Review: The Day Before

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Summary: 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 Thoughts: This is my second time reading a novel in verse, and again it was quite good. I’ve never been a fan of poetry, but when it’s telling a story like in this novel, it works for me. The way this one works is it’s made up of several shorter poems. Some are just one page, some are several pages. None takes more than a few minutes to read on its own. Interspersed throughout are letters written between Amber and others in her life. Those letters fill in the missing blanks and provide a bit more detail that would otherwise possibly be missed.

What I love is how seamlessly the poems and letters work together to create a story that flows as well as any novel I’ve read. It’s easy to follow what’s going on, and the beauty of the poetry is that the typography can be used to help illustrate the story.

Huh? What do I mean? Simple, the text is used in such a way that it provides a visual to help reinforce the words being written. Not only can you see the words on the page, but you can see the actions (or whatever) described by the words. It’s like illustrations made using text – but not in the cheesy way you see in e-mails or on Facebook. One example I can think of is the word rain, spelled vertically down the page. In the context of that particular scene, it works perfectly to bring emphasis to the rain and how it affects things. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. The same can be said for spacing of words (in some spaces it’s more spaced out, again to help with emphasis or whatever), creative use of indents, change in justification of a line or two, empty lines … I could go on and on.

As for the story itself, it was very good. I must say that Amber’s truth is quite shocking, but Cade’s really isn’t. At least it wasn’t for me. But, the story still works. It had my attention, held my attention, and I am very happy to have read it. Although, I would have liked to have a bit more at the end of the book. One more letter or poem. Just a little more closure for the reader. Still, it is a great book, and I would highly recommend it to just about anyone. Remember, I’ve never liked poetry all that much, but once again find myself amazed by how well a story is told using verse.

Favorite Quotes:

Oftentimes
when I read a book,
I want to savor
each word,
each phrase,
each page,
loving the prose
so much,
I don’t want it
to end.

Other times
the story pulls me in,
and I can hardly
read fast enough,
the details flying by,
some of them lost
because all that matters
is making sure
the character
is all right
when it’s over.

~ page 114 (ARC)

I know exactly what she’s saying. I’m guessing you do, too.

People always say
chocolate makes
everything
better.

I say friends make everything better.

~ page 171 (ARC)

Love it. (And notice the example of the justification being different here.)

My Rating: 4 stars

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Read It: The Day Before is scheduled for release on June 28, 2011. You can pre-order it HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for the 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge.

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This review is part of Book Review Party Wednesday.

FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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