Way back in 2004 Cemetery Dance published a novella from a writer named Dominick Cancilla. I've never made any bones about CD being my favorite publisher, and I will generally try any book they choose to publish. I took a chance on Cancilla's Revenant Savior.

Revenant Savior was getting a lot of good word out from readers and reviewers I knew, so that was a good sign. I read it pretty quickly and I liked the book. Was it great? Maybe not, but I certainly liked Revenant Savior well enough to store the name away for future reference.

So when Cemetery Dance Publications announced a new title by Cancilla, I was definitely interested. CD must have felt Tomorrow's Journal was a strong book, because they published a limited edition hardcover and a trade paperback. Which is something kind of rare for them. I chose the paperback edition. Which I now regret, as the hardcover now appears to be out of print. I'd love to own a nice hardcover of this one.

As the title suggests, Tomorrow's Journal is an epistolary novel, but it is unique. The story opens with a bright teenage girl who discovers a journal in her bedroom. Upon inspection she finds that it is something impossible.

She is given emphatic directions to not read ahead until she is instructed to do so. So begins a written conversation between the girl and someone--or something--that seems to know exactly what she is about to write in each entry.

A terrifying scenario unfolds gradually. Something is coming. A force that threatens not only the girl's life and family. No, the stakes are much greater than that.

If I had to describe Tomorrow's Journal with one phrase it would be: John Green meets Philip K. Dick. Teenage angst meets cosmic horror, with a nasty twist.

I devoured Tomorrow's Journal very quickly, and I was enthralled by every page. And while the nightmarish situation progressed I had no idea what turns the story would take. The novel speeds toward a conclusion that is as horrifying and dreadful as it is satisfying.

I've read a lot of really good books in the last year, but Tomorrow's Journal is one of the best. It's a hip, timely story that isn't quite like anything I've read before. Which, in itself, is unique in this day and age.

Written by Mark Sieber



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