Review: The Book of Tomorrow

The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

publisher: HarperCollins

release date: February 1st, 2011

hardcover, 310 pages

intended audience: marketed to both YA and adult

rating:



source: from publisher for review

description: Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and all that a girl could ever wish for. She's always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow. But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood. With her mother shut away with grief, and her aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.

Review: I've read only one Cecilia Ahern book before and really enjoyed it. I really like her writing style, it's very casual and real. She has a knack for slipping back and forth between the dramatic and the hilarious seamlessly. It's what I like about the first book I read of hers (Thanks for the Memories) and it's definitely a good point of this book as well.

Tamara is one of those characters that I think people will have a hard time liking, but I really liked reading her and watching her grow as a person. She tends to speak the first thing that comes to her mind, even when that first thing could probably use a little filtering. She is completely spoiled rotten from a life of being the rich girl who got everything and her voice is biting and snarky almost every time she opens her mouth. Her life is flipped upside down when her dad commits suicide and leaves them drowning in his bad business debts. Her mom moves them to the country to stay with some very bizarre relatives, and then seems to check out mentally into a depressive state. This leaves her on her own with her uncle that barely says a word and her aunt that you can tell from the very beginning that there is something extremely amiss with her. They are the caretakers of the castle ruins next door and Tamara finds herself drawn to the castle, but can't help feeling she is being watched whenever she is there.

When she finds a mysterious locked book in the traveling library. I don't want to spoil what it is, but I will say it's a very intriguing concept and perfectly catapults Tamara into the mystery of her and her family's history! As it all unfolds, Tamara has to decide each day whether to let things flow or take it into her own hands to fix things. It all leads to a conclusion that, while not completely unpredictable, was very entertaining and exciting!

I highly recommend this one! This one had me both laughing out loud and in tears at times---always a good sign!

Visit Cecilia Ahern's site here.

Purchase Book of Tomorrow at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository