What if you knew how much time you had?

This is a new answer to an age-old question: Would you ever want to know the exact date that you were going to die? And if so, how would you use that information?

Enter the Gold family. When the four children are young, they hear about a mysterious woman in their neighborhood who can tell anyone the exact date of his or her death, and they can't help themselves. They go.

What follows are four chapters that tell the life journeys of the siblings. For some it means seizing the day, living in the moment, and taking risks. For others, it's an almost tangible reminder that life is finite and we need to plan, focus, and be as productive as possible.

One of the sisters becomes a magician. She has been working on this goal since she was a young child, creating illusions but also wanting to suspend disbelief and find magic everywhere around her. On a family beach trip, she is amazed by the red water on the Jersey shore.

"Years later in school, Klara learned of a phenomenon called red tide; algae blooms multiply, making coastal waters toxic and discolored. This knowledge made her feel curiously empty. She no longer had reason to wonder about the red sea or marvel at its mystery. She recognized that something had been given to her, but something else - the magic of the transformation - had been taken away."

I can relate to this. One bucket list item I haven't crossed off yet is to see the northern lights. I have a basic understanding of what they are, but honestly, it doesn't matter much to me. I just want to see them and admire them. I don't want to know the logical explanation.

I remember the day that I realized that someday I'm going to die too. I was about four years old, playing in the playroom my parents set up in our basement. I have no idea why it dawned on me. I just know that it did, and I freaked out. I remember running up the stairs to my mother weeping about the fact that I didn't want to die.  She had no idea why I was telling her this; I wasn't sick, we hadn't had any recent deaths in the family. She assured me that it wouldn't happen for a very, very long time. That didn't really help, though. I wanted it to never happen. I don't know how my parents distracted me and got me to move on to other things, but it was definitely a Moment, with a capital M. I'd still rather not know what day it's coming. I just hope that it's still not for a very long time.

This book is a 5/5 for me. The characters were beautifully drawn and their reactions to the predictions were varied but realistic. There is great fodder here for a book club discussion.

There is a great interview with the author on the Just the Right Book podcast. That's how I found it in the first place!