4.5 stars

I had planned to read this book before YALfestNL 2017 because Donna Freitas was attending. Now I am really regretting not reading this book before the event because I really liked it.

The Survival Kit is the story of Rose who lost her mother, Ellie, recently to cancer. However, her mother left her a survival kit. Throughout the story, you see Rose get through her grieving process with the help of the items in the survival kit. There is also a nice (!) romance but it is mostly a subplot.
I feel this proudness for Rose because of how she gets through it and how she grows so much. She stops avoiding so situations which were really hard for her.

Spoiler

She starts taking these small steps and she gets help from her friends and it was really nice to read about.

Rose's family is also very likeable although her father and her brother, Jim, have (of course) their own struggles with Ellie's death. It makes it even sweeter to see them have good family moments. Rose's friends are so good. When

Spoiler

her father was in the hospital

they were there for Rose every day to help her get through it.

Spoiler

Will is such a sweetheart. Something I also really liked was the talk Rose and Will had at his house after her father got back from the hospital. Will had (sort of) broken up with her because when her father had hit a tree while driving drunk (again) and gotten into the hospital, he froze because of his father. It was understandable yet he did let Rose down. The biggest reason was that he never really explained why he shut down. And they talk about it. Rose told him, yes you did let me down, but I miss and I forgive you because I understand it now.

The full circle with the playlist was so nice, too. I love when things come full circle, but I hadn't expected this so that made it even more lovely.

I really recommend this book to you if you like to read about family, friends and romance.