The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

This is the world of my youth, not literally, but literarily.  In my twenties, I moved from the unbalanced world of Stephen King and Amityville Horror author, Jay Anson - which had dominated my teen reading - to the dark, tragic world of gothic romance.  I spent many hours in damp, drafty castles - usually overlooking a stormy sea - searching out secrets long hidden.  I have since moved on to other decades and other genres, but Cecelia Ahern's newest - The Book of Tomorrow - took me back.  

Following the death of her father, teenager, Tamera Goodwin, and her mother are forced to give up their privileged life and move in with relatives living in the gatehouse of a ruined castle.  Desperate for entertainment, Tamera checks out the bookmobile that visits the rural area and discovers a leather-bound diary - tightly padlocked.  Once opened, she finds only blank pages that fill themselves with entries in Tamera's handwriting, always dated tomorrow.  Tamera uses the insider information to solve the puzzle of her past.

Although this story is set current-day, and there is no dark-eyed, bodice-ripping duke to save the damsel, there are plenty of locked rooms, historic ruins and skeletons in the closet.  It is tribute to Ms. Ahern's magical writing that I became absorbed in a story told by a seventeen-year-old girl who's language is liberally, and (unfortunately) realistically, sprinkled with the F word - two things that are typically non-starters for me.  The final third of the book had me rationing chapters between loads of laundry and other chores, both to prolong the ending and to motivate my housekeeping.  Recommended for teens, young adults and those who can barely remember their teens.  Mysterious, suspenseful, magical - fun.