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One Week In December (2009)

by Holly Chamberlin(Favorite Author)

3.07 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0758214057 (ISBN13: 9780758214058)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Kensington

review 1: This is a great book for a rainy day, or a cold winter one. I spent a couple of good afternoons on the couch with some tea with this book. I have not read one of Chamberlain's novels before, even though I have a bunch in my bookcase. Becca Rowan is the quintessential workaholic. She has it all on the outside, but on the inside she's screaming. Sixteen years ago she gave birth to a girl and gave her up so that her brother and sister-in-law could raise her in a stable and traditional environment. Now years later, Becca is having second thoughts. While risking ruining the annual Rowan Family Christmas in Maine, Becca does a lot of soul searching. During her stay at her parents home for a week, she thinks about the path she has chosen, and which way she wants her life to go. A... morefter spending time with her family, for better or worse she might even find love along the way.
review 2: This is the third book I have read by Holly Chamberlin and was probably my favorite by her. I liked the story line but really wish a few different avenues were explored and some things could have been omitted and the story would have worked without them.The story tells mainly of Becca Rowan and the entire Rowan family. Becca got pregnant at 16 and the family pulled together to pass off the child as David, Becca's oldest brother. Becca's, after a long self-imposed estrangement decides that she no longer wants to just be an aunt but she wants to reclaim her child as her own. She decides to do this over the Christmas holidays when the entire, small though not tight, Rowan family (12 members total over three generations). The story seems to be from Becca's point of view yet it does tell personal views of other characters through the novel. I did really enjoy the book and would have rated it higher but there were a few things that bothered me. I would have given it 3.5 stars but it fell closer to 3 than 4.What I wish was different:• I wish they had of told the reader more if the backstory. What did happen 16 years ago to create the entire family dynamic? What decisions were made by each adult? What were the feelings, emotions and sacrifices that each member had? • Personally I wish that Olivia's character (and in turn James) had either had more development (What did they go through fertilty wise? What changed about adopting / fostering a child? What did James want?) or was left out (I did not find her obsessions with ancestry to be pertinent to the story, if she found a genetic reason for her infertility that would have been interesting but she shares none of her families history in the book).• I would have loved for Alex and Becca's relationship to have started earlier so we could have seen that blossom more and see if they will work out as a couple in the long term. • The ending was nice, if not completely predictable. It leaves you wanting more, and not completely satisfying. I would have liked at the least a one chapter epilogue about the future or a sequel book would be good. It could maybe be centered around the family coming together again with Rain's 21st birthday and we can learn if the family tell Rain the truth about her birth, see if Olivia and James can work out their problems and if the find a way to raise and love a child (having Liliy or Becca carry their child now that the family are becoming whole again) and of course find out if Becca and Alex are still together and she overcomes her guilt about having another child.• Where was December 26th?!?!?!? less

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