Customer Reviews

The Next Thing on My List: A Novel

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read in The Hollywood Reporter that the producer who made The Devil Wears Prada was going to make The Next Thing On My List into a movie, so I had to read the book. The story is truly inspirational, and I challenge you to finish it without starting a list to change your life. The great thing about the story is that it is heartwarming without being sappy, and the heroine, June Parker, sounds real, like a co-worker or a friend. She's just trying to make her way in the world like we all are. Jill Smolinski's writing is smooth and funny, and you're rooting for June all the way to a satisfying end. Some of tasks on her list may seem simple, like not wearing a bra, but don't we all know someone who has struggled with that one (or should have?). I started my own life list, and I think you will, too.

The author sent me a copy of her book and I was delighted to read it because I had read and enjoyed her novel called Flip-Flopped. The Next Thing on My List is a wonderful, witty and enjoyable novel about a woman who's on a mission to finish up someone else's to-do list. June Parker is an L.A.-based, thirty-something-year-old writer having some rather mundane problems with her career and personal life. One day, she suffers a car accident, killing her passenger, Marissa, a young woman she'd just met at a Weight Watchers meeting and was giving a lift home. June finds a list the woman had made that involved making some things happen before her twenty-fifth birthday. Out of guilt and out of obligation after talking to Marissa's brother, June decides to complete Marissa's list, with some hilarious and at times poignant results.

This is the perfect light read to take with you on the beach or on vacation this summer. It'll keep you entertained from beginning to end. The witty dialogue and the heroine's internal monologue are delightful to read. June is a great heroine. I don't know why, but I pictured Debra Messing playing June as I read this. (Messing would be a great option if they ever make this novel into a movie.) The secondary characters are also great. I especially liked June's boss. I very much enjoyed The Next Thing on My List. It is your typical chick-lit, and one you'll enjoy a great deal if you're a big fan of this genre, which I happen to be. I highly recommend this fun summer read!

June Parker is a girl trying to find herself. She is in her thirties, single, works as a writer for LA Rideshare and has a limited social life. This is pretty much the extint that we get to know June through the entire book. Actually almost all the characters in this book are under-developed, leaving the reader longing for something more. The exception being Marissa, who is dead before the book even begins.
Completing a life list, especially one written by someone else, makes for an interesting plot. And the list in this book is rather interesting. I found myself wishing the list was a little longer or more challenging but all in all it did contain a fairly good mix. The list contains the potential for a hilarious book mixed with some emotional serious moments.
Unfortunately that is not what comes about. You do get a small chuckle or two but no uncontrollable laughter from reading this novel. And the serious moments lack emotion. The methods in which June goes about completing this list are fairly dull and unrealistic. Everything seemed to fall together without enough action to engage the reader.
There are some unpredictable moments in the second half of the book that keep it from flopping altogether, but nothing so spectacular that will have me recommending or even remembering this book. Overall I feel this book did a decent job of setting up the reader but then continued to just let the reader fall.

In "The Next Thing on My List," June Parker's life was turned upside down when her passenger, Marissa, was killed in the car she was trying. June discovered that Marissa had a list of things to do before she turned 25 and as a way to redeem herself, June made up her mind to finish the list for Marissa. Some of the things on Marissa's list included kissing a total stranger, be the hottest woman in Oasis bar, bring her mother and grandmother to see Wayne Newton in Las Vegas, run 5k marathon, to change someone's life and others. June set to do each of the things on the list.

This was a light read for me. It was somewhat engaging for a novel in this genre. It was fun to read about June's persistence in completing each of the things on the list. The story was interesting but not very memorable. However, it is still a good fun read, perfect for the beach.

Imagine a 24-year-old woman who's written a list of things she's passionate about accomplishing before her next birthday. Now imagine being resposible for this woman's death. Okay, now imagine how Jill Smolinski manages to turn this idea into a laugh-out-loud funny joyride of a novel, populated with characters so endearing you wish you could hang out with them all in real life. As the main character, June Parker, confronts the boundaries of her comfort zone in order to complete the dead woman's life list, we are reminded that if you want to really live your life, taking chances isn't an option--it's essential.

They're making this into a movie? Great. The helicopter scene will be hilarious.

Do you have a life list? A list of things to do before you hit 25? Neither did June Parker. But when a tragic accident puts her in possession of another woman's life list, entitled "20 Things to Do by My 25th Birthday," June undertakes to complete the list for her. June embarks on a journey that will change her life, and the lives of those around her, forever.

Next Thing On My List is funny, sweet and touching. You'll be rooting for June from the first item on the list that she tackles straight through to the last. This book will make you smile, warm your heart, and maybe even make you shed a tear (in a good way, of course!).

I highly recommend Jill Smolinski's Next Thing On My List!

-Brenda Janowitz, author of Scot On The Rocks (Red Dress Ink Novels)

I absolutely loved this book. It was both funny and touching, and has inspired me to start my own list! This author is right up there with Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner, and Meg Cabot. If you want a quick read that's entertaining, yet heartwarming, this is the book for you!

This book kept me up way too late at night -- I couldn't put it down!

June Parker is living life in the slow lane. Her job -- as a writer for a carpooling agency -- is uninspiring. Her love life is nonexistent. Her biggest goal is to lose ten pounds. Following a Weight Watchers meeting her life takes a sudden, awful turn: she has a terrible car accident, and her passenger, a young woman she'd met at the meeting, is killed. June discovers a "life list" in the young woman's possession, detailing all of the things she wanted to accomplish before her twenty-fifth birthday. As a way of coming to terms with her role in the girl's death, June takes on the challenge of competing the list.

The list launches June into a series of adventures -- from kissing a stranger to boogie boarding to riding in a helicopter . . . to changing someone's life. In the hands of a less skilled writer, June's progression through the list could have seemed choppy, but Smolinski crafts a tale of one woman's journey of self discovery with page-turning precision. The writing is sharp and funny, the story is original, and the characters are both flawed and believable. This warm-hearted, clever book is truly a standout.

I liked this book in the sense that it was an easy read. I am a busy mom of 3 little ones, and this book was one that you could put down, pick up a few days later and not miss a beat. I must admit, however, that I read this book in a matter of days - I just needed to know how it was going to end up.

In a nutshell, I thought this book was about appreciating one's life and thinking about all the things you would like to do knowing that life is not infinite. I used this book for a Moms Club book reading, and we all thought it was a very good selection for the mere fact that it gave you much to think & talk about (ex: would you have completed the list? what would you put on your list? etc...)

I was passed along this book by a friend and really enjoyed it! If they are making this into a movie, it wouldn't suprise me. The characters are lovable, the story is really cute and reminds you just how important it is to live life to the fullest.