P.S. I Like You

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Title: P.S. I Like You

Author: Kasie West

Series: N/A

Publisher: Point

Release Date: July 26th 2016

Rating:

Signed, sealed, delivered…

While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favourite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

– Blurb courtesy of goodreads.com

My Thoughts On…

…The Plot

“I folded the letter and carefully placed it back in its spot. Now I had to wait twenty-four hours for a response. This was so much less gratifying than texting.”

Kasie West is an author I’ve been meaning to get around to for some time now. All of her books are on my to-read list but instead of picking up one she’s already had out for ages I picked up her newest release to start off with. This was a complete impulse read for me. I saw a wonderful review for this book on Jill’s blog at Rant and Rave About Books, and after reading it I just had to get my own copy of P.S. I like You and start it right away.

Lily is not a fan of chemistry. Most of the time instead of writing notes on her lessons she’s scribbling lines of possible songs or sketching outfits in her notebook. But her teacher catches on to her disinterest and now, instead of her notebook, she is only allowed one sheet of paper to take notes on which her teacher will check at the end of the lesson. So when Lily finds herself drifting again she writes a line from one of her favourite songs on her desk.

She thinks nothing more of it until the next day, back in her chemistry classroom, when she finds someone else has written the next line of the song alongside a note for Lily.

It surprised me when his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. I wasn’t sure why that embarrassed him in any way. I was positive he already knew it. He ran one hand through his hair. Then he said, almost too quiet for me to hear, “You’re not every girl.”

After running out of room on their desk Lily and her mysterious pen pal start trading letters back and forth. Starting off with song recommendations their notes quickly become more personal, with each of them opening up in their letters in a way they wouldn’t face to face. After all, it’s all anonymous.

But the more notes they trade the more Lily becomes curious about who she’s writing to. She has her hopes of who it will be, and she knows who she definitely does not want it to be, but using the clues her mysterious pen pal has dropped isn’t getting her anywhere fast.

…The Characters

“Who are you talking to?”
“Myself.”
“You do that a lot.”
“I know. I’m the only one who understands me.”

Lily is not a popular girl at her school. She’s very sharp-tongued but socially awkward and seems quick to put her foot in her mouth. She doesn’t fit in with her classmates either; she’s always daydreaming and scribbling in her notebook which she refuses to show anyone, not even her best friend. Lily wear clothes from charity shops and likes obscure bands no one else has heard of which is why she’s so surprised when someone else in her school recognizes the lyrics she writes on the desk one day.

In the letters Lily they pass back and forth Lily is free to be honest with someone she doesn’t know. She opens up about her family, her song writing, and anything else on her mind. It’s easy to speak to someone when you don’t know who they are, but as Lily and her pen pal start to share more and more it becomes more than just simply two people trying to escape their boring chemistry lessons.

We get to see a lot of Lily’s family in this book. With three siblings and two parents under one roof it’s chaos. Lily rarely had time to herself because there’s always someone or something underfoot. I loved the dynamic of Lily’s family life; in some ways it reminded me of the Garrett family from My Life Next Door; loving chaos. Lily’s family is such a huge part of her life and it was great seeing that in this book.

“You have me under your spell.
With all the secrets you tell.
I can’t make it stop.
Please don’t let it stop.
You have me under your spell.
If you knew me as well,
You would make it stop.
I can’t let it stop.”

In spite of what clues Lily gets from the letters they share there are only ever three options for who her mysterious pen pal could be. First we’re introduced to Cade. Ever since he gave Lily an unfortunate nickname the two have been at each other’s throats. Lily does not like Cade at all and she can’t believe that someone who writes the way her mysterious pen pal does, or who opens up to her and has so much in common with her, can be someone she hates so much.

Then there’s Lucas. Lily has had a crush on him for ages but she’s never quite worked up the nerve to speak to him before. In fact every time she’s near him she freezes up and can’t utter a word. But Lucas is a year older and Lily which means he can’t be her letter writer because he isn’t in the same chemistry class as her, or is he? Finally we’re introduced to Daniel. He and Lily are set up by their best friends, Isabel and Gabriel who are also dating, and on paper it seems like they have a lot in common. Both Lily and Daniel both love music, Daniel being a member of the marching band, and they’re both shy and slightly awkward as well.

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Although this was the first book I’ve read by Kasie West it definitely won’t be the last. I moved the rest of her books up my to-read list and I can’t wait to get started. YA Contemporary may not be my favourite genre, that honour belongs to fantasy, but if I read more books like this it will quickly become my second favourite.

What did you think of P.S. I Like You? Was it a favourite of yours or could you just not get into the story? Let me know.