Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews

 

Do you have a bucket list?  I have an informal one of places I’d like to visit, but I have never written it down.

Jodie Boyd is stunned when she learns that her older sister, Bree is dying from cancer.  Bree has always been larger than life, traveling around the world, doing all of the things on her bucket list as an influencer.  When Bree passes away, still in her twenties, her family is heart broken and also deeply in debt from her doctor bills.  It is discovered that Bree made a deal before her death that will erase the family debt if Jodie finishes the items on Bree’s bucket list and documents them on social media.  Jodie is soon out of her comfort zone out in the world on social media trying to finish the items.  Will she find what she wants from life and maybe true love on the way?

I enjoyed this very unique story.  While it was a love story, it was also a coming-of-age story for a twenty something young adult.  What exactly does Jodie want in life and what exactly is holding her back?  It seems that her sister Bree knew her better than she knew herself and was helping her from beyond the grave.  I enjoyed every step of Jodie’s journey.

I enjoyed the thought of getting Instagram messages from someone that you loved and lost throughout the year after their death.  It reminded me of P.S. I Love You, but Bree’s love is for her family and not a romantic partner.    This book was an honest look at the ups and downs of grief.  Grief that Jodie feels, her entire family feels, and that her friend Kelly Wong feels at the loss of his father.  Grief is different for everyone.

Favorite Quotes:

“And when the moon rose over the snowdrifts it wouldn’t be rusty orange.  It would be golden yellow.  The color of hope fulfilled.”

“Grief was like weather:  It had it’s seasons and moods, and it could always take a turn for the worse.”

“But knowing and understanding were two very different things.”

Book Source: Review Copy from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing.   Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.