One Fine Day

by H.B. Gilmour

Two divorced people, each with young children, are forced to help each other get through one particularly hectic day and keep their New York City lives, careers, and kids intact. Original. Movie tie-in.

266 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1996

About the author

H. B. Gilmour was a bestselling author of children's books. She grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her mother and the extended family and fondly remembered writing her very first poem for Arbor Day when she was just eight years old. As a teenager, she moved to Florida to live with her father. She attended college there and then moved back to New York City.

Gilmour’s first publishing job was at E.P. Dutton. In 1964 she joined Bantam Books where she worked as copywriter, editor, and copy chief and as an associate director of marketing. She was married to Bruce Gilmour in 1968. She had a child, Jessica, with him in 1970. They were divorced in 1972. Her first novel "The Trade", a trashy paperback about the publishing business, was published in 1969.

She wrote novelizations (including Saturday Night Fever) and children's books (including Muppets books) while working full-time at Bantam and raising a child on her own. She published her second original novel "So Long, Daddy" in 1985. The artwork for the dust jacket of the hardcover release includes a photo of her daughter, Jessica. Her third novel was "Ask Me If I Care", a book about a teenage girl who gets in with the wrong crowd.

In 1992 she joined the book division at Scholastic, leaving in 1995 to pursue writing full-time. She focused her energy on books for "tweens" and children which is what gave her the most joy.

She met John Johann, whom she would later marry, in 1992. They later moved to Cornwallville in upstate New York where she happily tended to the garden she never had in the city until her death. She died on June 21, 2009 of pneumonia due to complications from lung cancer. She is survived by her husband John, daughter Jessica, stepchildren Wendy and John, Jr. and step-grandchildren Reef, Riley, John Jr. and Jasmine.

Reviews

[steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so maybe this five star rating isn't as high deserving as some of the other, more formative books I have read but you know what, this book was adorable and fluffy and it left me with a hugest grin on my face so I don't care. 5 STARS, 5 STARS, 5 STARS!

I watched the movie for the first time one or two months ago (I know, I know, I am so behind the times) and I absolutely fell in love with it and then Jess was all "did you know they made a book on the movie? I had the paperback yearssss ago" and I was all "No!" and then I proceeded to Amazon and I bought a used copy because I'm awesome like that. Well I finally got around to reading the paperback this week and it didn't disappoint. AT ALL. It follows the movie storyline almost pretty accurate except for for the end. It's the part when Jack finds Maggie after she followed the kitten out of the ice cream shop with Mel and Sammy and gets lost. In the movie, Jacks finds Maggie, convinces her to take one of the kittens and he ends up making the press conference with Maggie and the adopted kitty and thus saving the day/his career but here in the book he decides that his daughter is more important to him than any press conference and he sits down to play with her new kitty and her. They miss the press conference, only meeting up with Mel and Sammy after everyone else has left. It was subtle but I didn't mind the change because we got into Jack's head and saw that he cared more about his kid then this big story of his and that was 100% okay with me.

My favorite part of this book was the chance to get inside both Mel and Jack's head because we couldn't see/hear their thoughts in the movie. It was nice, and perfect and left me beaming like a fool because I am still a romantic at heart. No, this book is not going to win any awards but if you saw the movie and liked it and have had a long day/week/month and just need a good book to disappear into knowing it will leave you with a happy smile after you close the final page, then this is the book for you. It follows the movie pretty spot on, right down to the LSD giving Spiderman(or was it the Hulk?) at the kids daycare center. lmao.

[Karschtl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely movie, that I've watched shortly before I lived close to NYC myself for a year, and some of the settings I could visit myself. I did a tour on the Circle Line, which is very recommendable. And the place around the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park is really beautiful beyond words.
This is a "movie-tie-in" book, so it narrates the story of the book very accurately (except for one thing). These kind of books are mostly not very spectacular in a literary sense. But if you liked the movie, it's nice to 're-live' it through this little book. And you do get some 'inner thoughts' from the two protagonists as well; something you don't have when you watch the movie (but then you sometimes can guess these things by the body-language of the characters or other subtle hints).

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It read just like a movie! It was quick, easy and very charming. Sometimes a girl just has to read "something" and I have bookshelves full of "somethings". The characters are likable and identifiable. I have never seen the movie but I have rented it for later, the book was that interesting. A great palate cleanser!

[Ranette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really true to life and a fun read. Light hearted with problems to solve.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun way to revisit one of my old-school favorites.