I think I went into One Day in December with too-high expectations. Keep that in mind as you read this post, so that you don’t think I didn’t like it, because I did!
Who doesn’t love a good love triangle, right? In a way, the characters are sort of in a quadrangle even (if you can imagine that). Love at first sight, soul connections, bad timing, tested friendships and wrong matches; these are all themes played out in this book.
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Oh fate, though thou art fair, but what cruel games you play ____________________________________________________________________________
…in my Shakespearean voice.
More than reading it, I also loved talking about it. My friend, Juliet, who didn’t actually read the book, enjoyed getting updates on Jack and Laurie’s struggles. She probably enjoyed it a little more than I did because of how colorful I was in my descriptions. The author is definitely my kind of person; funny, making movie references from “Love Actually” to Jane Eyre’s “Pride and Prejudice”. It was engaging and I loved it every minute of it. Also, Laurie (the main character) is so charming, she had me from the moment I stepped onto the bus with her.
However, I wasn’t as connected to the love story as I would have liked. Jack and Laurie invested so much energy into not-being together, I didn’t know whether to keep rooting for them or not. The book is written by the years, not chapters – starting from 2008, and by the year 2016, I just wanted to skip to the end so that I could put myself (and the characters) out of misery. Are you ending up together or not?
You can tell patience isn’t my greatest virtue.
Overall, I loved it. It is a heartwarming story of love, friendship and loss. Many thanks to Reese’s book club & Hello Sunshine for the recommendation.
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