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One Day in December
Josie Silver 409 pages | Published by Crown Publishing Group
While sitting on a bus, Laurie locks eyes with a man at the bus stop and instantly knows its love at first sight - or at least, she knows that there's something there. The bus drives away before he can board, and Laurie spends nearly an entire year looking for him while she's out. The next December, her roommate Sarah can't wait to introduce Laurie to her new boyfriend - Jack. The man from the bus stop. Over the next decade, the two bounce between just friends, near misses, falling out and trying to find where they fit in the world.
I LOVED Jack and Laurie together. Their bond and chemistry felt real and I was immediately rooting for the two of them. But something to commend the writer on is that while I was rooting for Jack and Laurie, I never felt encouraged to dislike or have ill-will towards Sarah or Oscar. Often when you're dealing with a love-triangle situation it's easy to fall into hating the character who is Keeping The Two Apart. The will-they-won't-they tension was good, but it could have been just a tad steamier, in my opinion.
I was a fan of the dual POV writing style as well as the time jumps. Seeing Laurie and Jack grow up over such a long period of time made the story feel more realistic - seeing more of their lives, careers, and other relationships helped the reader really understand the weight of their actions.
I saved this book for December, and I'm glad that I did. While the book doesn't take place solely around the holidays, it is bookended in December and has a cyclical, calendar year outline which makes it perfect to read as the year comes to a close!
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