BOOK REVIEW | P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Title: P.S. I Like You
Author: Kasie West
Series? No, a standalone
Pages: 330
Publication Date: July 26, 2016
Publisher: Point Publishing
Source: I checked out P.S. I Like You from my local library!

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…

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P.S. I Like You was the third book I read for the Make Me Read It Readathon, which I had such a blast with! My expectations for both the readathon and this book were blown out of the water!! I've only read two of West's books. There was The Fill in Boyfriend (which I actually did a rant review of here) and By Your Side (which was cute, but ultimately forgettable). You can find my review of that here! P.S. I Like You takes the cake, hands-down, of my favorite book by Kasie West. 

First, let's talk about the plot! I thought this plot was adorable. I love the idea of befriending and eventually caring for a stranger. The idea that they send messages to each other every day, and really foster a friendship is so endearing. I don't think this would ever happen (at least it wouldn't have in my high school), but it is cute to think about. 

As for the whole mystery of who the writer was, I thought it was pretty obvious from the beginning of the book. However, I didn't mind too much because it played off of one of my favorite contemporary tropes. I can't say which one, because it would be too big of a hint!! Also, Lily figures it out about halfway through the book, which I thought was refreshing! Instead of the ending being Lily figuring it out, we saw this moral dilemma and had a good "will they won't they" feel to the story. 

As for the characters, I really liked them. While some don't have too much page time, I still felt that they were dynamic. We don't get to see a ton of Lilly's best friend, and yet what we did convinced me that they were genuinely friends. West did the best with the little space she had. Of course, I would have liked the characters to have more time in the book and be even more developed, but it just didn't happen. 

Family also plays a big role in P.S. I Like You. The two main characters have a different type of home life, and I really liked the contrast between the two. Lily's family is so hectic and busy, and I just loved it. West inserted all these little quirks that made the family feel very organic! 

As for the ending, I liked it (read: good, but not great). I think YA contemps are normally predictable, but I seemed to mind it just a tad more than usual with this one. Normally when I'm reading a contemporary, I still have a creeping doubt that maybe the two characters won't get a HEA. Alas, this never happened for me so there wasn't as much tension possible. Nevertheless, I still wanted to read the road that lead to the inevitable ending, and I enjoyed it!

P.S. I Like You is my favorite West book I have read so far. I thought the plot was endearing (if a little unrealistic) and the characters were likeable and fleshed out just enough. I would have liked to see the secondary characters be a bit more dimensional, but West did the best with the little scenes they had. Though I wasn't worried about what would happen, I still had a blast reading it all go down. If you want to read something by Kasie West and don't know where to start, I highly recommend P.S. I Like You!

With that, I give this book

4 out of 5 Stars!