The Feeling Checklist

For fans of heart-warming coming-of-age YA novels like Counting Down to You by Tashie Bhuiyan and I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang.

Hospitals, doctor appointments, daily medicine, repeat. For 17-year-old Hazel, taking care of her sick mother has become her number one priority. But after years of being her mother’s caregiver, Hazel’s own emotions have taken a backseat—now it’s hard for her to feel anything. Overwhelmed, emotionally repressed, and disconnected, Hazel can’t remember the last time she’s felt like a teenager.

Enter River—the new neighbor. River is a social butterfly, and Hazel’s total opposite. However, with his charm, kindness, and willingness to offer a helping hand, Hazel’s cloudy reality begins to brighten. The pair soon find themselves in an unlikely friendship, and River proposes a project to help Hazel work through her unfeeling dilemma: the Feeling Checklist. Write a list of feelings she wants to experience, and track her progress.

On a personal journey to rediscover herself, Hazel explores the highs and lows of her buried emotions. But in navigating her newfound vulnerability, the risks of falling in love have never been greater.