The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski

“The Next Thing on my List” by Jill Smolinski was basically the inspiration for my own “30 List”. In the book the main character June is your typical, single 30-something who is involved in a terrible car accident which ends the life of her passenger, Marissa. In her own way of dealing with this devastating event, June tasks herself with completing Marissa’s “25 things to do before my 25^th birthday” list. It is an interesting spin on an old concept. I mean it is going to be hard for me to complete my own list, I can’t imagine trying to complete someone else’s list. Some things on the list aren’t too hard like “Throw away the bathroom scale” and “Eat ice cream in public”. Marissa was practically a stranger to June, so completing other things on the list aren’t so easy. “Change someone’s life” and “Make Buddy Fitch pay” really challenge her to pull out all the stops.

It is a really good book. Throughout the story, June learns a lot from “the list”. She learns a lot about herself and also about Marissa’s life (and manages to have some fun along the way!) June’s life dramatically changes throughout the experience as she races to complete the list on time. It leads to lots of crazy adventures, lots of awkward moments, life changing decisions for June, and even an unexpected romance.

All in all, I give it 4 stars out of 5.

It apparently is also going to be made into a movie that is slated to come out in 2009!

Here is a link to the author’s website:

http://www.jillsmolinski.com/Books.html