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A review by mercurialreading
One Day in December by Josie Silver
4.0
One Day in December by Josie Silver is definitely not the lighthearted contemporary romance read I thought I was diving into, but it surprised me in a good way. One Day in December is a book filled with intense, roller coaster emotions that really grip you from the start. It is a story about love and dealing with feelings that may or may not hurt yourself and others. It is a story about friendship, about growth, and about the obstacles life gives you and how you deal with them. It about learning to love what you have in front of you, even if that means making choices that may not necessarily leave a “picture-perfect” outcome, or leaving you where you want to be.
The book focuses on Laurie and Jack, who after catching a glimpse of each other at a bus stop, form this intense and instant connection, which is explored over the course of decade. When I first started reading I did not realize how much time would pass during the novel and was skeptical when I did realize how long this book was covering. My first thought was “how long would it really take to for Laurie and Jack to finally get to be together- if they get to be together at all?” Yet, I found the book to be much more than that. Laurie and Jack, over the course of this decade, really try to find themselves. What do they want in life? What will they prioritize and/or sacrifice for what they want? They, along with the other characters, including Laurie’s best friend Sarah, speak to trying to find your way in life.
I grew to really love both Laurie and Jack (and Sarah!), with their snarky sense of humours, but also grew horribly frustrated with them in some of their decisions; however, that is what I love about the book- these characters are not perfect and the author gives their actions consequences. Silver has done a good job at addressing these actions, not condoning some of the decisions made by Laurie and Jack for the sake of creating a romance that transcends consequences, if that makes sense.
Other Thoughts/Comments:
The book jumps back and forth between Laurie and Jack’s POVs, another aspect I was skeptical about. However, Silver really delivers distinct POVs. I never felt like I was constantly reading a single POV, even though it jumped between two.
The novel never really dragged on for me. I think that might be because it is more character-driven. The book really focused on the characters developing, and I personally enjoy that.
I could go on, but I will leave it here. This is a book I can see myself rereading in the future and I think many would enjoy (and as I see here on Goodreads, have enjoyed!). I would not say this book is identical to a Nora Ephron film, like You’ve Got Mail, but I think it kind of has that same feel to it. This is kind of funny, because as I was thinking this for the first time while reading, Laurie makes a comment in the book along the lines of life not being a Nora Ephron film. Again, I am not saying it is identical, but I feel like if you enjoy her films, you may enjoy this.
One final note: this may or may not be considered a spoiler, but I feel like as someone who has read the book and is ultimately recommending others to read it, I should give the content warning for cheating.
The book focuses on Laurie and Jack, who after catching a glimpse of each other at a bus stop, form this intense and instant connection, which is explored over the course of decade. When I first started reading I did not realize how much time would pass during the novel and was skeptical when I did realize how long this book was covering. My first thought was “how long would it really take to for Laurie and Jack to finally get to be together- if they get to be together at all?” Yet, I found the book to be much more than that. Laurie and Jack, over the course of this decade, really try to find themselves. What do they want in life? What will they prioritize and/or sacrifice for what they want? They, along with the other characters, including Laurie’s best friend Sarah, speak to trying to find your way in life.
I grew to really love both Laurie and Jack (and Sarah!), with their snarky sense of humours, but also grew horribly frustrated with them in some of their decisions; however, that is what I love about the book- these characters are not perfect and the author gives their actions consequences. Silver has done a good job at addressing these actions, not condoning some of the decisions made by Laurie and Jack for the sake of creating a romance that transcends consequences, if that makes sense.
Other Thoughts/Comments:
The book jumps back and forth between Laurie and Jack’s POVs, another aspect I was skeptical about. However, Silver really delivers distinct POVs. I never felt like I was constantly reading a single POV, even though it jumped between two.
The novel never really dragged on for me. I think that might be because it is more character-driven. The book really focused on the characters developing, and I personally enjoy that.
I could go on, but I will leave it here. This is a book I can see myself rereading in the future and I think many would enjoy (and as I see here on Goodreads, have enjoyed!). I would not say this book is identical to a Nora Ephron film, like You’ve Got Mail, but I think it kind of has that same feel to it. This is kind of funny, because as I was thinking this for the first time while reading, Laurie makes a comment in the book along the lines of life not being a Nora Ephron film. Again, I am not saying it is identical, but I feel like if you enjoy her films, you may enjoy this.
One final note: this may or may not be considered a spoiler, but I feel like as someone who has read the book and is ultimately recommending others to read it, I should give the content warning for cheating.