I’ve never read ‘P.S. I Love You’ because my body seems to
automatically reject romance novels/films if they claim to make girls cry from
the start. That said, I still took out one of author Cecilia Ahern’s other
books, ‘The Book of Tomorrow’, from the library anyway. Partly I was drawn in
by the pretty book cover even though it screams ‘chick lit’, but the premise
itself sounded like one I could really get into- discovering a book which has
the power to read like a diary of the future? Sign me up!
==---Plot---==
Sixteen year old Tamara Goodwin has it all: a big mansion,
friends to have a laugh with and all the expensive goods she could need. That
is until her father commits suicide and the house is to be repossessed,
therefore Tamara and her mother must move away from Dublin to stay with her Aunt
Rosaleen and Uncle Arthur until they recover.
Being far away from her affluent lifestyle and surrounded by
a grieving mother and overbearing relatives, Tamara becomes pretty frustrated
with a lack of things to do. Fortunately she finds solace in a travelling
library run by the kindly Marcus, where she discovers a leather bound tome
sealed with a padlock. With help from friendly nun Sister Ignatius, Tamara gets
the book open and learns it is a diary which somehow manages to write down what
happens tomorrow...when reading it the day before. But Tamara’s attempts to
change the future, as well as find out the secrets her aunt and uncle seem to
be hiding from her, might not always led to the outcome she wants...
==---Opinion---==
This was another book I finished in a single night- I
seriously couldn’t put it down!
Ahern writes everything really vividly, whether it’d be
Tamara’s emotional ups and downs or the beautiful surroundings of the Irish
countryside where she’s now living. I really wanted to help Tamara find out why
her aunt and uncle are being so secretive, keeping a close eye on her, and
seemingly discouraging her mother’s recovery. It becomes really tense when the
situation seems to be connected with her family’s history. It’s a mystery I was
keen to get to the bottom of and so I was hooked right up to the book’s
conclusion! The twists that came here did indeed catch me by surprise, and then
followed up with a deeper explanation so that the reader- and Tamara- can emotionally
get their heads around what’s just happened. The concept of the ‘Book of
Tomorrow’ is very interesting and well-incorporated into the story to help
Tamara get through her own grief and reveal the secrets hidden by her family.
I loved our lead character Tamara Goodwin. She’s spoilt,
selfish and very much the epitome of a teenage brat, especially when she
rambles on about her friends or pop cultural knowledge. Despite this her
narrative self (who comes off as older and wiser) acknowledges how flawed she
is, and she’s still a witty enough storyteller to win me over. She cares deeply
for her mother’s wellbeing and befriends the elderly Sister Ignatius despite
the age gap and cultural differences. Eventually, you do begin to sympathize with
her as she is clearly frustrated with her father’s suicide, her mother’s utter
grief over the death and the whole change in scenery that has resulted from it.
The supporting characters are also great with their own personality quirks,
such as Rosaleen’s secrecy and nosy nature and Marcus, the kindly but witty
travelling library driver whom takes to Tamara. I really connected with all of
them, especially when motives and secrets are revealed at the end.
Perhaps the only the weak link I found with ‘The Book of
Tomorrow’ was the romance between Tamara and her new friend Weseley. Their
friendship is built up fairly well as he becomes crucial to helping Tamara find
out what Aunt Rosaleen is hiding from her, and occasionally they do make passes
at each other. However I found it hard to believe that by the end of the book they
were romantically inclined enough to begin kissing and dating, especially as
Tamara was definitely falling for Marcus before a certain incident.
==---Overall---==
I absolutely loved ‘The Book of Tomorrow’: an engrossing story,
in-depth characters and Ahern’s witty narrative really brought everything to life.
If this is my thoughts to a book of hers that is supposedly not her best then I
can’t wait until I come across ‘P.S. I Love You’ now! Definitely check this
book out if you’re a fan of chick lit with a lot of depth or would like a touch
of magic to your contemporary fiction fix!
I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.
Review of library copy only.
Image from Goodreads.
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