The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle4 out of 5 stars
Who are five people, living or dead, that you would want to have dinner with? It's a question I'd bet most people have asked or been asked, not actually thinking it would happen, but just to get conversation started whether at a party or just out for drinks or sitting at home.
Well, when Sabrina arrives at her thirtieth birthday dinner she is greeted with her list: her friend Jessica, her former college Professor, her estranged father Robert, her ex-boyfriend Tobias, and Audrey Hepburn. What unfolds is a very thought-provoking, yet easily accessible story about the relationships we have (friendships, familial, and romantic) and the ups and downs that occur as we, as individuals, grow and experience life and sometimes how things that happen in our lives prevent us from moving forward, or makes us scared of history repeating itself.
Right away, especially with the inclusion of Audrey Hepburn, you wonder what exactly is going on. That need to figure it out propels the story forward. When you realize there's the whole fairytale-esque "ending at midnight" stipulation, the pacing is catapulted forward even quicker as Sabrina tries to, basically, figure out her life. Why things between her and Jessica have been strained, why could she never reconcile with her father, what his leaving did to her and how it affects her to this day, and most especially where her relationship with Tobias went wrong and can she fix it?
It's a cleverly built story and Rebecca Serle throws in a somewhat unexpected twist near the half-way mark that even further ratchets up the mystery of how Sabrina can be having a dinner with these particular people and what it all means for Sabrina's self-discovery.
I won't say too much more because it's definitely a book that's best read with some surprises, but I thought it was at times magical yet real, heartbreaking yet hopeful.
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