Most days it’s hard to get out of bed for Amber, but today is different. Amber planned this day weeks ago, and she is filled with excited anticipation for twenty-four hours of living fully in the present and not worrying about tomorrow. The plan was to have the time selfishly to herself, but during her visit to the aquarium, a stranger named Cade speaks to her, who is also on his own for the day. From their small talk Amber is hooked. She follows Cade’s lead until they decide to spend the entire day together on one condition: they won’t ask each other what they are trying to keep off their minds. So Amber and Cade spend an impulsive day doing whatever catches their fancy. But as afternoon turns into evening they start to see through each others cracks and Amber and Cade are forced to face the unknowns of the day after.

After catching the verse novel bug last year and reading Lisa Schroeder’s I Heart You, I Haunt You and Chasing Brooklyn, I was absolutely thrilled to receive this early review copy from Simon and Schuster’s galley grab. Its cover had already made the blogosphere rounds so I knew that is was striking and that it would be hard for me to resist. Lisa Schroeder has been very lucky in that department because all of her covers have an atmospheric quality to them that captures the depth of emotion and lyricism within. The Day Before is no exception. A favorite poem (of many):

That’s What It Is

Life is the bad
with all the good.

The deadly sharks
with the beautiful sea stars.

The gigantic waves
with the sand castles.

The licorice
with the lemon and lime.

The loud lyrics
with the rhythm of the music.

…

It’s life.

Sweet, beautiful,
Wind on your face,
air in your lungs,
kisses on your lips
life.

I was quickly swept up in the surprisingly simple yet meaningful and radiating prose. Dropped into Amber’s life without a by-your-leave, I wouldn’t have wanted it any different as the conflict in her life slowly and with suspense comes to light. Although there is not a lot of time within a one day time period to show a relationship develop, I believed in Amber and Cade’s quick connection. Individually they were both so well developed and complex that their heartache resonated with me. Of-the-moment pop culture references abound, which I loved, and the setting on the Oregon coast is refreshing without the added personal meaning it has for me. What continues to strike me about well-written verse novels is the charged meaning that exists between the lines and in the spacing and how these voids are just as important as the words themselves. Lisa Schroeder has that down. When I finished I could see and feel the sunshine in Amber and Cade’s day. While I wouldn’t turn down an offer for more from these two characters I closed The Day Before with a huge, satisfied grin on my face and with an urgency to find Far From You, the last book in Schroeder’s backlist I haven’t yet read.

The Day Before comes out June 28.

Second Opinions
Chachic’s Book Nook Review
Fragments of Life Review
Novel Thoughts Review
The Book Scoop Review
YA Book Queen Review

Note: And for anyone who’s interested I’ve stayed on the Oregon coast twice: once on my honeymoon and again a few years ago. Here are some photos of me at locations Amber and Cade visit in the book:

The Oregon Coast Aquarium

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (lighthouse not pictured)

One year ago Brooklyn lost her boyfriend Lucca. Now it’s his friend Gabe who’s died. If her still painful and raw grief wasn’t enough, his death has made the small sane part of her snap. Worst of all, Gabe, not Lucca, is now haunting her dreams. Instead of his human self it’s a gray-skinned, red-eyed Gabe on a relentless chase after her.

It’s also been a year since Nico lost his brother, Lucca. The only way he knows how to deal with the loss is to run – literally. But he can’t run forever, and it’s looks like his problems will catch up to him unless he heeds his own ghost, Lucca, whose messages to help Brooklyn are becoming more desperate.

There’s so much that is beautiful in this haunting story of loss and grief. As novels dealing with death tend to do, Chasing Brooklyn reminded me of how the experience can have many similarities with other loss novels on the surface but can still be its own original work, exploring something very human and universal in a totally different, but right way. There is also so much that I loved, starting with the eerie, blue-green cover and the reaching hand. I loved the journal-entry format, which fit the free verse well. The sparse, emotional verse also seems very appropriate for a story about void. Most of all I loved struggling  Brooklyn and damaged Nico, whose pain was palpable and felt true to life. These two go from training partners, to friends, to “it’s complicated”and more, and I enjoyed every sad, confused and sweet minute of it. As you can guess neither wants Nico to be the second-best replacement of Lucca, and that’s the root of the conflict. If you’re looking to try a novel in free verse please pick up Chasing Brooklyn. It is absolutely lovely and I thank Angie for adding it to my stack. I’m anxiously awaiting my copy of the companion novel I Heart You, You Haunt Me.

Second Opinions
Angieville Review
For the Love of YA Review
GreenBeanTeenQueen Review
The Crooked Shelf Review
Wondrous Reads Review