Book Review: PS I Like You + OwlCrate Unboxing

This month’s OwlCrate theme was “Fast Times at YA High” (YA = young adult, for those that don’t know), which meant most of the items revolved around stories that had taken place in a school environment. This month’s book was PS I Like You by Kasie West, which was 100% NOT my type of book. I would never ever have picked up a young adult contemporary with a cover (or synopsis) like that… but lo and behold I actually liked it, and this proves that OwlCrate rocks at picking out great books.

Let’s talk about the awesome things that were in this box:

1. Miniature colored pencils stamped with the title of this box’s book.
2. A “decomposition notebook” that I can write in with my new colored pencils!
3. A Eleanor & Park necklace exclusively designed for this month’s OwlCrate box! (Would you even believe I haven’t read Eleanor & Park? It’s on my nook. I promise I’m reading it soon.)
4. A lovely print of my favorite trio: Hermione, Harry, and Ron by the oh-so talented, Susanne Draws.
5. An adult coloring book with “stress relieving patterns” (AKA: something to do when you’re listening to an audiobook) by Blue Star Coloring.
6. Two AWESOME buttons: One was made by Taryn Draws and says “Hogwarts is my home” (I’m obsessed with this button). The other says Chapter Raptor and has an amazingly dorky dinosaur reading a book on it (it’s my spirit animal).

7. And lastly, THE BOOK! This book came with a handwritten letter from the author as well as a signed bookplate.

Signed, sealed, delivered…

While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite 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…

What I loved about this book:

• Light-hearted and fluffy read. No stress involved! There’s no violence, mental illness, horrible family issues, gut-wrenching decisions, etc. The most stressful it gets is wondering whether or not Lily is going to embarrass herself in front of the boy she likes.
• Fast-paced and easy to read. I read this book in a day.
• It’s a perfectly happy ending! Sure, the ending is predictable and the “mystery” in the first-half of the book isn’t that mysterious at all, but sometimes you just want to read a book with the perfect ending!
• The relationship is spot on for the genre and target audience. It isn’t “instant” as you can sometimes see in contemporaries, and overall felt like it was developed at a good pace.

What was meh: 

If you want a simple, light-hearted read that will make you smile, I would absolutely recommend this. Make sure you go into it knowing that you’re reading a young adult contemporary! Don’t have much in the way of expectations, and you’ll have a good time.

What did you think of this month’s OwlCrate theme? Have you read PS I Like You? Do you want to read PS I Like You??

Get PS I Like You here:  Amazon. Barnes & Noble. The Book Depository.

A.S. Thornton

A.S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. When not writing, she’s caring for dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though, because those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention. Thornton’s debut, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING is available wherever books are sold.