Thursday, August 2, 2018

Review: Let Me List the Ways - Sarah White

Let Me List the Ways
Sarah White
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
A breezy, sexy contemporary YA about falling in love with your best friend, from Wattpad phenom Sarah White.

Mackenzie Clark has been best friends with Nolan Walker for as long as she can remember. She’s shared everything with him, from adventures with their families and days lounging at the beach, to long talks about their friends and her journey with type 1 diabetes. The only thing she hasn’t shared is the fact that she is in love with him.

Now in their senior year of high school, Mackenzie and Nolan know that in a few short months everything will change as they head off to different colleges. Determined to make the most of the time they still have left, they come up with a list of things they want to do together before graduation. But as they make their way through everything from toilet papering the school bully’s house to having a backyard camp-out like the ones they had when they were kids, Mackenzie can’t help feeling that she’s left the most important thing off the list: telling Nolan how she feels. But when confessing her love could jeopardize the incredible relationship they already have, is honesty really the best policy?
I am such trash for these friends-to-more books, and White wrote one, which I am adding to my favorites list. I think I wore some sort of sappy grin the entire time I read this book. I loved it so much, I am going to get corny, and list the ways.
  1. The friendship between Mackenzie and Nolan was beautiful. They were neighbors and life-long friends. Not only were they friends, but their parents were friends, like the kind of friends you go on vacation with friends. I was so enamored with this whole big-happy-family vibe. 
  2. Mackenzie had type 1 diabetes, and I thought White did a fine job illustrating her struggles and concerns for us. I shared Zie's frustrations, and probably loved Nolan even more, because of how educated his was about Mackenzie's disease. 
  3. Seriously! The unrequited love thing made me shed some tears. I got really emotional when Zie had to watch Nolan with other girls. The fact that I ached so much for her, made me think that the single POV was a sort of brilliant choice. Since we were only in Mackenzie's head, we had no idea what Nolan was thinking or feeling unless he told Zie, and that kept the tension high for me. 
  4. These lists are mentioned over the course of the book, and I was sort of sad that we only got to see three of them, because the ones I saw were so fun and wonderful. I love, love, LOVED the whole relive old memories and make new ones list. It was only five items, but it was a fantastic way for them to revisit some special moments and make a few new ones before they went their separate ways. And that last list!!! *happy tears*
  5. I read lots of books with romance, but this here, this was a full-fledged romance. Romances are my thing, and this one was so sweet and adorable and wonderful. I was so glad I got to be a part of this little love story. 
I have a tendency to rate a book based on how they made me feel, and this one left me filled to the brim with happiness. It was fun, sweet, delightful, touching, and a whole lot of other warm and fuzzy type adjectives. I adored these two so much, and would love to revisit them in college. 

I mentioned I am a fan of friends-to-more, and these are a few recent favorites. 


by Katie Cotugno


by Christina Lauren


by Rachael Allen

by Michael Kun, Susan Mullen

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Do you like to make lists?
Let us know in the comments!

16 comments:

  1. How lovely is this! Just reading this blurb and review gave me the warm fuzzies and brought a smile to my face.

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    1. It delivered all the happy feels for me. This is my favorite kind of read and so, so perfect for summer.

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  2. Aw, this sounds like a really cute read. And I do enjoy a good friends-to-more. I like the idea of their lists, especially reliving old memories.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. It were terribly cute. I thought it was so adorable and really sweet too.

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  3. I love the friends to lovers theme too. That and the cover have me very interested.

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    1. The cover made do a double take, because it looks a lot like Wildlife

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  4. Oooh I have wanted to read this! I was so mad at myself for not requesting it! NOw I will definitely have to buy it. I am such a fan of the friends-to-lovers thing and YES to lists! Also I have a very long term relationship with unrequited love since the beginning of time, so that is always interesting to read about- though I DO get unfairly jealous of fictional characters, so there's the potential downside hahah. Great review, I definitely need to read this one at some point!

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    1. This book is sweet and adorable and frustrating, but I loved these two, and I wanted to see it happen. I know people thought the T1D stuff messed with the flow, but I didn't feel that way. It was an honest look into what it's like to live with that disease, while also emphasizing the level of the friendship that existed between the two. I was actually thinking of you when I was reading How to Breathe Underwater, because of all the swimming stuff.

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  5. Awww, just reading how much you enjoyed this book made me smile. I enjoy a good friends-to-more book too so I'll be keeping this one in mind, especially since it also has unrequited love, another favorite of mine.

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    1. The unrequited parts broke my heart, and it was even more excruciating, because the book was single POV. You never really knew if what Zie saw telling us the whole story. It was very, very sweet, and I know a lot of people are not huge into romance, but I am, and therefore, really enjoyed this book.

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  6. I'm a Type 1 diabetic and I haven't seen the disease portrayed in fiction much at all! I'm glad it's getting some buzz so that T1D kids don't feel so out-of-place among their peers. I also like sweet romances, so I'm definitely going to pick this one up. Thanks for the heads-up -- I hadn't heard of this one before.

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    1. All the T1D readers have commended the rep, and I liked learning about the challenges Zie and other diabetics face.

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  7. Well this sounds like a really good book and you've given it such a high rating. I have to say I probably would have never stumbled across this book if it wasn't for your review and now I'm kind of eager to read it. Everything you say makes it sound really good.

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    1. I wish I had a physical ARC to send you, because it was a really lovely friends to more romance. It was so sweet.

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  8. I love when a wattpad author gets picked up and published! Which is why this one already caught my eye. I also really like the sound of the lists. Friends to lover romances are one of my favourite tropes to read about as well, so there is that positive spin to things as well. Great review x You've made me all the more intrigued in this book.

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    1. It was a really sweet romance. It made me all sorts of happy.

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