The Gift Review

The Gift

-      Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: UK – Harper

Lou Suffern is practised in the art of concealment. He is, also, always overstretched, trying to do too many things at once. His overburdened schedule gives him few moments of peace, even in his sleep. And when he spends time at home with his wife and family, he is always distracted, and, mentally, somewhere else. On a cold winter morning, Lou is on his way to work when he encounters Gabe, a homeless street dweller, sitting outside an office building. Lou is intrigued by him, and contrives to get him a job in the post room. But this act of charity rebounds on him, and Gabe’s presence begins to grate on Lou -- particularly when he discovers that the latter seems capable of being in two places at the same time. Christmas is drawing near, and before the season is over, Lou’s life will be irrevocably change by the casual act of kindness he has performed.

There seems to be an increased number of seasonal books this year with every other chick-lit book titled Coming home for Christmas or A Christmas romance. The Gift is probably the book that started it in the UK a couple of years ago. This was a present I received last year but I wanted to read it in the run up to Christmas so I picked it up during my snowdays last week. It’s the perfect type of book to read curled up indoors while there is snow falling outside and everything is white beyond your front door.

Cecelia Ahren has a habit of taking standard chick-lit tropes and giving them a slight supernatural bent. This story involves the saving of one man’s soul in the run up to Christmas after he decides to take pity on the homeless guy sitting outside his office. There is plenty of introspection in this story – working hard for your family verses spending time with them and realising what you miss out on when you don’t pay attention to the here and now. It reads like It’s A Wonderful Life in 21^st Century Ireland. I will hold my hand up and admit that I was in tears by the end – it’s a great Christmas family book. Easy to read and ultimately feel good this is a great story about learning to appreciate what you have.

Recommended for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Jill Mansell. 8 out of 10.

The Book of Tomorrow Review

The Book of Tomorrow

-          Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: UK - Harper

The magical and mesmerising story of how tomorrow can change what happens today. Sometimes tomorrow has to start today.
Tamara Goodwin always had everything she wanted. Why would she ever give a thought to tomorrow? But suddenly life takes a difficult turn, and Tamara faces the hard decision to swap her glamorous town living for life in the country. However, Tamara is soon lonely and longing for her old life. Then a travelling library arrives in the village, bringing with it a mysterious leather-bound book locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What Tamara discovers within its pages takes her breath away and shakes her world forever.

The Book of Tomorrow is marketed as a chick-lit book, even the description on the back makes you think it fits in that genre. But one of the things that surprised when I read this is that the main character, Tamara, is actually a teenager. This is actually a rather sweet coming of age story, and would perhaps be better aimed towards the YA market rather than chick-lit. However, that didn’t stop be enjoying it at all.

Tamara has to leave behind her old house, friends and life when her Dad dies and she and her mum move in with her aunt and uncle. It is a sharp change in circumstances for her, used to having anything she wanted and she has to learn how to deal with life in the country and her strangely interfering aunt. Add to that the mystery of the cottage opposite, her strangely catatonic Mum and the Nun in the woods and it feels like there is a mystery in the air...Tamara grows in leaps and bounds during the story and matures as she learns a lot about her family and herself. By the end she feels like a mature young women and someone who could handle anything.

I really enjoyed The Book of Tomorrow. It made a nice change of pace from some of the books I've reading recently. I’ve read most of Cecelia Ahern’s books and she ahas a melodic style that just sweeps you along. I also the love she marries the ‘real-life’ aspect with something fantastic – in this case a diary that tells you about the day before you live it. This adds a slightly more supernatural edge to the story which is never fully explained. In fact to have it explained would ruin the wonder of it for me.

Recommended for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Claudia Carroll. 7.5 out of 10