Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life With a Very Large Dog by Lauren Fern Watt

Title: Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life with a Very Large Dog
Author: Lauren Fern Watt
Page Count: 256
Rating: B
Keywords: Coming of Age, Friendship, Addiction, Dogs, NYC
Genre: Memoir
Younger Readers: The writer does discuss some sensitive topics such as her mother's drug and alcohol addiction. Nothing is exactly inappropriate, just may raise some questions and strong emotions. Conservative readers may be uncomfortable with the casual discussion of sex, though it is not detailed.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The playful, epic adventure of a 160-pound English Mastiff and the twentysomething girl who grew up alongside her—Marley & Me for a whole new generation.

Lauren Watt took her 160-pound English Mastiff to college—so of course after graduation, Gizelle followed Lauren to her first, tiny apartment in New York. Because Gizelle wasn’t just a dog; she was a roommate, sister, confidante, dining companion, and everything in between.

Together, Gizelle and Lauren went through boyfriends, first jobs, a mother’s struggle with addiction, and the ups and downs of becoming an adult in the big city. But when Gizelle got sick and Lauren realized her best friend might not be such a constant after all, she designed an epic bucket list to make the absolute most of the time they had left.

Bursting with charm, this unique, coming-of-age story of a girl making her way through life is a testament to the special way pets inspire us to live better, love better, and appreciate the simple pleasures. Gizelle’s Bucket List is the humorous, poignant lesson our pets teach us: to embrace adventure, love unconditionally, and grow into the people we want to be.


My Review:

This book was given to me as a graduation gift because I am about to move with my own fairly large dog. I did enjoy this read and the gift was well intentioned but I was sobbing quite audibly by page five.

If you have ever read a book about a dog, you know that there are going to be tears. Usually, the book builds up to the heart wrenching devastation that has you ugly crying while strangers look on in concern. Not this one. Instead it begins at the end. I apologize to my own dog who got far more hugs than she would have liked during my time reading about the mastiff named Gizelle.

Aside from the normal crying that comes with a dog book, I did enjoy this coming of age story. Lauren is not some alien creature writing about something insane. She is a girl you could have found yourself knowing in school or through work. Her past has some dark moments and her present has its own struggles, but her adventures with Gizelle are quite simply a girl learning to be an adult with her best friend.

Lauren is a quick and clean writer. She does not focus on unnecessary details and, unlike some other memoirs I have read, everything she writes down is for a reason. When you come to the last page and close the book you feel as if you have been told a complete tale rather than snippets of a life.

You might be wondering why I didn't give it an A rating if I liked the book, and the truth is that I just have a hard time connecting with memoirs. My interests in nonfiction tend to lean more towards history and cultural studies. But, if you enjoy autobiographies and memoirs I honestly believe you'll love this book. Give it a chance and just be sure to have tissues close by.....and maybe don't read this one in public.


****If you are looking more for a children's  fiction book about a dog consider A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin. Check out my review for that book here****