One Day in December by Josie Silver
Reviewed by: Dawn Dickey, Library volunteer
Genre: Romance
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Book About?: Laurie is on a bus one wintry day, on her way home after a grueling week of work. She’s so tired that she can barely stay awake despite the crowd, the coughers, and the noisy holiday shoppers. At one bus stop, she peers out the window and notices a guy “perched on one of the fold-down seats in the bus shelter.” He’s engrossed in reading a book, oblivious to all the commotion around him. Laurie is intrigued by his sandy hair, “the coolness . . . of his attire,” and his book. As she wipes the steamed-up bus window to try to see what the man is reading, the man looks directly up at her. Suddenly, neither can look away. Laurie feels impelled to hop off the bus, and the guy is torn by the impulse to get on the bus. While both ponder whether they should follow the impulse, the bus pulls away. Laurie tells her roommate and best friend, Sarah, about “bus guy.” They spend a lot of time trying to find him, with no luck. A year later, Laurie meets Sarah’s new boyfriend and – surprise! – it’s the bus guy, Jack.
My Review: This book follows Sarah, Jack and Laurie through a decade of life’s ups and downs. The text, sweetly and evocatively written and read in both Laurie’s and Jack’s voices, reveals the characters’ love for each other, their friendship, integrity, happiness, and sadness. This makes it easy, as a reader, to sympathize with the characters and put yourself in both Laurie’s and Jack’s shoes: Does love at first sight exist? You think it might, and you feel happy until, devastatingly, you find it slipping away. Listen to or read the book to find out whether Laurie, Jack and Sarah find lasting happiness! Highly recommended!
Three Words That Describe This Book: sweet, poignant, romance
Give This a Try if You Like… The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo or books by Jasmine Guillory or Sophie Kinsella
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
