Book Review | The To-Do List

The To-Do List by JC Miller

Publication Date: January 1, 2015

Book Blurb

Between unending housework and thankless efforts to appease a loutish husband and acid-tongue teens, Ginny Cooper’s to-do list never seems to get done. Her guilty pleasure—fantasizing about her husband’s demise—her weakness—the drive-thru at Arby’s. On the job as head librarian at the county’s obsolete library, tedium reigns. One afternoon Ginny innocently stumbles upon a dating website, where the rabbit hole awaits.

Who is Ginny Cooper? She is every woman who knows the exact number of calories in a Snickers bar, every woman who has ever struggled with her weight. She is every woman who has grappled with the gray areas, every woman who has wanted to escape her own life. At times the reader will want to reach between the pages, shake her, and talk some sense into her. But Ginny will have to navigate her own road. And through it all, we root for her.

Ginny’s childhood memories of her fading hometown provide a bittersweet backdrop for The To-Do List.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon Global | Barnes & Noble 

My Review

The To-Do List is a funny story about what happens when your life falls apart from a crumbling marriage. Written with wit and humor, I was drawn into the story within the first few pages. 41-year-old Ginny finds herself in a loveless marriage with an emotional bully and pathetic excuse of a husband that’s constantly berating her about her weight. She drives a cluttered minivan, works at the local library, and has an affinity for making to-do lists. Up until now, she’s continued to go about her existence as a wife and mother to their two teenagers, Kelly and Kevin.

When she finds her life falling apart, she has no choice but to continue to move forward and on with her life, or what’s left of it. Life is funny though, the things that seem like terrible luck sometimes turn out to be blessings in disguise. At first Ginny seems a bit pathetic when it comes to her husband and her family, but as I read on, I began to pity the poor woman. Up until her husband makes a life-altering decision, Ginny lived with her hand in the sand and pretended that if she didn’t pay attention to something, that it wasn’t really happening.

Does time heal all wounds? Maybe, maybe not. But it definitely helps when you have no choice but to move on with your life. Marriage should be filled with love and respect for one another and when that isn’t the case, things have to change. Change can be a good thing, it can bring you to a happier place in your life and improve your life for the better.

This novel reminded me a bit of Bridget Jones’s Diary. I loved how Ginny starts off in the story by counting calories for everything she ate and always over-indulging in unhealthy food. As her life begins to change, she stops keeping track of calories and starts eating to fuel her body and feel good in her own skin. Interesting factor in the story that her weight may have been a defense mechanism to her unhappy marriage. I found it interesting to see how Ginny’s life evolves and changes into something different, something that she never could have foreseen happening.

The To-Do List left me with a smile on my face and I enjoyed the humor throughout the story. Four stars for this fun and quick read.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

CLP Blog Tours provided me with a free copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review. Receiving novels free of charge in no way reflects on my honest opinion and no monetary compensation was provided for my review. I encourage you to write reviews and share them on sites like Goodreads and Amazon!

Connect with the Author – JC Miller

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About the Author:

JC (Jeanne) holds an MA in education and is a founding member of JAM, an editorial-consultation team. An avid reader and table tennis enthusiast, JC resides in Northern California.