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*happy sigh* This book. Lauraine Snelling, y'all! She's awesome. Any time I pick up one of her books, it's like coming home; her writing style is so familiar and homey feeling. I just love it!

The characters were all vibrant and complex. From Nora, the over-protective grieving mom, to Jenna, the compassionate caring, and worried nurse and mom. From Christi, the introverted, artistic twin ,to Charlie, the vibrant, kind-hearted, outgoing twin. Just a quick note: she seriously picked the wrong character to kill! Charlie was the best!!! Also, Randy was pretty fantastic! I wasn't expecting his character to go where it went, but I loved it. I loved Heather too, although I feel like she could have been a little more developed.

This book pings back and forth from Nora's POV, to Jenna's. It's an emotional rollercoaster, as we jump from the grieving mom's perspective, to the joyful - ecstatic, even - but worried mom's perspective. One has just experienced death. The loss of one you hoped to never lose. The other has gained life - not for herself, but for her daughter, who was otherwise dying. See what I'm getting at with the emotional rollercoaster thing? The storyline was well done, although I feel like the ending was rather sudden. A few more chapters to wrap everything up nicely would have been nice. And I would have really liked it if Nora and Jenna had met at the end of the book. I was looking forward to that happening.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel! Very poignant, heartfelt, and emotional. Recommended for ages 15 for reading level, and mild romance and deathgrief.
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This book was sad. Really, really sad! I cried through the first half. It is also the story of hope and survival. A good book but make sure the tissues are handy. ( )

This is one book that everyone should read. I've never said that or even thought it before. But this novel touched me--more than that--it locked into my emotions. The scene on the stairs is so moving that I felt as if I were there, seated beside Nora. The author has been peeking into my life!

No one wants to grieve, but we all have or will have to face death. And no one wants to read about grief; however, the author flip-flops the chapters such that the reader experiences the roller coaster highs and lows of the organ donor program--the giver and the receiver. Detailed research is evident and put on paper in an interesting fashion. Written in third person in the voices of the mothers, enables the reader to make a quick connection. The characters are real with everyday flaws. The character of Betsy, the dog, is amazingly written. This is a surprisingly uplifting novel, one I highly endorse. ( )

One Perfect Day by Lauraine Snelling was such a good book for me. She writes Christian fiction and until now I had never read any of her other novels. You can be sure I will be now. I love her style of writing, the story just seems to flow so well. I also love how her writing took me on an emotional journey.

This novel is about two families who are impacted in different ways by one very tragic event-one is impacted in a good way, the other bad. The story is weaved around the two mothers in the story, Nora and Jenna. Nora wants nothing more than the perfect Christmas this year. Her twins are still home but they're going to be off to school the next year and she just knows that everything will change after that. She just didn't plan on it changing long before then. Jenna is a nurse with a daughter who has a bad heart-she has been on a heart transplant list for a long time and she is getting continually worse. While Nora is planning for a perfect Christmas, Jenna is wondering if this will be her last with her daughter Heather. Then, a miracle. A heart is available for Heather but as Jenna finds out sometimes a miracle isn't as easy to accept as you would think it would be.

This novel affected me so much. I cried and I laughed. There are parts that tear at your heart and others that leave you so hopeful and full of thanks for what some people sacrifice for others in terms of organ donation. It's a difficult situation all around. The family that loses their loved one is devastated and suffering and on the other hand the family that gets the life saving organ is overjoyed and thankful but often feel grief for the family that made the sacrifice.

I would recommend this novel especially for anyone who enjoys Christian fiction but even just for anyone who loves an emotional, heart tugging story. You can visit Lauraine Snelling's website here. Many thanks to Miriam at Hachette Books for sending me this wonderful novel. While it is sad at times, it is also hopeful and for me that makes a very good book.

http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/2008/11/one-perfect-day-by-lauraine-s... ( )