The Day Before

by Lisa Schroeder

Overview

From the author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me, an irresistibly romantic novel in verse.


Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.
Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.
The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.
Told in verse and brimming with raw emotion and pure romance, this is a gracefully woven tale of life-changing secrets and unexpected friendship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442417441
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	06/05/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	307
Sales rank:	681,390
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.06(h) x 0.92(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Lisa Schroeder is the author of the teen verse novels The Day Before; I Heart You, You Haunt Me and its companion novel, Chasing Brooklyn; Far from You; and the teen prose novel Falling for You. She is also the author of the middle grade prose novels It’s Raining Cupcakes, Sprinkles and Secrets, and Frosting and Friendship. She lives in Beaverton, Oregon. Find out more about Lisa and her books at LisaSchroederBooks.com or on Twitter at @Lisa_Schroeder.

Read an Excerpt

a different kind of day

Some mornings,
it’s hard to get
out of bed.

Sleep lures you
like a stranger
with a piece of candy.

Follow me.
It will be okay.
I promise.

You know better,
but still you follow,
because you really do
love candy.

When you finally
open your eyes,
late for everything
and your whole day
screwed,
you curse that bastard,
Mr. Sandman.

It’s happened to me
a hundred times.
But not today.

Today was different.

Anticipation is the best
alarm there is, and it shook
me awake before
my phone even had
the chance.

As I move around my room
with my iPod on and earbuds in,
my girl P!nk sings strong,
and I feel like I have
superpowers.

The power to
let myself go,
let myself be,
let myself live
the next
twenty-four hours
in a way
I have never lived
before.

© 2011 Lisa Schroeder

Editorial Reviews

The Day Before is lyrical, vivid, and poignant. Like hidden gems that sparkle in the sand, each verse tells its own story; a heartfelt reminder that life's treasures — friendship, love, and compassion — are often discovered when we least expect them.”

— Sarah Ockler, bestselling author of Fixing Delilah and Twenty Boy Summer

From the Publisher

Letters from the past are interspersed into a free-verse chronicle of a crucial day for two teens who meet by chance at a beach town.

Amber heads out to the beach for a day by herself away from the family she loves, and, through a chance encounter with Cade, makes a lifetime connection, as this is also a critical day for him. Cade recognizes Amber as a child who was switched at birth in the hospital. Her birth parents have gone to court to have her live with them for half the year; the child they raised has died. Amber's anxious and angry, and somehow Cade is the balance she needs, due to his own mysterious challenges. Sometimes the poetry just tells the story, and other times it is almost too precious: "Lips on lips, / feel the heat. / Silky soft, / honey sweet."Teen jargon (including some cursing) appears just often enough to feel realistic, and it helps to keep the cloying effect of the plot line in check. Unfortunately, as the day goes on, the intensity of this brand-new relationship that's been forged in moments strains credulity. Like the limo ride from home to the beach, the connections over shared music and the secret Cade shares that makes him so vulnerable, it's all a tad overdone.

Melodrama heightened by romance.(Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews