Review: The Book of Tomorrow

THE BOOK OF TOMORROW by Cecelia Ahern, was printed in the United States of America in 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers. Originally published in Great Britain, 2009.
, no
I was right about the magic in the book. Do I tell you or let you figure it out yourself, hmm. Well, since she mentions it on the cover, there is a book which she picks up in a traveling library, nothing is written inside this locked book, until the day that Tamara decided to write in it herself. That is when she finds an entry in her handwriting describing what will happen the rest of the day, that she apparently wrote the night before. But this was the first time she actually going to write in the book. It even describes where she is sitting, while she decides to write in the book. This is not all that bizarre in this book story that Tamara is narrating. There is the nun who keeps saying she is 17, while Tamara corrects her and says 16. There is the story about how her parents met that changes except for one fact, Tamara's dad just had to have her mom. Then we have the Uncle and Aunt who as Tamara describes as the Deliverance Duo (page 18). Why is her mom always sleeping? Why will no one answer her questions? Who is Rosaleen visiting in the bungalow?

In the beginning you have the confusion of a young girl thrown out of her comfort zone, already butting against authority, into a world totally different from anything she has ever experienced. No money, no phone, no shopping, and no friends to turn to when she needs advice. It made me think of all the things that we give our children, what happens when we can no longer give them what they are used to having in their life. You can see the resentment that would build, add in the suicide of a parent, and boom you have the makings of a story.

Once I got past the deliberate confusing first chapters, I truly enjoyed the book. I loved the rebellious teenager, who really wanted answers to questions. You could tell by her concern for her mom that she was not totally self-absorbed.  I wanted to go back to Ireland and find the place that she was living. I love old castles and do not think of them as ruins. I kept thinking at the end of the story, they would decide to rebuild the castle. Ireland is always a magical place.