The Book of Tomorrow by 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 a large four poster bed complete with a luxurious bathroom en-suite. 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 to live with Tamara’s Uncle and Aunt. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gate house 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. She needs a distraction. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. With some help, Tamara finally manages to open the book. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.

I really enjoyed this story and there were several angles that kept me actively turning pages. The story is about a sixteen-year-old girl, Tamara Goodwin, who upon losing her father, moves into her aunt and uncle’s house in the country with her grieving mother. The story doesn’t really get started until Tamara finds a magical diary that gives her insight into what tomorrow will bring. Tamara is literally reading her own words, written 24 hours in the future, and is given the ability to either follow the path laid out before her or change the future. You would think that a future-predicting diary would be enough of a hook for a strong story but Cecelia Ahern takes it one step further and builds a very strong and compelling mystery about Tamara’s family’s history. I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough because I had to know what secrets were being kept and what clues would be revealed both through Tamara’s sleuthing and her fortune cookie diary. I have really enjoyed Ahern’s novels, especially P.S. I Love You and Love, Rosie, and she does not disappoint with THE BOOK OF TOMORROW.

I learned something important that night. You shouldn’t try to stop everything from happening. Sometimes you’re supposed to feel awkward. Sometimes you’re supposed to be vulnerable in front of people. Sometimes it’s necessary because it’s all part of you getting to the next part of yourself, the next day.

THE BOOK OF TOMORROW is peppered with inspirational prose and the character of Tamara, although sometimes obnoxious in her precociousness, is genuinely likable and endearing. The initial 50 pages are a bit slow but it picks up when Tamara finds the magic diary and the mysteriousness of the overall story continues to build to a strong climax and ultimately satisfying resolution.