The Book of Tomorrow

Tamara Goodwin is a spoiled brat who always got whatever she wants - Gucci bag, trip to Paris for a change, and many more. To the world, Tamara, her mom and dad were the perfect family - happy, rich, and flawless. However, this rosy picture gets distorted when Tamara's father kills himself, leaving her and her mother in a pool of debts and forcing them to uproot themselves to Jennifer's (Tamara's mom) brother Arthur's house in the countryside. Although Arthur and his wife, Rosaleen appear welcoming to the mother-daughter duo, mystery surrounds the couple and their seemingly sweet and homely life. Along with unfolding the underlying secrecy of the Rosaleen, Tamara's life takes a sharp turn the moment her hands lay on a beautiful padlocked diary that has entries of the coming day, mystically showing her what lies tomorrow.

What lies ahead can only be experienced by reading the book. I have always found Cecelia Ahern's books to be enchanting, relatable, heartwarming, and beautiful! However, this book was different from her other works in terms of both the writing style and the plot.

This book utilises a stream-of-consciousness technique, offering first-hand insights into Tamara's thoughts, and this flowing style of writing is something I found difficult to get accustomed to at the start but later won me over. It made the story more personal and real through Tamara's perspective, and further enhanced the mysterious aspect of the plotline.

Cecelia Ahern has done a wonderful job in shaping characters, each with their own idiosyncrasies, secrets, and intriguing personalities. Tamara, the protagonist, is definitely worth mentioning as she took me through a journey of dislike to fondness. Ahern has executed Tamara's character transformation brilliantly, by portraying her as a truly spoiled brat who evoked dislike in me as a reader to a more mature young woman who you cannot but grow fond of by the end of the novel. Each character possesses their own beauty, from subtle to bold, docile to wicked. Other than the obvious protagonist, another character that fascinated me was Rosaleen. In the initial chapters, the readers reflect Tamara's exact thoughts on Rosaleen - someone who is not as sweet as she appears to be, and the unsettling aura Ahern has created around her character is something I truly appreciate. And her backstory humanises Rosaleen, showing her to be a character that deserves sympathy and help. Another brilliant addition by Cecelia Ahern is The Diary. Its mystical workings has been well executed by Ahern.

This book deals with themes such as loss, grief, and the unpredictable nature of life with all its minute details. While Jennifer and Rosaleen symbolised the traditional way of recluse and resting as a way of coping with trauma and mourning loss, Tamara showcased the difficulties teenagers would face while handling grief. Furthermore, we are always told to live our life today as if there is no tomorrow. This book, on the other hand, shows us how there is always a tomorrow, and that what we are, say, and do will completely alter our tomorrows. And this paradoxical thought brought a smile to my face.