"The Book of Tomorrow" by Cecelia Ahern

Book Description:

Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with it's own private beach, a wardrobe 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 dept, 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 traveling 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 it's pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to it's core...

Review:

"The Book of Tomorrow" tells the story of 16 year old Tamara Goodwin, who moves to the country with her mother to live with her aunt and uncle after a terrible tragedy befalls her family. Tamara is your typical silver-spoon fed brat who expects everything she wants when she wants it. And like every spoiled brat, she only thinks of herself during this sad time in her life, and not about how it's possibly affected anyone else around her.

While Tamara's character is a somewhat funny one, there were times when I really just wanted to punch her in the face. She's rude, she only cares about herself, she ignores her conscience, and she never thinks about the consequences of her actions. To be honest, she's one of the most perfect representations of a 16 year old I've read about in a long time. The whole book actually had a believable cast of characters. Though, that doesn't surprise me since Cecelia Ahern has never disappointed me when it comes to developing realistic characters.

Tamara is one of the reasons you got drawn into the story. The only problem I ever have with any of Cecelia Ahern's books is that I always find that it takes awhile to get into the actual story. But since she developed Tamara Goodwin's character so well, you keep reading just for her.

The plot of the story is actually quite interesting all in it's self. The book that Tamara gets from the travelling library is actually, in a sense, a magical diary. Every night, there's a new entry, in Tamara's writing, about when happens tomorrow. Knowing ahead of time what happens, Tamara then has the chance to change things. Sometimes though, even knowing what is going to happen, doesn't prevent something bad from happening.

The end of the story though was interesting, and at this point, I'm still not sure if I liked it. Since the diary played such a huge role throughout the story, and is referenced in the title, for it to not really have any outcome on the end of the story was interesting. That being said, the end is not something you see coming whatsoever.

I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates well developed characters and an engrossing story. It's definitely a good read for those days when you're curled up in a comfy blanket with nothing else on the go.