Clarke, Judith. One Whole and Perfect Day.Honesdale: Front Street, 2006. Print
Annotation:
Not only does bold Lily Samson realize that her family is the complete opposite of perfection, she sees that she is the only sensible member within it. With this sensibility comes her realization that she acts much too old for the sixteen year old she is and she must do something reckless and unexpected; something her family would never imagine her doing. Her solution, Lily decides to try to fall in love, not just with anyone, but with Daniel Steadman, a boy that she’s convinced doesn’t even know she exists.
Justification for Nomination:
Judith Clarke’s One Whole and Perfect Day, highlights the solitary life Lily Samson leads. Her mother works late, her brother, after being disowned by her grandfather, went off to school, her grandparents live in the mountains, and a father that only makes appearances via telephone maybe twice a year, have left Lily fending for herself and living a life far different from the other girls her age.
While her school friends are contemplating how to ask out boys, Lily is deciding what to make for dinner. Seemingly undisturbed by this initially, Lily catches herself using a phrase that her grandmother uses and sees herself as “old” rather than a teenager. In an effort to try to recapture her youth, she sets out to do something unexpected and decides she will try to fall in love.
This story begins with Lily, however, Clarke allows for all the characters to have a voice and share a viewpoint by using the limited omniscient perspective. Doing so allows the reader to enjoy the depth of each of the characters and entices you into the story of not just Lily but also her family members and other characters presented throughout the story.
Clarke allows you to get involved in the identity crisis of Lily, but also allows you to move beyond that and experience other crucial elements including cultural diversity, racism, aging, death and the list goes on and on. Another important aspect to mention that Clarke brings to the novel is her intertwining of poetry within the piece. Several stanzas are included in different scenes in the book and tie the experience of the character with the lines of poetry extremely well.
The book itself is impossible to put down! Each page reaches out to the reader begging them to keep going and when the end is near, there is this impossible feeling of needing to slow down so the story doesn’t have to come to an end. At times the piece seemed far more sophisticated that what I was expecting of a teen read and made me wonder if a teen would identify enough with certain elements to continue reading it. Regardless of my initial thoughts, when the story closed it felt like a perfect read for a YA audience and a driving force behind so many important topics that most, if not all young adults will encounter in some shape or form within their lives.
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