Review: The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Title: The Day Before
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: June 28th 2011
Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Bought
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Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself. Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets. The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. Because Cade's not just living in the now--he's living each moment like it's his last.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I always have a hard time reviewing verse books because, to be honest, I don't understand them. I have no idea why I sometimes love and sometimes hate them. I just know that, for whatever reason, they either work or they don't - there's no in-between, for me. And The Day Before falls into the 'love' category.

I love when books are set over a very short period of time, one day or night. It must be so hard to get your readers to feel like they know your characters if you have just one day to set their story on, and it always amazes me when an author manages to do just that. I just love the intensity of it all. The Day Before doesn't explain a whole story, it's just a snapshot of two people's lives. It doesn't offer solutions or have big plot twists, but that's fine - I loved going along with Amber and Cade on their short journey.

The Day Before has made me fall in love with Lisa Schroeder's writing. This is my first of her books, but I know it won't be my last. Seriously, her writing is gorgeous! It's sparse, of course, since it's verse, but it carries so much honest emotion. Many passages had me marveling at the beauty of it all - the writing made me want to savor each word, even though it's such a quick read.

Amber's story is fascinating to read about. In the beginning, I had no idea what was going on with her, and I really enjoyed putting together the pieces and gradually finding out. If it's not too late, I'd recommend not reading many reviews before starting The Day Before because a lot of them would probably tell you what's going on with Amber. The reading experience is much better going in without knowing too much, in my opinion.

I loved Cade's story, too. At first, I was worried about how the author would handle Cade's and Amber's relationship - it'd be very easy to have a romance taking place over such a short time period turn into insta-love. But luckily, that is not the case here. Cade's and Amber's relationship develops fast, but in a very honest and relatable way. These two develop feelings for one another quickly, yes, but it never turns into melodramatic, head-over-heels love; they just meet and get to know each other. Cade's story is great, and it adds a lot to the novel - I love the whole idea of them spending their "day before" with each other. Cade and Amber are adorable together, and definitely put a smile on my face.

Also, I love how The Day Before refers to another YA book. I've complained before about how characters in YA books only ever read classics, or adult romances, never YA. It made me super-happy when Amber compared what was happening to another YA book!

The Day Before is a poignant, bittersweet snapshot portrayal of two teens' lives, and I loved every minute of it. I'm a new Lisa Schroeder fan, that's for sure!