Genre 📚: YA Contemporary, Romance
Tropes 💁♀️: Enemies to lovers, Best friend’s ex, Secret pen pals
Rep ✔️: POC side characters
CW ⚠️: Messy divorce, emotionally distant parents
Rating ⭐️: 4.5/5
One boring day in Chemistry class, FMC Lily scribbles lyrics onto her desk and the next day, she finds that someone else has scribbled more lyrics. This starts a chain of messages, which then starts a chain of letters. They share their favorite bands, they crack jokes, and they get pretty personal about their home lives. Lily has some ideas of who her mystery letter writer could be, but she is so not prepared to learn the truth. It… is… GLORIOUS.
P.S. I Like You was originally published in 2016 — ten whole years ago 😱🤯 — and I was interested in checking it out when I heard of this new edition. I was worried that it would come across as dated, and certain things definitely scream the 2010s. But the story hit me in the feels juuust right. The set-up was great, the build-up was well-paced, making everything feel earned. I was totally there with Lily, giggling as she read her letters and falling head over heels.
I mostly appreciated how real this was. The romance was solid and believable, but it was made stronger by being able to SEE the characters. We see Lily’s chaotic family, her sweet dynamic with her best friend. And though we don’t necessarily see too much of the MMC’s life, we learn all we need to know from his vulnerable letters. I truly, truly, truly loved this, and I’m so glad I read it — even if I am a decade late.
**Much thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The updated version of P.S. I Like You will be released on January 6, 2026.
Sara Bechtol 