Sixteen-year-old Tamara Goodwin’s life is upended when her wealthy father commits suicide after realizing he can’t pay his debts. Tamara and her devastated mother are forced to move from a Dublin suburb to the countryside to live with Tamara’s aunt and uncle, Rosaleen and Arthur. Tamara chafes under Rosaleen’s domineering personality when her aunt tries to keep Tamara from seeing her depressed, isolated mother. Frustrated, Tamara ventures out of the house, exploring the ruins of the castle Arthur cares for and meeting the locals, including a sprightly nun and a handsome young man who drives around in a traveling library. Tamara comes across a book in the library that captures her attention. Its pages are initially blank, then they start to fill with Tamara’s own thoughts from the following day. Realizing she is able to not only read the future but change it, Tamara uses the diary to unravel the mystery at work in her new home. A veritable modern-day Gothic, Ahern’s (The Gift, 2009) engrossing new novel is filled with family secrets, intrigue, and magic aplenty - BooklistWhat would you do if you knew what tomorrow would bring? Would you fix events if you could? Tamara Goodwin has that opportunity. To me this book is Gossip Girl meets Harry Potter without the magic. In the beginning, I was intrigued by the plot and the mysteries surrounding Tamara and her family. The book has a bit of gothic themes, but also tongue-in-cheek look at teenage life and grieving for a loved one.
By the end of the book the mysteries & characters wore on me. I'm not sure Tamara learned anything or grew as a character throughout the book. The dialogue was witty and the main plot was an interesting concept. The book was a quick read, but I still felt unsatisfied at the end.
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