Now that the whole world is in quarantine, we have a lot more free time. Even throughout all the stress, I am, in a way, grateful for this break from the rest of the world. It’s given me time to catch up on all the movies, TV shows, and books I’ve been putting to the side for too long. One book I’ve read recently that I absolutely loved is One Day in December by Josie Silver.
I bought this book over the summer, but it sat on my shelf for months. I was planning on reading it in December, but then time got away from me. Flash forward to the beginning of quarantine, when I finally decided to pick it up yesterday. I’m so glad I did because this book reminded me why I adore love stories so much.
One Day in December follows Laurie, a recent graduate who has a connection with someone on the bus. Their eyes meet, they smile, and she tries to convince herself to step out and go talk to him, but then it’s too late. She spends the rest of the year trying to find Bus Boy, as she and her best friend Sarah have dubbed him, but she is unsuccessful. Until one year later, when Sarah introduces her to her new boyfriend: Bus Boy. His name is Jack, and Laurie recognizes him immediately, but obviously she can’t say anything to Sarah.
I know the concept sounds a bit ridiculous. At first, I thought it was kind of unrealistic how obsessed Laurie becomes with the idea of Bus Boy, and how she spends a whole year looking for him. But it makes so much sense because of who Laurie is, and where she is in her life. She’s working at a dead-end job, her best friend is much more successful than her, and she doesn’t feel happy about where her life is headed. Thinking about Bus Boy is an escape from the mundanity of her regular life. I think Laurie is such a well-written, flawed character, so I didn’t find myself thinking too much about how realistic the whole situation was.
The conflict in this book was also something that worried me initially because obviously I’m not a fan of cheating (I mean, who is), and I was worried this book would take a turn. But I think it was all so well done. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to go into detail about the direction Laurie, Jack, and Sarah go in, but I will say it all just felt so real to me.
“you tread lightly through life, but you leave deep footprints that are hard for other people to fill.” — one day in december; josie silver pic.twitter.com/GsWEiKdwA3
— klaudia (@pridepreujdice) January 3, 2019
I’m not usually a fan of books that take place over many years, but that wasn’t the case with One Day in December. The book starts in 2008 and ends in 2017, but I was honestly never bored, and nothing felt like it was being forced for dramatic effect. This book would honestly make such a good movie, and it reminds me a lot of Love, Rosie, but a lot better, in my opinion.
I just loved the characters in this book. I loved Laurie and Sarah’s friendship; I loved Jack. Everything just felt so real, which I know I keep on saying, but I just can’t emphasize that enough. Every character made mistakes, they were all flawed, and it was just so realistic. Laurie was my favorite because she reminded me so much of myself. She starts off as such a hopeless romantic, but I loved watching her grow throughout the book and become more confident in herself.
Any other author could’ve gone so wrong with this plot, but I think Josie Silver did an amazing job with it. This is such a great romance, and I really hope it gets turned into a movie because I think it would make the perfect Christmas movie. I highly recommend that everyone gives this book a chance because I really do believe it’s worth it.
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