Simon Pulse, 2011
307 pages
YA; Contemporary; Verse
4/5 stars
Source: Received a free e-ARC through Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab program.
I've long had attitude about books written in verse form; I hadn't read many and I didn't have a very high opinion of them despite largely enjoying the few I had read. But I wanted to give Schroeder a try after seeing some positive buzz and I want to read all of the books in the Contemps Challenge.
The result was me pleasantly surprised by the emotional punch packed within this book. As someone who ordinarily loves a page crammed with text, the layout of this book is very sparse with unique spacing and plenty of white space in stark contrast to the books I normally read.
The plot itself is pretty simple; Amber is going out on her last day before...something, which is slowly revealed through the book. Although she starts the day by herself, she soon meets Cade, who is also having his own day before. There could be tears aplenty for the both of them (and I got a bit misty-eyed due to the writing) but they focus on this last day, largely avoiding the unwanted topic of the next day. It's pretty simple but the level of the writing elevated this book, making an imprint on my heart.
Cover: I think it kind of looks like she's dead, which is not actually what the title refers to (it's not The Day Before I Died). The grass is really pretty though.
Read for Contemps and E-book challenges.
I didn't like the cover much either. But it seems like a good summer read. I love the name Cade. I'm definitely going to use it or some version for my next story. Thanks for the review.
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