Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by kblincoln
The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern
3.0
So it's better than just 3 stars, but not quite up to the 4 star range-- mostly because the ending felt like a rushed, tangled, too-revelatory-after-school-special-to-be-true without the necessary plot clues to fit in like puzzle pieces, mess.
The first third of the book is actually quite entertaining. Tamara Goodwin comes from a rich family. She had everything she ever wanted served to her on the silver platter-- until the day her father's business took a nose dive and he committed suicide.
Tamara and her all-but-comatose mother go to live with Tamara's uncle and his frowsy, food-obsessed, wife in the gatehouse of a crumbling castle.
Tamara is not happy. She's rude, makes terrible comments, and basically just is a selfish person. She somehow makes friends with the young, male driver of a Library bus and also a bee-keeping nun (although with her caustic wit you kind of wonder why they put up with her).
Little by little, her Aunt's strange reluctance to leave her alone with her mom, mysterious clicks on the castle grounds, and the strange, glass-making inhabitant of the nearest cottage draw Tamara into uncovering a family secret that will change her forever.
Tamara's selfishness and brusque manner was okay for the first part of the book, but then I got tired of how mean she was. I wanted her to melt a bit. I also didn't quite like how interchangeable Library Bus Driver and Wesley ended up being-- I feel like Tamara developed nothing from her encounters with those two.
But most of all, what makes this closer to a 3 star than a 4 star, is the weird way in which the "villain" gets this summarized story at the end of the book to explain everything. And even with that explanation, I'm left wondering why certain characters did what they did. Motivation seemed weird, as well as the central mystery of the story a bit unbelievable.
This Book's Snack Rating: Cheddar Cheese Pringles for the thinly concocted characters with a pleasing layer of mysterious cheese in the first half of the book
The first third of the book is actually quite entertaining. Tamara Goodwin comes from a rich family. She had everything she ever wanted served to her on the silver platter-- until the day her father's business took a nose dive and he committed suicide.
Tamara and her all-but-comatose mother go to live with Tamara's uncle and his frowsy, food-obsessed, wife in the gatehouse of a crumbling castle.
Tamara is not happy. She's rude, makes terrible comments, and basically just is a selfish person. She somehow makes friends with the young, male driver of a Library bus and also a bee-keeping nun (although with her caustic wit you kind of wonder why they put up with her).
Little by little, her Aunt's strange reluctance to leave her alone with her mom, mysterious clicks on the castle grounds, and the strange, glass-making inhabitant of the nearest cottage draw Tamara into uncovering a family secret that will change her forever.
Tamara's selfishness and brusque manner was okay for the first part of the book, but then I got tired of how mean she was. I wanted her to melt a bit. I also didn't quite like how interchangeable Library Bus Driver and Wesley ended up being-- I feel like Tamara developed nothing from her encounters with those two.
But most of all, what makes this closer to a 3 star than a 4 star, is the weird way in which the "villain" gets this summarized story at the end of the book to explain everything. And even with that explanation, I'm left wondering why certain characters did what they did. Motivation seemed weird, as well as the central mystery of the story a bit unbelievable.
This Book's Snack Rating: Cheddar Cheese Pringles for the thinly concocted characters with a pleasing layer of mysterious cheese in the first half of the book