The Book of Tomorrow

Details:

Title: The Book of Tomorrow

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pub Date: January, 2011

Genre: Realistic Fiction with Fantastical Elements

Rating: Add to the top of your to read pile

The magical new novel from number one bestseller Cecelia Ahern. Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and all that a girl could ever wish for. She's always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow. But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood. With her mother shut away with grief, and her aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.-- From Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I haven't read many "adult" books recently, but this one sounded really interesting and more YA than Adult fiction to me. This one was certainly a good choice for a slight venture out of YA. 

Cecelia's writing style is wonderful, and even though I couldn't stand Tamara for the first 40-50 pages I kept reading. Tamara is a spoiled brat and I had a hard time relating to her; and being able to relate to the characters is what usually draws me into a book initially. But for some reason I was still attached to her and wanted to read her story. Maybe it was the excellent introduction that gave just enough mystery that you have to keep reading, but not so much that you can already see the whole plot.

Plus she can write some excellent plot twists and I love really good plot twists that change everything up right before the end. The book kept getting more and more interesting as Tamara got closer and closer to figuring out the truth about herself and her family. The numerous plot twists all flowed together and nothing in the book seemed to be there just to keep your interest -- it was all building to the final scenes. 

The book wasn't what I was expecting, but I was totally hooked from the very beginning. 

Black Bottle Man

Black Bottle Man
Craig Russell
Great Plains Publications, April 2010

Realistic/Historical Fiction/Fantastical Elements

If you read my IMM (2), you know that Craig Russell contacted me about his book, Black Bottle Man. The concept is like nothing else I've read. There are a lot teen books out now featuring fallen angels and other religious elements, but none quite like this one. So I was quite intrigued by this new and unique voice.

Forced to move every twelve days, what would happen to your life?

It’s 1927. Rembrandt is the only child in the tiny community of Three Farms and his two aunts grow desperate for babies of their own. Hope and Hell arrive in a mysterious black bottle, and on a moonless night a dark spell is cast. Soon after, a man wearing black top-coat, and a ‘glad-ta-meet-ya’ smile comes to visit. The devil seeks payment, and a dangerous wager is made. Until they can defeat him, Rembrandt, Pa, and Uncle Thompson must embark on the journey of their lives, for if they stay in one place for more than twelve days terrible things happen. But where and when will they find a champion capable of defeating the Black Bottle Man?
Time ticks.
Lives change.
Every twelve days. From Great Plains Publications' website

The story is told mainly through Rembrandt's eyes, but we do get a few chapters from other characters' points of view. The shifting viewpoints could get confusing, but the characters' voices are so different that it isn't an issue and everything comes together in the end in a way that simply wouldn't be possible without the varying viewpoints.

Besides varying viewpoints, the novel is not told in linear time. It jumps from present day (2007) back to the 1920s and 30s. This is structure is what really got me into the novel. We see Rembrandt as an old man from the beginning and we slowly learn how he ended up as this person. The changes in time and in turn plot, help move the story along rapidly. I must say the beginning was a bit slow for me, but it picked up and I read the last 70-80 pages in one sitting.

The story itself is strange and unique: two brothers and a boy set out to find someone who can fight the devil to save their souls and the boy's two aunts. It isn't all strange other worldly demons and whatnot, like you might expect, it's very realistic. The men travel from place to place during the Great Depression and learn "hobo signs" which give them magical powers. But the signs are the only totally other worldly element -- the story and its characters are firmly rooted in reality, which so unexpected for a story like this.

My only issue with the whole thing is that I'm not sure if it's really a "teen" book, but then again what really makes a "teen" book a "teen" book. I think the book would appeal to older teens, not just because part of the story is told from the point of view of an older man, but because the action's a bit slow in the beginning and there's a lot to take in story wise.


Add to your to-read pile

A Certain Slant of Light

A Certain Slant of Light
Laura Whitcomb
Graphia, September 2005
Realistic fiction with fantastical elements


Creepy ghost love story -- sounds perfect, but A Certain Slant of Light just fell flat for me. I was really excited to read the book, but after only about 25 pages I was bored, bored, bored. I forced myself to finish hoping that something get would happen in the end that would redeem the book. But sadly, not.

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: For the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen--terrified, but intrigued--is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess. From Laura Whitcomb's website

I will start off with the good because there were several key good things about the book. First of all I loved the concept; the plot itself was interesting and I kept reading just to find out why the main characters were dead and how they ended up haunting instead of moving on to the "afterlife." The beginning was excellent I was totally into the story right at the beginning. The mystery of the book who can see Helen, who has been dead for many, many years, is completely appealing. But that's about where the good ends.

The characters are relatively interesting, but nothing really drew me to them after the first 10 pages or so. I was interested in Helen's life/death but not all that interested. But the real problem was that nothing made me excited about the book; put it down right in the middle and walked away for several days. Not a good sign. The writing was confusing in many places and I was constantly going back and rereading sections to make sure I hadn't missed something. Many of the major plot moments just didn't seem believable. I just couldn't believe Helen and James' relationship or their relationships with their "fake" families.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was severely lacking.

Move to the bottom of the to-read pile

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books, July 2009
Realistic fiction with fantastical elements

A few weeks ago a friend recommended I read When You Reach Me after I told her I had just finished re-reading A Wrinkle in Time. She told me nothing about the plot only that there was a connection to A Wrinkle in Time and that it was amazing. I didn't read the back or anything else about the book, so I really had no idea what it would be about.

After reading about 10 pages I was totally in to it. She was right it was amazing.

Four mysterious letters change Miranda’s world forever.

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.

But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:

I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.

I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that haven’t even happened yet.  Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late. From Rebecca Stead's website

I absolutely loved this book; read it in about two sittings. Everything about it works. The plot may seem a bit confusing and scattered in the beginning, but once you reach the end everything falls into place perfectly.

When You Reach Me is one of the best middle grade books I've read. Stead is very aware of what that age group is looking for and will relate to. Miranda's voice is definitely that of a twelve year old; her actions, thoughts, and concerns are all ones 10-13 year olds can easily relate to. The romance elements are minimal and only hit on first kisses; friendship and growing apart is the major focus. Both of which are perfectly appropriate for middle grade.

Beyond truly knowing her audience, Stead's writing itself is smart. It's interesting from the first line to the last. The book's pretty short, only about 200 pages, but Stead packs every page with important details that all come together at the end of the book. The book is packed with odd, fantastical elements which all must stay consistent throughout the book and come together to make sense in the end. Stead does an amazing job of this.

This book most certainly deserved to win the Newberry Award.

Get this book immediately and begin reading

Before I Fall

Before I Fall
Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins, March 2010
Realistic fiction with fantastical elements

Initially I was concerned about how Oliver would make this plotline interesting and orignial, and not just a Groundhog Day retelling. It had to be more than the same basic events over and over again; there had to be something really good to keep me reading about the same day seven times.

And there definitely is; I couldn't put it down.

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all; the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High - from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrronding her death - and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing. From the HarperTeen website

Sam isn't a very nice person, actually she's a bit of a bitch. But she's a far cry from many of the one dimensional mean-girls characters that riddle YA at the moment. In fact none of the characters are flat, not even Sam's younger sister who only makes minor appearances. You are drawn into her life as she attempts to figure out why she's reliving her last and discovering what sort of person she really is. oliver creates a character whose changes and growth we can actually believe. We want her to change, to help the outcast, to kiss the boy, to find herself before it's too late.

Although the entire book is just one day over and over again, Oliver has repeated just enough to get you into Sam's mindset as she struggles to figure out what's happening to her and how to stop it. She doesn't repeat the unnecessary or let the novel get bogged down in the middle around the fourth time she relives her day. Being able to do this makes Lauren Oliver a brilliant writer - at least in my humble opinion.

Before I Fall makes you think about all the things you've said and done and how they may have affected someone else, without being preachy or overstated.

Add to the top of you to-read pile