Review: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Synopsis from Good Reads:

What if the person you were falling for was a total mystery?

While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has written back to her on the desk! Soon enough Lily and the mystery student are exchanging notes, and lyrics, and even sharing secrets. When Lily finds out that her anonymous pen pal is a guy, she’s flustered — and kind of feels like she’s falling for him. She and her best friend set out to unravel the identity of the letter writer — but when the truth is revealed, the guy is the LAST person Lily could have ever imagined it to be. Now that Lily knows the truth, can she untangle her feelings and gather the courage to listen to her heart?

I loved this book! Kasie West books just always make me happy and I think this is my new favorite of hers.

In several of West’s other books I’ve found that the main character is a little unlikable at first, but she kind of grows on you as she develops. However, in this one I liked Lily from the start. That’s not to say that she never frustrated me because there was plenty of that, but I found her real and relatable and just likable. I liked her relationship with her family. It wasn’t perfect and she had the typical teenage moments of being embarrassed by them or complaining about them, but overall she had a really good relationship with all of them – her parents, her older sister, and her two younger brothers. I also enjoyed her friendship with her best friend, Isabel.

It’s hard to talk about the mystery pen pal without spoilers since it takes almost half of the book for his identity to be revealed. However, I also think it’s pretty much obvious from his first mention who it will be – especially if you read the synopsis before reading the book. While this had potential to be kind of annoying, it really wasn’t because Lily doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out who he is. In fact, she really DOESN’T want to know who he is for much of the time, so the plot focuses on more than just trying to find out something the reader already knows. That said, I did really like the note writing plot. While it provided a lot of character development for both Lily and the mystery guy, it also provided a lot of humor and they were some of my favorite parts of the book.

Overall, I just really loved P.S. I Like You. I liked the characters, the humor, the family dynamics, and the slow burn romance. I would definitely recommend it to fans of YA Contemporary and especially think Kasie West fans will love it.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars