Sabrina and her best friend Jessica have a tradition of celebrating birthdays by going out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. This year turns out to be a bit different, though. When Sabrina enters the restaurant, she sees an eclectic group of celebratory guests: Jessica is seated with Sabrina's estranged father, her former college professor, her former fiance, and the one and only Audrey Hepburn. Why are these people all at her birthday dinner? And what is really going on in Sabrina's life that she needs this opportunity to set things right?
Thoughts: This book had a lot of potential, but it fell a bit flat. It was a quick and easy read, and was really quite interesting at times, but the premise just really didn't make sense when you reach the end of the book. Most of the chapters are spent on Sabrina's relationship with her former fiance, Tobias, which isn't necessarily a problem in and of itself. Their story is enough to keep readers engaged. The issue I had is that there are other interesting people at the dinner whose purposes aren't necessarily developed throughout the story. Some issues are resolved while others are not and while the ending seems to be a resolution of sorts, it left me feeling unsatisfied -- it just felt unfinished, in a way. The Dinner List is a bit of a coming-of-age story in that Sabrina needs to figure out how to navigate adult relationships, including how friendships and romantic relationships can change over time as well as how to be true to herself while also compromising her own needs to meet the needs of others. The Dinner List isn't life-changing, but would be an interesting read to those in their 20's who are learning how to transition out of young-adulthood.
Thoughts: This book had a lot of potential, but it fell a bit flat. It was a quick and easy read, and was really quite interesting at times, but the premise just really didn't make sense when you reach the end of the book. Most of the chapters are spent on Sabrina's relationship with her former fiance, Tobias, which isn't necessarily a problem in and of itself. Their story is enough to keep readers engaged. The issue I had is that there are other interesting people at the dinner whose purposes aren't necessarily developed throughout the story. Some issues are resolved while others are not and while the ending seems to be a resolution of sorts, it left me feeling unsatisfied -- it just felt unfinished, in a way. The Dinner List is a bit of a coming-of-age story in that Sabrina needs to figure out how to navigate adult relationships, including how friendships and romantic relationships can change over time as well as how to be true to herself while also compromising her own needs to meet the needs of others. The Dinner List isn't life-changing, but would be an interesting read to those in their 20's who are learning how to transition out of young-adulthood.