Sometimes Lily wishes she weren't so sensible. If she were less reliable, then perhaps she'd have more fun. As it is, her hardworking but flaky ... read full description
reviews
Jan 03, 2011
elissa
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Whoo Hoo! Today this won a Printz Honor! I mentioned it at a meeting of all of the children's librarians at DCPL last month. Here's what I had to say before today: This book is full of satisfying coincidences and serendipitious occurrences. Plus it's funny and quirky. 4 1/2 stars (almost 5 stars). January 2008: Made YALSA's BBYA list!
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Sep 28, 2011
Milly
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**Audible Review**
Aussie Reading Challenge #8
One Whole and Perfect Day was a pleasant and enjoyable read. The reader for the audible, Gretal Montgomery, was a delight to listen to. Her voice was sweet and joyful and kept me quite entertained. Her Australian accent was delightful to hear especially when she said "Pop", "Lonnie", "Clara". I could still hear her sweet and cute voice in my head and picture the characters in my head as clear as day.
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Aussie Reading Challenge #8
One Whole and Perfect Day was a pleasant and enjoyable read. The reader for the audible, Gretal Montgomery, was a delight to listen to. Her voice was sweet and joyful and kept me quite entertained. Her Australian accent was delightful to hear especially when she said "Pop", "Lonnie", "Clara". I could still hear her sweet and cute voice in my head and picture the characters in my head as clear as day.
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Jan 11, 2009
Jaemi
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Lily Samson is sure her family is the craziest. Her brother lolls around, dropping in and out of school, unable to find a path in life. Her Pop, though she loves him, is a bona fide racist (as far as she's concerned), her Nan has an invisible friend, her mother is fond of bringing home clients from work to stay with them, and Lily, in all her Year Ten glory, is the responsible one in the house. Her friends giggle about boys, she makes shopping lists. Her friends makes up new words, she makes din
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Feb 05, 2012
Kirsti
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I first picked up this book at an 'Op Shop', drawn in by the cover. Mine is slightly different to the hardccover image show here, showing a blue but cloudy sky, and a pink chocolate cake with a bite missing on a pink plate. For some odd reason I felt like I should read this book, so I bought it and put it off for a few weeks until reading it today.
This is the story of family. Not the family, not a family, but of everyone's family. We have members who miss other family members, miss f More...
This is the story of family. Not the family, not a family, but of everyone's family. We have members who miss other family members, miss f More...
Aug 27, 2011
Adriana
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 08, 2010
Heidi
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This is completely a character-driven book. It took me a while (after some confusion) to realize this book wasn't what I had expected. There is not much of a story, which I had to train myself to get used to. Once you realize it is all about the characters, it becomes interesting. It felt like I was an observer of one chunk of life that begged me for character analysis, especially as it relates to my own life, knowledge, and experiences.
The book was much lighter than I expected--esp More...
The book was much lighter than I expected--esp More...
May 25, 2010
Adrienne
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Lily was always the sensible one in a family that is not normal enough to be average, and not quirky enough to be endearing. At least, that's how she sees it (the reader might think differently). Lily's mum runs a senior center, her brother has tried just about every major offered by the University without finding something he loves, and her grandparents are embarassingly old-fashioned (Nan even has an imaginary friend that she talks to! Mortifying!).
And Lily has had enough. She is det More...
And Lily has had enough. She is det More...
Dec 06, 2008
Kelsie
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I enjoyed reading this book. It reminded me of the movie Crash, with its following the story of all characters through the third person omniscient narrator. I loved how the lives of all the characters were woven together. Though it could be seen as too fantastic that such a "whole and perfect day" could end up coming together, I still believed it. I think I wanted to believe it, just as I think most young people want to believe that their dysfunctional families can have at least on
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May 04, 2010
Tmimhoff
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SUMMARY: Lily was just another girl who wanted a normal family. She wished she could have one whole and perferct day.
PASSAGE: p65 pargraph 2
"Their minds were elsewhere. Lily was thinking dreamily of Daniel Steadman and then angrily deciding how humiliating it was to be dreaming of him. She felt she was becoming the kind of person she really didn't want to be. Yesterday at school she'd walked past the senior common room five whole times in hope that she'd catch a More...
PASSAGE: p65 pargraph 2
"Their minds were elsewhere. Lily was thinking dreamily of Daniel Steadman and then angrily deciding how humiliating it was to be dreaming of him. She felt she was becoming the kind of person she really didn't want to be. Yesterday at school she'd walked past the senior common room five whole times in hope that she'd catch a More...
Oct 07, 2009
Katie
rated it:
This was definitely an enjoyable read. It doesn’t have an intense plot, or any gasp-worthy twists and turns. The title is perfect, because that’s what the main extent of the plot is- family and friends trying struggling to be whole, and one girl who pushes for it so she can have her “perfect day.”
What I really liked about it was the changing characters. Though it’s written in 3rd person, each character has a story and purpose (except for one character- Jessaline. I didn’t really unde More...
What I really liked about it was the changing characters. Though it’s written in 3rd person, each character has a story and purpose (except for one character- Jessaline. I didn’t really unde More...
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Jun 18, 2011
Charlene
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My librarian recommended the book One Whole and Perfect Day which tells the story of Lily and her eccentric family who live in Australia. Lily is the sensible one in the family, her brother Lonnie is a dreamer who quits almost everything he ever tries. Her mom is a psychologist who is constantly bringing home patients to stay for “just a few days” because she is a softie at heart like Nan, the grandmother, who has an imaginary friend Sef. Pop, the grandfather, has disowned Lonnie after he qui
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Nov 14, 2007
Hollie
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This book was interesting to read because it was set in Australia, a place I've never been to. I loved how the grandparents were a big part of the family and how the characters had to overcome individual prejudice to make the "one whole and perfect day" happen. This book has a surprise at the end, that I loved!
It's a great book for teens and I think girls would like it more than boys.
It's a great book for teens and I think girls would like it more than boys.
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Dec 18, 2009
Elizabeth
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This was a semi-good book. I enjoyed reading it, but it was a little one. It wasn't one of my favorites. It's a good book to reveal the on-goings of a "dysfunctional" family through a teen's eyes. I probably wouldn't read it again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone
This is a book that I might have on my bookshelf in my classroom. I definitely don't think I would use for any lessons. If I had a to do a lesson to include it, I would do one on different points of v More...
This is a book that I might have on my bookshelf in my classroom. I definitely don't think I would use for any lessons. If I had a to do a lesson to include it, I would do one on different points of v More...
Mar 12, 2009
Michelle
rated it:
One Whole and Perfect Day follows the lives of several people in Australia. Each character is connected; some know their relationship, some are unaware of it. The main character, Lilly, is a teenage girl who lives with her mother and has never met her father. Lilly's life is constantly occupied with practical matters, usually those involving household chores or smoothing over matters between her brother and grandparents.
Lilly provides the reader with an example of a teen who is i More...
Lilly provides the reader with an example of a teen who is i More...
May 21, 2008
Christie
rated it: 
It wouldn't be nice to go into all the reasons I didn't like this book. Let's just say the action is predictable and convenient. This is one of those books that gives the YA genre the reputation of being just for kids.
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Jan 04, 2010
$hanel
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Lily can just never seem to fit into her weird family. The only good part about Lily`s life is her friends and her school life and of coarse the cutest boy in school that Lily has to stop thinking about, Daniel. Everyday when Lily gets home from school she thinks how weird her life is. That is until her Aunt gets married! This is a dream come true for Lily! The event also keeps Lily happy and busy from her mean and odd mother who needs to get a life from what Lily says. The reason why I gave thi
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Nov 04, 2009
Ann
rated it:
High school (not content, just sophistication)
The literary equivalent of an indie film, with its multigenerational ensemble cast. You'll want to put it down between chapters to savor the language - simple but beautiful. Begins with fifteen year old Lily, but travels perspective through brother, grandfather, grandmother, mother, friend - a huge interconnected group that all come together for one whole and perfect day at the end. No simple summary will do justice. More like an adult boo More...
The literary equivalent of an indie film, with its multigenerational ensemble cast. You'll want to put it down between chapters to savor the language - simple but beautiful. Begins with fifteen year old Lily, but travels perspective through brother, grandfather, grandmother, mother, friend - a huge interconnected group that all come together for one whole and perfect day at the end. No simple summary will do justice. More like an adult boo More...
Jul 05, 2010
Alicia
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 25, 2009
Cate
rated it:
2Q 1P MJ
One Whole and Perfect Day is a multi-point of view novel set in Australia. The main character, Lily, is a girl who wishes that she could pause the chaos that exists around in her home life and at school and have one whole and perfect day (hence the title). While the book mostly follows her, it also gives the perspectives of her mom, grandparents, her brother, her brother’s girlfriend and her parents, the girlfriend’s roommate, among others. I tend to be partial to books th More...
One Whole and Perfect Day is a multi-point of view novel set in Australia. The main character, Lily, is a girl who wishes that she could pause the chaos that exists around in her home life and at school and have one whole and perfect day (hence the title). While the book mostly follows her, it also gives the perspectives of her mom, grandparents, her brother, her brother’s girlfriend and her parents, the girlfriend’s roommate, among others. I tend to be partial to books th More...
Jul 08, 2010
Erica
rated it:
Australia. 16-year-old Lily thinks she lives with a "freakish" family. Divorced mom is a doctor that works at an adult day care center and sometimes brings home "lame ducks"; dad lives in the states and can't remember her name; older brother left home to attend a boarding school; grandma talks to an imaginary friend named Sef, and grandpa is a crazy racist. A little hard to follow characters at times, and the ending is a little predictable, but the discoveries of the characte
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May 10, 2009
Divya
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 22, 2008
Zoe
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Lily lives in Australia with her 'dysfunctional' family - her overworked mother, who sometimes brings home elderly adults from her daycare job, her brother, a dreamy English Lit major, and her racist grandfather. Her absent father lives in the US, can't remember her birthday, and once called her Lolly.
This book has gotten rave reviews for its intertwining narratives, but I had to force myself to make it through to the end. The pacing was incredibly slow and the tension just wasn't b More...
This book has gotten rave reviews for its intertwining narratives, but I had to force myself to make it through to the end. The pacing was incredibly slow and the tension just wasn't b More...
May 09, 2008
Krista
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 21, 2008
Kellyn
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Lily is the sensible one in her family of rather eccentric characters; however she is tired of always being sensible and everyone always counting on her. Many things in Lily’s life are troubling her: why, for example, does she have to live in the dumpiest house in the neighborhood; why did her grandfather (Pop) threaten her brother with an axe and tell him he no longer has a grandson; why does her mom keep bringing home patients from the nursing facility where she works?
Lil More...
Mar 17, 2008
Jess
rated it:
The characters spend a fair amount of time sleeping and dreaming, and the book ends up with an appropriately dreamy quality to it. It's got its details, though, and a delightfully large cast of characters, and the loveliest little descriptions of things. And while there is a great deal of coincidence, particularly at the end, the characters admit that so much coincidence is bizarre, and that things like this never happen to their family, and probably never will again: it is, of course, their o
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Feb 23, 2008
Emily
rated it:
If there are too many coincidences in your book, just call it Magical Realism!
Lily is the responsible, sensible one in a family she thinks of as completely dysfunctional. Her father left before she was born; her dreamy, unsettled older brother is estranged from the family after a fight with their short-tempered grandfather; the grandmother is normal enough except for her imaginary friend… and Lily is tired of being the responsible, sensible one. She decides that she wants to fall in More...
Lily is the responsible, sensible one in a family she thinks of as completely dysfunctional. Her father left before she was born; her dreamy, unsettled older brother is estranged from the family after a fight with their short-tempered grandfather; the grandmother is normal enough except for her imaginary friend… and Lily is tired of being the responsible, sensible one. She decides that she wants to fall in More...
Mar 30, 2008
Ningerbil
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Lily has always been the practical, organized one in the family. She helps out her hardworking mother, and until recently her brother Lonnie. But her "nan's" idea for a party for her soon-to-be 80-year-old "pop" worries her. Pop and Lonnie don't get along, and Lily worries that mom will bring one of her elderly clients home with her. On top of that, Lonnie suddenly has a new girlfriend, who may not fit in with the family. Lily also is worried about the new and very impractica
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Feb 11, 2012
Christina
rated it:
A book that focuses very heavily on characters. The plot moved a little too slowly for my liking, but the author has taken time to develop a whole cast of full and diverse characters. Ms Clarke writes with a colour and brightness that left me feeling "normal" in my own little madness, and while the ending was wrapped up perhaps with a little too much Deux Ex Machina, I forgave it, because I was so swept up with the entertainment of her writing.
Dec 29, 2009
Annie
rated it:
Great choice of reader! Her voice compelled me to sit in the car when parked.
This is a story about an admittedly disfunctional Aussie family. Three generations are represented with their concerns about racism, education and social expectations.
The author tells an engrossing tale, weaves together multiple plot lines in a believable way and makes you care deeply about every character.
This is a story about an admittedly disfunctional Aussie family. Three generations are represented with their concerns about racism, education and social expectations.
The author tells an engrossing tale, weaves together multiple plot lines in a believable way and makes you care deeply about every character.
