The Wrap Up List

The Wrap-Up List by Steven Arntson follows Gabriella who lives in a world where some people are taken by death who writes them a letter and gives them time to wrap up their lives.  They then write a list of their wishes and they have a chance to receive a pardon if they can guess their death's weakness.  When Gabriella receives her letter she makes a few unusual requests.  She wants a first kiss for her best friends and herself. 

I enjoyed this book but for it to be flawed in its setting.  The book took place with a timeline that wasn't logical and didn't make sense, Gabriella's grandfather was in world war two but the political situation in the book (a coming war making a great draft necessary) didn't work with that timeline.  The meat of the book however was fantastic.  I loved the mythology behind the deaths.  There was a great range of characters of different demographics who were well represented, from her best friend who comes out as a lesbian to the Hispanic Catholic faith of Gabriella and her family and the quirkiness of Hercule her death.  The innate sweetness of the book made me smile at the end.

Appropriateness:  There is a bit of alcohol use in the book, it is not glorified and it's made quite obvious that it's Gabriella's first time drinking.  The romance is sweet.  I would recommend this book to readers 12+