The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

This novel written in verse is an easy read that touches on characters coming to terms with a bad hand that life has dealt them.

Amber has something life altering that will be happening tomorrow and she wants this day to mean something. She doesn't want it to be sad and she doesn't want to deal with tomorrow. Rather than spending time with her family who is also dealing with this emotional situation, she goes off on her own. When she visits the aquarium in hopes of watching the sharks and gaining strength from them, she runs into Cade who seems to also be going through something life altering. They spend the day together, making it count and finding strength in each other to face what tomorrow brings.

I've never done a novel in verse before because I've never been a big fan of poetry. This novel was nothing like I expected. Sure it's in free verse poetry form, but it still tells a story. It's not bogged down by being too poetic where you have to dig and interpret for the deeper meaning. It does have its poetic and metaphorical moments, but they work within the story which at times is more reflective of life than a simple sequence of events. That's not to say that it isn't still a sequence of events. This novel goes through the events of a whole day - conversation, interactions, setting, etc. All and all, it is still a story, just told in a form that's not restricted to paragraphs and punctuation. The story pulls you in because you want to know what Amber is dealing with and what Cade is running from. You care for these characters and want them to have happily ever after.

I enjoyed this novel more than I thought. The form makes it an exceptionally easy read and it still has a story that pulls you in.
MMK