Book Review: “One Day in December” by Josie Silver
I’ve really been in the mood for a romantic novel lately. Something fun, lighthearted and sweet. Then I stumbled upon “One Day in December”, a wonderful book by British author Josie Silver. Although the book itself is quite long (416 pages in total), the story is lovely, fast-paced and easy to read, although a tad kitsch.
It all begins when Laurie, our heroine, rides the bus on her way home after a gruesome work shift just before Christmas. In a life altering moment, she catches sight of a man sitting at the bus stop and is suddenly overcome with an irresistible need to get to him, while he makes a similar effort to get on the bus. However, the bus doors close before any of them manages to reach the other.
The plot thickens as Laurie, who tries for a whole year to locate “bus boy” (a nickname her best friend-slash-roommate Sarah came up with) is then introduced to him by that same Sarah as her new boyfriend during a Christmas party. Laurie learns that his name is Jack, he works in a radio station and she is desperately in love with him. Nevertheless, since Sarah is her best friend, she vows to conceal her feelings for him. It is later revealed that Jack is similarly enamored with her, but struggles to overcome these feelings as he is committed to Sarah.
The narrative is told from the two interchanging perspectives of Laurie and Jack, enabling us to see what’s on their mind throughout the story. The book is filled with ups and downs, dramatic moments and various plot twists – a real page turner that truly captivates the reader.
Although the plot is enjoyable, stimulating and utterly romantic, it doesn’t manage to escape some of the genre’s more common clichés, such as providing unrealistic expectations worse than the ones featured in Disney movies (for example, a guy asking you to marry him the morning after the two of you had a fling, or the concept of finding the “prefect” wedding dress), depicting the heroine as “average”: not particularly thin, tall or curvy, unlike her dazzling best friend, and of course, the unavoidable happy ending.
All in all, this book is a feel-good read: a delectable candy you’d want to devour in one sitting. you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll fall in love with the characters and wait with baited breath for them to find their way to each other.
