The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern - Review

Where did I get it? I saw someone on Twitter mention a book round robin, and I was intrigued, so I joined in. We each had to send a book we really enjoyed to a mystery person, and then receive a book from someone else. We have to read the book, give somewhat of a review, and send it on to the next person. Faye from Daydreamer's Thoughts sent it to me. 

What's it about? Tamara's dad has recently taken his own life, bringing an end to Tamara's life in a big house with a pool near Dublin. She and her mum have to move to Meath to live with her uncle Arthur and aunt Rosaleen. The house is miles away from anything Tamara knows both literally and figuratively. Rosaleen is keeping secrets from Tamara, while Arthur says practically nothing. Tamara's mum is quiet, mostly asleep, lost in her grief. The house is the gatehouse of a castle, which is burnt out. Tamara takes to wandering through the grounds and feels like someone is watching her. One day, the mobile library turns out and Tamara meets Marcus. On the shelves of the library she finds a book, an old leather book with a clasp. When she opens it, the pages are blank. She tries to return it to Marcus but then discovers that she herself has written about the events of the next day. Things start coming true as the diary predicted, but can Tamara change the events by acting differently, and can she found out the truth about her family?

What age range is it for? See, this is a complicated issue. When I read Flawed by Cecelia Ahern last year I was pretty sure that was her first Young Adult novel. She is better known as a writer of women's fiction, and to begin with I thought this book came into adult fiction, even though the protagonist is sixteen. I do think that any fan of Young Adult could love this too, so I'm going to say it's a crossover with a Young Adult bent to it.

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters people of colour? No 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I'm going to say yes,

for mental health issues, and for some stuff I don't want to spoil. 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, but it's not at all graphic. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Kind of. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, and obviously trigger warning for suicide

Are there swear words? No, not one I don't think? 

What criticisms do I have? I feel like this book was striving to be something, but didn't quite attain what it was aiming for. It didn't quite make me care enough about the characters in order to care what the ending was going to be. We didn't get enough of the history for the denoument to matter to me, even though I really liked Tamara as a character. I felt like characters were being obtuse just for the sake of it, which I didn't like. I don't think this was a bad book, but it didn't feel polished enough to what it could have been. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, if you're a fan of stuff like this with fantastical elements. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? For the round robin at stated above!

What other books is it like? I'm going to say it's like We Were Liars by E Lockhart

How many stars? Three out of five. 

Where is the book going now? Heading on its way to Emma! 

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern - Review

Where did I get it? I requested it on NetGalley so thank you very much Harper Collins!

What's it about? Celestine is the perfect middle daughter in an unidentified country which seemed a lot like America in its societal values, but Celestine called her mother Mum, so I'm not sure where it was supposed to be set. She's a model student and her boyfriend is the son of one of the highest judges in the country. 

Judge Crevan is one of the Guild, who judge people on whether or not they're Flawed. A Flawed act isn't necessarily a criminal act - and in fact in this society criminals serve their punishments and are then let free to live amongst society. A Flawed person is found guilty of an immoral or unethical act and is then branded for life with an F in a circle. Where they get branded depends on their act, but they must also wear a red armband and they aren't allowed into positions of power. 

Celestine is on a bus when she witnesses two unflawed women sit in the Flawed seats. An old man, a Flawed, gets on and begins having a coughing fit. Celestine steps in, asking the women to move, even though aiding a Flawed is a criminal act. She's arrested and taken to the castle, where she's accused of being Flawed herself. I won't say anymore as it'll be spoilery. 

To start with, I was enjoying this book. I felt like it was an interesting premise and I haven't read any dystopia in ages. At the very beginning there's a bit of an info dump about the society and how it works, but it didn't drag too much. But after Celestine's arrest I felt like the action slowed too much and after about halfway through, very little actually happened. This is the first book, so while it does sort of stand alone, there's obviously more to come and I felt that was to the detriment of this novel, which is a shame. It's a quick read, though, so if it is your type of thing the whole series might be. I might not bother with the next one, though.

The characters were slightly one dimensional, and I felt like there were too many of them to fully care about. While the descriptions of the Castle were great, there wasn't too much other description of the world, which didn't help with setting the novel. 

I suppose I didn't really understand why the Flawed were so badly treated. There's quite a bit in the novel as to how it started (which seems to have been with the recent global economic crash) and how that meant that unethical decisions were terrible, but the fact is that (as is shown at least twice) people can make what appear to be unethical decisions in order to do the right thing for themselves or someone they care about. I suppose this novel would be a good way to get a reader to think about that kind of thing. 

There's echoes within the novel of the black Civil Rights Movement (for example the designated spaces on the bus) and of the rise of anti-semitism in Europe (the red arm bands). This would be a good way of getting readers to think about that, too. 

I read PS I Love You by Ahern about ten years ago, not long after it came out and before the film was made. I liked it, but I've never sought out anything else by her. This is her first foray into YA and I think she's done quite well, but may need to refine the art a little bit before the next one. This is a fairly standard YA dystopian novel and doesn't really stand above the rest. 

What age range is it for? 14+, there's quite a lot of torture in it which is quite explicit and gory. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, it's quite well done - very understated. 

Are any main characters non-white? Yes, Celestine is mixed race. I'm glad to see a mixed race model on the front cover. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Not really

Is there any sex stuff? No.

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes, briefly

Are there swear words? No

Would I recommend the book? Kind of. If it's your preferred genre, yes. If it isn't, then find a better one. 

How many stars? Six out of ten.