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Edition: Hardcover, 435 pages, published August 1st 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton
Synopsis: It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another.
Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day—July 15th—of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.
Twenty years, two people, one day.

As with the Miss Peregrine’s Graphic Novel, I found this book very…mixed.

There were times when I loved this book, in fact, I even adored it. But there were many more times when I wanted to throw it out of the window and never lay eyes on it again.

 The plot…alternated between mildly interesting and downright boring. There were places when really, not a lot happened. In fact, I found whole chapters could have easily been summed up in a few sentences.

The characters…were a little two-sided, and I found it hard to make my mind up about either of them. There were times when I would think of Dexter as soft, vulnerable even. And then there would be other, more frequent times, when he was just a grumpy, big-headed person with no idea how to help himself.

I liked Emma more, but there were many times I found her annoying, too. I felt she was a doormat, unsure of what to do with herself aside from fall supposedly in love with people she really shouldn’t be in love with.

The writing…I am sorry to say, is a nother uncertain part of this review. I think the best way to describe it is ‘brutally honest’, because it is. Straightforward, no-messing and factual. There is no welling of emotion with this writing, no feeling connected with the characters. It’s just a story, and the writing treats it as such.

Something I liked…I kind of liked the ending? I think it could have been a lot better, but it definitely could have been a lot worse, too.

Something I disliked…the kind of ‘classic’ air around this novel. It took me ages to read, the chapters are long, the writing is tiny, and it just has this feel that it should be a classic, it’s almost yearning to be one. And this little part of me feels like yes, it should be, yes, it deserves it. But then there’s this other part, a bigger part, just saying ‘no’.

My rating is…

☽ ☽ ☽
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽