Wow! I really enjoyed this book. The first couple chapters were able to really hook me in. There are some spoilers that follow, so stop reading now if you haven't read the book yet.








I quite enjoyed Tina and I felt like she deserved better than her sisters being complete b***hes to her all the time. The whole book I kept thinking that I would be beyond furious if my mother died and my sisters kept things about her life and passing from me. Honestly I felt like 'The Building' and all that it could do was a little far fetched, but otherwise the who plot to kick both families out was exciting. I loved the little quirks that the building has and LOVED the workmans stairwell in the building. Very cool. From the very first time we meet Pete I like him. I didn't see them getting together at all but I think it really works. I'm kinda upset about the ending. I feel like it was too rushed. Although the book was more about the apartment, not the families.


Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am planning on reading Theresa Rebeck's other works. ( )

I tend to agree with some of the other reviews –the front cover is a huge draw (you think it will be a fun chick flick similar to Jennifer Weiner or Sarah Pekkanen’s work). However, it was not in my opinion- disappointing. The basis of the novel was good—poor quirky girl (Tina) an outcast, goes from living in a trailer park (housekeeper) to a 12-room apartment overlooking Central Park in NY.
Lots of drama from her evil sisters, Bill’s sons (her mother’s second husband) who died only a few weeks earlier, crazy neighbors, lawyer, finds her mom kept hidden, rare plants, secret passages----- however, the main character development did not have a lot of depth, and plot planning was just not there for me. If you like this sort of quirky book – may be for you.
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This book is a good choice to sit with during a lazy afternoon. The book is not what it appears to be. ( )

Tina Finn is a screw up. Her mother dies suddenly and leaves no will. Tina and her two sisters - Lucy & Alison - find themselves inheriting an Upper West Side apartment with a view of Central Park. In order to stake their claim on the apartment, Tina is forced to move in. Her mother's step sons wan the apartment for themselves and cannot understand why their father left the apartment to his second wife - who was his housekeeper. The co-op board for the building wants to split up the apartment themselves and tries to evict Tina almost immediately.



As Lucy & Alison try to figure out the red tape surrounding the apartment, Tina tries to make friends with the co-op board. Tina also explores the apartment more and finds a whole closet full of items from her mother's husband's first marriage. From rare plants to false arrests to secret passages this historical apartment has much more in store than it first looks. ( )