One Day - David Nicholls
Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew have been friends for almost their whole lives, since they met that fateful day after graduating from university. Unbeknowst to them, their lives will forever be intertwined. Written from both perspectives, nearly twenty years pass from beginning to end. The reader gets a peek into the lives of Em and Dex for a day. One day, July 15th.
Honestly, I probably would have never picked up this book had it not been for the Take A Chance Challenge. Right off, I really liked the cover. I heard some rave reviews about this book and I was expecting to be blown away! Sadly, I was not. Instead, I had to force myself to read through it in its entirety. At the beginning, I wanted to bang my head on the wall, scream, and throw this book in the oven. It started off so boring that any little, tiny thing would easily distract me from reading on. I found myself daydreaming and reading through the words so quickly that unfortunately I had to re-read over paragraphs. I was dying waiting for something exciting to happen. I had a very difficult time getting into this book and it started off excruciatingly slow.
There is a bright side. If you can get through the beginning, it picks up toward the middle. Changes begin to take place in the lives of the two main character and to my relief the book actually became interesting. Before I go any further, I want to point out that I loved all the names for all the characters in this story. Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew are great names that sound good. Em is by far my favorite character. I love that she is intelligent and witty but Dex, on the other hand, is cocky and obnoxious. However, the banter between the two of them is one of my favorite things about the book. The author did a great job showing that they had chemistry from the very first time they met. As their friendship/relationship develops, I wasn't really pulling for them to be together. In fact I think the song Grenade by Bruno Mars perfectly describes the way Emma feels for Dex. However, I do think their story played out rather realistically although there were some parts that got a little predictable.
The ending definitely redeemed itself. I read that some people thought the ending to this book was awful and "sucked." However, I vehemently disagree. I think the ending to this book was beautiful and tragic. It surprised me and by that point I was thoroughly engaged. It wasn't until I reached the end that I realized how deeply connected I felt to their lives. I actually loved Em and Dex had grown on me too. By the end, the events of the story felt very believable though it is highly doubtful that everything would happen coincidentally on one particular day of the year.
Overall, I am glad that I gave this book a try. I have been trying to read books that are outside my comfort zone and this definitely qualifies. I don't know if I would recommend this to any of my friends even though in hindsight it really isn't a bad book. In fact, there is a good quality to the writing and I'll go as far to say the story is good. It just wasn't executed as well as I would have liked. In my opinion, it was okay. If you want to read it, I suggest getting it from the library.
3 ★s
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