Tag: teacher

Do you have a life list? Perhaps you have a bucket list, but did you ever even consider a life list.  Lori Spielman’s main character Brett Bohlinger in the book THE LIFE LIST didn’t realize she had one, after all Brett was just a fourteen year old when she wrote it. When her mother’s will was read, Brett’s brothers got their inheritance, but Elizabeth Bohlinger gave her daughter a year to fulfill each item on that very same list and upon completion, according to the terms of the will, Brett would receive her inheritance.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? But through an unexpected turn of events, Brett finds herself in need of her inheritance to survive, or so she thought.  Brett had been groomed to take over as CEO of her mother’s company, Bohlinger Cosmetics, but her mother gave that position to her daughter-in-law Catherine, as well as, all of her shares in the company. On top of that, Catherine’s instructions were to relieve Brett of her responsibilities.  Brett was without a job. She broke up with her boyfriend and had nowhere to go but to her mother’s house to live until she could get a job. Even the kind of job was stipulated on the life list – she was to get a teaching job.  Her brothers kept reminding her that according to their mother’s wishes, none of them could live in her house for more than a month at a time.

Within the year Brett was also to fall in love, get married, and have a child. No easy task when there seemingly was no eligible bachelor that she was in love with.  There was Brad Midar, her mother’s attorney, but he was in a long-distance relationship. Garrett Taylor, a psychiatrist, seemed extremely friendly and just the right person, but he was old and they never seemed to be able to meet. Their only contact was over the telephone to discuss one of his patients who was also one of Brett’s students.  Her brother introduces her to Herbert Moyer who seems to fill the bill, but can Brett fall in love with him?  What about the mysterious man in Burberry coat that she keeps bumping into?

It just doesn’t seem possible to meet all of the demands her mother is making.  Get a dog, buy a horse, help poor people, have a good relationship with her dad. This one was a hard one to solve, after all her father was already dead.

Lori Spielman’s debut novel THE LIFE LIST reads so well, you would think she was a seasoned author.  I loved that the characters were real and charming and unforgettable.  The plot was well developed and generously sprinkled with humor. I was hooked from the first page. It is a quick read that is enjoyable right up to the last word. I highly recommend THE LIFE LIST.