(I received this ebook from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley)

4.5 stars
The ending was heartbreaking...
This book is like Marley & Me except for the girl power and how Lauren (the author), grows up along with Gizelle (the big puppy) and learns how to be an adult in a big city with a big dog. Their connection was something incredible and heartwarming, especially in the second part of the book when Gizelle gets sick, making this a must-read for everyone who owns a pet and for those who don't as well.


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*This book has been optioned for film. Can't wait for it!* ( )

I really wanted to love this but it fell flat for me. It came off as a little insincere - but it’s about a dog so I persevered and finished it. ( )

Shoot, here come the waterworks. I used to belong to a 120 pound Bouvier des Flandres (and now I belong to a significantly smaller one), and so much of this book was familiar. There's something magical about owning a gigantic dog, and Lauren Fern Watt captures this perfectly. ( )

Gizelle is a big dog, a very big dog. She is a 160-pound English Mastiff, named after the princess in Enchanted. This is the story of her life with Lauren. Together they face the challenges of Lauren’s teenage years, college, the move to a tiny apartment in New York City, and the search for and adjustment to a new job and a new relationship. When Lauren realizes that her beloved companion will not be with her much longer, she devises a bucket list for her best friend. In a journal, she lists all the things that she wants Gizelle to experience. In order to keep her mind off of the tragedy she is facing, Lauren proceeds to plan and employ each and every idea on her bucket list.

This is a tender and loving story. Lauren writes well, as she describes her feelings while facing the challenges in her life with Gizelle by her side. In this volume, we learn that it is really the little things that matter. It also reminds us to cherish our furry friends. Oh, if only all dogs were loved like Gizelle was!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )

I have read several books about someone's relationship with a dog and the dog's eventual death but Gizelle's Bucket List by Lauren Watt is different. This is Lauren's story of her life with Gizelle. She was a teenager having trouble dealing with the change in her mother. It was almost a grieving process that she was going through. Her mother became addicted to alcohol and drugs. Lauren's mother would get better and then then get worse. Her parents marriage was falling apart. Lauren she was covering for her mother, cleaning up the house and trying to pretend that nothing wrong was happening. She wanted her mother back the way she used to be. One day, her mother told her that Lauren needed a dog, a big dog. That turned out to be Gizelle, a 160 pound mastiff, the largest breed of dog possible.

Gizelle was the other part of different for this book. She was so big that people often thought of her as being a person. It was interesting learning about Gizelle, a giant dog who could be afraid of a chihuahua. If her mother taught her how to lie, Gizelle taught her to tell the truth. Gizelle also gave her the love that she wanted from her mother, she was Lauren's best friend and helped to take her through the most stressful part of her life.

This is a beautiful story that would not have been the same without Gizelle.

I received this Advanced Reading Copy by making a selection from Amazon Vine books but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. I also posted this review only on sites meant for reading not for selling.