Book Review - The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Title: The Book of Tomorrow
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Year: 2009
Page: 320
Genre: Fiction - YA

FTC Disclosure: Free ARC from HarperCollins.com in exchange from an unbiased review

Summary (from goodreads.com):
The magical new novel from number one bestseller Cecelia Ahern. 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.

First Sentence:
They say a story loses something with each telling.

My Thoughts:

Why this book?

• When HarperCollins asked if I want to review their Jan new release, I thought this book sounded very interesting - I mean, a book that'd tell you what happens tomorrow? At that time, I had no idea who Cecelia Ahern is. It wasn't until when I received the book, I noticed that it was the same author who wrote PS I Love You, which I just read not too long ago. This book didn't seem like a chick lit though so I was happy about that. 

First thought:

• So promising, but didn't quite live up to expectations... could have been shorter.

Cover Art:

• Pretty! Suited the story well

Title:

• Fitted the story also

Writing:

• I thought the writing has improved a bit since PS I Love You (hey at least the protagonist didn't GIGGLED 3 times on one page!), however, the beginning was a bit slow and confusing, and the protagonist tended to rambled a bit.

Plot:

• There was a bit of a twist in the end which wrapped up the story and I didn't see it coming so it was good to see something a bit different

• This was advertised as a YA book I think (main protagonist was under 18 years old) and there were some F-words used and some sex-related content (not graphic). Didn't bother me though

• My biggest disappointment though was about the this mysterious book itself - I thought it played such an important role, and yet I didn't think it was fully explained

Characters:

• Didn't like the main protagonist, Tamara, much. She was a brat, but did see her "grow up" a bit throughout the book

• My favorite character was Sister Ignatius - would have loved to meet someone like her in real life!

• Some of the minor characters weren't very developed... they just seemed to appear and disappear...

Ending:

• I like non-ambiguous ending, and so I thought the ending was not bad (except about the book.)

Emotion:

• I did want to find out what happened and so I kept on reading, but I didn't feel much emotion one way or the other. It was more about "let's find out what happened" rather than "let's find out what happened to Tamara".

What I Learned:

• Can't say I really learn anything new... but would like to learn more about castles in Ireland!

PS:

• I thought this was a new release (1/25/11) but I saw that it was actually published in 2009? Perhaps it was a new release in the US? Not that it mattered much...

Read this Author again?

• She's not a bad author, but her books are just not my genre. So I don't know if I would or not...

Quote:

He wasn't really trapped at all, he was just looking in the wrong place.(p10)

"Would you prefer to be given a life already lived too, Tamara? That way you can sit back and observe it. Or would you rather live one yourself?" (p92)

Overall Rating:
2.5 Stars - Not bad, but I think others would enjoy it more than I do. Didn't quite find it magical

 



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