lot of growth in the characters and the art! I liked the heart list; I want to try one for myself! It almost made the book worse by having the best friend like her back. With all the growth in the book, it would have been interesting to see how she would have dealt with rejection like that. I liked her family a lot! They had flaws and loved each other anyway. I thought it was fun!
Since this book was about an artist it really inspired me to want to get more into art and took her art style to be very inspiring.
get this book
This book was super cute and refreshing. Recipe for my reading slump/eventful vacation. I honestly, I loved how light-hearted a read the book was. There were some pretty hilarious and heart-breaking moments, to say the least.
After reading You’re Welcome Universe, it was refreshing to read another story with a young painter (even though they are not very similar). I liked the way the author was able to highlight all of the different relationships in the book (her family, her close friends which consist of 4 persons and the special relationship with her best friend, Cooper).
The author highlighted the struggle Abby’s mother has with anxiety and her relationship with her husband who is away in the army. All of the characters were so well done and totally felt like real people.
I loved the idea of the list she used to motivate her into being a better person and an artist
She did it again! What a fun book. This one had me all confused and twisted up! West is good at not letting the reader in on the fun ending. This one has a lighter feel to it then some of her others. It was a great read when I was stressed out. Very good writing, fun characters and some good life lessons. These books are great for teens 13 and up:}
Another one love it
cute, better than expected
Enjoyable read. Nothing surprising, but a pleasant diversion.
Do you ever start off reading a book thinking it’s about one thing, but your own experience with the words on the page make your experience something entirely different? That’s what happened to me with Kasie West’s Love, Life and the List. Abby is seventeen years old and in love with her best friend Cooper. As if that’s not bad enough, she is trying to enter her art into an exhibit to help her chances of getting into art school but her mentor tells her that she hasn’t lived through enough life experiences to portray art with feeling. Abby is pretty destroyed, but determined to live life to the fullest by following a list she creates. What’s on the list? Things like facing your fear; watch a life end; experiencing unrequited love, etc. and her painting changes as she does with each life event she faces.
I think we’ve all lived through Abby’s emotion of loving her best friend and not having that love returned. Although mine was at a little bit older of an age, those feelings came rushing right back as she tried to deny the importance of her feelings. Thankfully she had some other things to check off to keep her busy and as she did I realized I should make my own list because even though I’m older, there is still a lot I need to experience. Kasie West’s point about your life becoming 3D by living through different experiences was poignant, and even though sometimes I’m human and want to avoid heavy emotions, reading this book made me think I may be missing something by not living them. (OK, I am mostly thinking about my avoidance of movies and books that make me cry, but even so, I may be missing something!)
Cooper was a charming leading man. He was a typical teen in that he didn’t think that far into the future and so in making a joke of Abby’s feelings he actually hurts himself as much as he hurts her. He was a really fun character to read and I enjoyed their sparring, but was thankful to see his character growth because it gave him dimension and the story more impact. I enjoyed experiencing life through Abby’s character and loved how quickly this plot moved. If you are looking for a one hanky lighthearted romance, I think this is the story for you!
I think this is my favorite Kasie West book to date. I love all of her sweet, funny, swoon-worthy YA Romance but this one had all the feels and really touched my heart. I think it was the whole falling for your best friend thing that got to me. It can be so scary to take that leap of faith and it’s really captured well in this novel. A great coming-of-age love story about second chances and finding your voice.
I recommend it for anyone who likes books like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Stand-In Boyfriend (The Boyfriend Series Book 5)
i was never a reader, i always hated to read. until my reading teacher made me read “love,life,and the list” and lets just say i fell in love with it. i know people have rad the book faster, but i rad the book in a day and i am only 12 years old. this book has touched me. I love the feelings and how much the author details it, the words and everything. this book is amazing, and i hope i ever read something nearly as good as this book. i really do like it. i never heard of kasie west until i rad this book, but i can tell you she is one heck of a writer. i cant wait to read more of her stuff…
When I started this book, I thought I wouldn’t like it. It took me a few chapters and the start of the actual list to get into it. But the book just got better and here are the reasons why:
1. It made me laugh out loud.
2. Abby and Cooper are best friends in every sense of the word.
3. Abby showed amazing character development.
4. The story went exactly how I wanted it to go.
5. It made me cry.
6. This book is exactly what I needed right now.
There’s a particular quote in this book which struck me.
“But that was the problem, wasn’t it? I had been doing the same things day after day and year after year and expecting different results.”
Yep. Story of my life. This book made me want to try out new things and step out of my comfort zone. Hopefully, I get a Cooper along the way. *winks*
Full review: https://kookbookery.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/review-love-life-and-the-list/
There are few things as charming and lovely and funny and happy as a new Kasie West book. I just adore her writing and her characters and her stories AND her. I love a good trope and nobody does them half as well as Kasie. This book took a few unexpected turns for me, but as always, I was left smiling inside and out by the time I finished. Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss is a companion novel that comes out on February 5th and I can’t wait!
I loved this book so much! I only had a problem with the last few chapters. They seemed a little sloppy and rushed, as if the author had a date she needed to finish by but couldn’t make it without cutting corners. Great story, though. I was laughing so hard I was crying.