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acaffeinated_bookworm's Reviews (253)
I initially picked this title up because of its unique premise and, in my opinion, plot and character development potential. Unfortunately, this story fell flat and only succeeded at ticking me off for 300+ pages. I'm only giving this one 3 stars because I enjoyed the writing style, premise, and general theme.
Let's start with the good: I appreciated the comforting theme that I am not alone in growing apart from high school friends and acquaintances. I think we can all relate to changing friendships and connections as a result of our personal growth as we age! It can be tough to reflect on your youth, a time where you (likely) saw smaller numbers on the scale and had larger potential awaiting you in the future. Maybe many of us have fallen short in our dreams, aspirations, and career goals, and if so, you can certainly relate to the challenges presented to the main characters. This can be a comforting and thought-provoking read regarding this topic!
As for the bad: The ending is rather abrupt, and wasn't what I was hoping for it to be. Also, there was a sudden health scare out of left field right at the end of the book, which felt completely unnecessary and improperly handled. In addition, I've said it a thousand times - I should not know the politics of the author when I'm reading. I am reading a fiction novel, and in many cases political statements are completely irrelevant to the plot and characters and have no business being included in the book. Unfortunately, this author assumes that all women are clearly sharing in her leftist beliefs, but half the country doesn't entirely agree with one ideology or another. This guarantees you'll annoy a sizeable portion of your readers. Just don't do it, authors. Leave the unnecessary politics out of fiction and allow us an escape from our politically-obsessed world.
With that being said, only read this is you're a raging fourth-wave feminist that wants to read about how terrible men are on all 300+ pages of this book. Without the constant, unnecessary political statements, this one would be a 4 star for me.
Let's start with the good: I appreciated the comforting theme that I am not alone in growing apart from high school friends and acquaintances. I think we can all relate to changing friendships and connections as a result of our personal growth as we age! It can be tough to reflect on your youth, a time where you (likely) saw smaller numbers on the scale and had larger potential awaiting you in the future. Maybe many of us have fallen short in our dreams, aspirations, and career goals, and if so, you can certainly relate to the challenges presented to the main characters. This can be a comforting and thought-provoking read regarding this topic!
As for the bad: The ending is rather abrupt, and wasn't what I was hoping for it to be. Also, there was a sudden health scare out of left field right at the end of the book, which felt completely unnecessary and improperly handled. In addition, I've said it a thousand times - I should not know the politics of the author when I'm reading. I am reading a fiction novel, and in many cases political statements are completely irrelevant to the plot and characters and have no business being included in the book. Unfortunately, this author assumes that all women are clearly sharing in her leftist beliefs, but half the country doesn't entirely agree with one ideology or another. This guarantees you'll annoy a sizeable portion of your readers. Just don't do it, authors. Leave the unnecessary politics out of fiction and allow us an escape from our politically-obsessed world.
With that being said, only read this is you're a raging fourth-wave feminist that wants to read about how terrible men are on all 300+ pages of this book. Without the constant, unnecessary political statements, this one would be a 4 star for me.
While this novel had some redeeming qualities, it ultimately fell short for me. First, Catalina is very repetitive in her lust for Aaron. It's rather annoying, really. He's tall, he's hot, we get it! We don't need to hear it in detail on every page. Second, this book doesn't need to be 400+ pages. There was a lot of Catalina's internal dialogue, and it, again, was repetitive. It really is a cute story overall, but it's drawn out entirely too long that I found myself skimming the last several chapters just to get it over with. It's a shame... I really enjoyed the first half of the book but found myself hating it by the final 100 pages.
This is a must-read. Backman has an incredible talent for examining human behavior while creating a world so easy to immerse yourself in. It's a story of the cowards and the brave, the wins and the losses, and positives and negatives of loyalty. This is a novel that makes you reflect on the human experience - how far will you go to protect your friends and family? How can your loyalties shape your perception of reality?
One Day in December is a sweet, slow-burn romance that takes place over the course of 10 years. The characters experience various highs and lows and the plot moves in a rather realistic fashion. This approach was very revealing for the characters and I felt that I really got to know each of them over the years.
The reason this is a 3-star read for me is because I often felt that Josie left a lot to be desired in her writing. Rather than showing me the character's relationships, I was being told about their connections. Similarly, I felt the book hit a very abrupt ending.
The reason this is a 3-star read for me is because I often felt that Josie left a lot to be desired in her writing. Rather than showing me the character's relationships, I was being told about their connections. Similarly, I felt the book hit a very abrupt ending.
What a cute holiday read! I loved the premise, and boy did the writing deliver!
