Review of One Year, One Night

[Vanessa Alobo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "One Year, One Night" by S.L. Roman.]

---

5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

One Year, One Night was a joy to read. S.L. Roman made reading the grim reality of war easier. Separated families, deaths, and sacrifices helped underpin the great cost of war. I felt like I was reading an autobiography and not a fictional narrative.

Some plots in the book transported me back to my childhood. Although I’ve never lived through a war, the story highlights many relatable plot lines such as weekly church attendance with the family, dealing with small-town gossip, and circumstances forcing you to mature quickly. The author did a great job of creating an aspirational character in Annie. Her maturity in managing her father’s business while dealing with romantic and familial relationships is admirable. Annie’s commentary on page 17 about her little brother made me smile. The commentary hits too close to home because I also had to be the responsible older sibling while the younger ones “lounged about claiming to be exhausted after a long day away at school.”

Including Annie’s diary entries in the story was a great artistic decision. I got to see the duality that existed in the teenager's mind. Her true thoughts and opinions were more clearly expressed in her diary entries. These entries allowed me to get to know her better. Without them, the main character would have been bland with no real depth to her.

I commend S.L. Roman for writing a female character with positive male relationships. She has an incredible relationship with her dad, even starting her January 14th diary entry with the line, “I am so proud of my Dad.” Annie’s ability to relate to the shy and closed-off Ben was touching. However, the best part was how respectable she was whenever she met with her love interest Remy.

This is a book I would have enjoyed reading as a teenage girl and Annie is a character I would have aspired to be.

I give the book a rating of five out of five. One Year, One Night is a well-written book with a storyline that is easy to follow. My highlight was the main character, Annie. Her maturity stood out to me. The twist at the end was the perfect cherry on top of a good book. The only minor fault I found with the book was a couple of grammatical and punctuation errors. However, these errors in no way affected the book's readability.

******
One Year, One Night
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon