One Day by David Nicholls. 448 pages.

I recommend this read – but fair warning, there is a shocking and saddening twist in the final chapters. However, the author skillfully allows readers to end on a bittersweet – mostly sweet – note so that you remember all the other events in the main character’s progression toward the final years covered rather than their eventual resolution.

I loved the concept of the book, which the follows the relationship of Emma and Dexter – Em and Dex – from the first year of their meeting on a specific day in July – their college graduation day. This July day is revisited throughout the years, and whether together or apart, in contact or out-of-touch, we see how the characters' lives intertwine.

I have to say, though, that it did take me a while to warm up to the main characters, and though at times I was riveted, other times I didn’t care quite as much about Em and Dex’s fate as I would have hoped. I wouldn’t say I loved the book overall, but I liked it quite a bit, and hope that the upcoming movie adaptation captures the couple of moments I found the most poignant in an authentic way.