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A review by micaaaaaaa
One Day in December by Josie Silver
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
If you end up reading this review I would like to advice you that it is going to be a very informal review because I have a few complaints, and I am also not the best writer but here we go.
So, after reading a very depressing book. I wanted to start a new life altogether. I wanted to distract myself mainly from the depression. Therefore, I went on a journey to find a list of books that I can read which were light hearted, romantic, a typical young adult sort of a book to read on Christmas. And boy, I would not lie that this book is definitely not Christmas themed. There will be spoilers here and there. So, please be warned.
I was anticipating something else from this book. The cover looked nice and the book name sounded fun. I ended up deciding to read the book without reading the reviews. Mostly, because I do not want to spoil the fun of a hearty romance. But I also wanted to surprise myself if it was a fluffy romance like I had expected. I was utterly wrong. And I do regret not reading the reviews before I picked it up. Sadly, this book was not at all a light-hearted read at all. I am surprised that 57% voted for it. But I would like to disagree. Not that I am saying the book was bad but it was kind of an emotional rollercoaster.
Basically it is indeed a love story. But without much romance actually happening. We have Laurie and Sarah, the best of friends who live together. One particular day, Laurie ends up falling for a random stranger she sees from the bus station. And when they make eye contact, she experiences love at first sight immediately. They both were immediately hooked and Laurie had the spontaneous wish of inviting that stranger on her bus. He tried to jump in but could not get in as fast as possible.
Laurie ends up dreaming about him, wanting to find this so-called "bus boy" again. Little did she know that the boy she dreamt off ended up being the lover of her best friend whom she wanted to marry. When I started reading it, it hit me how skeptical I was about the entire trope. I was convinced that this trope will not work at all. But my suspicions were false, Josie (the author) actually did an amazing job making it work.
Now, I will try my best to not spoil the entire book. But this romance was more of a different perspective but also essential to understand. When I was young, I used to be so delusional about marriages. I used to find it so upsetting when people could just divorce so easily. But after reading a perspective about splitting up, it just taught me more about love not being perfect all the time. And people do split up for different reasons. This book explored different areas of love, friendship, and relationships not working out for many reasons. It showed a very realistic picture of how love can bloom but also at times not enough for a relationship to work.
I was also surprised to learn a very essential element of the book. Which was, losing the chances you do not take. I always see alternative quotes being used, but this one was the main theme of the book. It pretty much encapsulated this idea throughout the story. It was also a bit sad too because you also sympathize with the situations of all the characters that are involved.
Now, you would be guessing why I did not love it? There are a few reasons I would like to point out. First, I could not sense the tones and emotions of the characters sometimes. I do think the writing might not have not been the best, making sense of it being a debut novel. I do think it can be improved upon. Second, I was also confused about some of the perspectives of the guy, Jack. Sometimes, It came off as rushed. I also did not understand the genre of romance in the book. From my understanding, the book was not romantic but more about the emphasis on relationships. Last but not least, the book might have been a bit long that I wanted it. But I also can put my finger around why it was long but the ending seemed to be a bit rushed because of it.
While all these details were amiss, I think that it was still quite promising. It did end up showing this trope of hopelessly falling in love with your best friend's lover but would not act on it because you love your best friend too much. The way I even phrased it seemed ridiculous, but trust me once you read this you will understand exactly what I mean. Although, I do discourage cheating whatsoever. But it also taught me about compassion for those who end up in that situation, Josie did an incredible work on that. And realising how this was her debut novel surely raised my expectations about more of her work. For a debut novel, I think it was great.
Now, I am a sad potato because I read a real life picture of what the modern form of romance actually is when all I wanted was some fluffy romance. My dream of reading a fluffy romance is still on the run. But after reading this, it has made me realize that fluffy romances are at the end of the day very rare to find and fictional too. Anyways, a great book.
Wowww I will be suprised if you read my crap of a review. Thank you. I shall award you a star ✧。I will try my best to get better at writing.
Love,
Mica
So, after reading a very depressing book. I wanted to start a new life altogether. I wanted to distract myself mainly from the depression. Therefore, I went on a journey to find a list of books that I can read which were light hearted, romantic, a typical young adult sort of a book to read on Christmas. And boy, I would not lie that this book is definitely not Christmas themed. There will be spoilers here and there. So, please be warned.
I was anticipating something else from this book. The cover looked nice and the book name sounded fun. I ended up deciding to read the book without reading the reviews. Mostly, because I do not want to spoil the fun of a hearty romance. But I also wanted to surprise myself if it was a fluffy romance like I had expected. I was utterly wrong. And I do regret not reading the reviews before I picked it up. Sadly, this book was not at all a light-hearted read at all. I am surprised that 57% voted for it. But I would like to disagree. Not that I am saying the book was bad but it was kind of an emotional rollercoaster.
Basically it is indeed a love story. But without much romance actually happening. We have Laurie and Sarah, the best of friends who live together. One particular day, Laurie ends up falling for a random stranger she sees from the bus station. And when they make eye contact, she experiences love at first sight immediately. They both were immediately hooked and Laurie had the spontaneous wish of inviting that stranger on her bus. He tried to jump in but could not get in as fast as possible.
Laurie ends up dreaming about him, wanting to find this so-called "bus boy" again. Little did she know that the boy she dreamt off ended up being the lover of her best friend whom she wanted to marry. When I started reading it, it hit me how skeptical I was about the entire trope. I was convinced that this trope will not work at all. But my suspicions were false, Josie (the author) actually did an amazing job making it work.
Now, I will try my best to not spoil the entire book. But this romance was more of a different perspective but also essential to understand. When I was young, I used to be so delusional about marriages. I used to find it so upsetting when people could just divorce so easily. But after reading a perspective about splitting up, it just taught me more about love not being perfect all the time. And people do split up for different reasons. This book explored different areas of love, friendship, and relationships not working out for many reasons. It showed a very realistic picture of how love can bloom but also at times not enough for a relationship to work.
I was also surprised to learn a very essential element of the book. Which was, losing the chances you do not take. I always see alternative quotes being used, but this one was the main theme of the book. It pretty much encapsulated this idea throughout the story. It was also a bit sad too because you also sympathize with the situations of all the characters that are involved.
Now, you would be guessing why I did not love it? There are a few reasons I would like to point out. First, I could not sense the tones and emotions of the characters sometimes. I do think the writing might not have not been the best, making sense of it being a debut novel. I do think it can be improved upon. Second, I was also confused about some of the perspectives of the guy, Jack. Sometimes, It came off as rushed. I also did not understand the genre of romance in the book. From my understanding, the book was not romantic but more about the emphasis on relationships. Last but not least, the book might have been a bit long that I wanted it. But I also can put my finger around why it was long but the ending seemed to be a bit rushed because of it.
While all these details were amiss, I think that it was still quite promising. It did end up showing this trope of hopelessly falling in love with your best friend's lover but would not act on it because you love your best friend too much. The way I even phrased it seemed ridiculous, but trust me once you read this you will understand exactly what I mean. Although, I do discourage cheating whatsoever. But it also taught me about compassion for those who end up in that situation, Josie did an incredible work on that. And realising how this was her debut novel surely raised my expectations about more of her work. For a debut novel, I think it was great.
Now, I am a sad potato because I read a real life picture of what the modern form of romance actually is when all I wanted was some fluffy romance. My dream of reading a fluffy romance is still on the run. But after reading this, it has made me realize that fluffy romances are at the end of the day very rare to find and fictional too. Anyways, a great book.
Wowww I will be suprised if you read my crap of a review. Thank you. I shall award you a star ✧。I will try my best to get better at writing.
Love,
Mica
Content Warnings
This is not Christmas themed!!!!