*There are some minor spoilers in this article - although nothing too significant is mentioned to encourage the reader’s own experience with this series.
One Day by David Nicholls
Rating ⭐️: 3/5
Plot 📖: 3/5
Spice 🌶️: 1/5
Here is a Pinterest Board and Spotify Playlist I created to match the vibe of the books.
Read the book, before you watch the show/movie
If there is one thing I’ve learned from my reading journey, this is it. A common rule of thumb among the book community for many good reasons, and One Day by David Nicholls is a book you WILL want to read before you see the movie or the Netflix TV series adaptation (I absolutely LOVE the Netflix show and I think it’s a must watch, go add it to your watchlist ASAP).
My first encounter with One Day was on Netflix, I watched the short trailer of the series and immediately set a “remind me” notification for when the title was ready to stream. When the day finally came, I was two episodes in (and halfway through the third episode) when I decided to pause watching and instead read the book first.
The book is wonderful and really encapsulates the joys and struggles of growing up and facing the realities of being an adult, without feeling as if the whole book is preaching a life lesson to the readers.
The Review:
📆 Popular boy x Smart girl Trope
From the beginning of the story, the character distinction is made very clear. Dexter Mayhew is a rich and popular boy, who lives his life in easy mode because everything works out for him naturally (mostly attributed to his good looks and his wealthy background). In stark contrast, Emma Morely is a smart girl who has worked hard and made sacrifices to get to where she wants to go in her life. The pairing of these two characters together is very cliché, so it was easy to predict the plot for the rest of the story.
📆 Right Person - Wrong Time
I can’t tell you how many times throughout the book I thought Dex and Em would finally get together, instead the flip-flop between the two dragged on. I am not an expert on relationships, but it seemed like both of them agreeing to be “best friends” was their way of ensuring they kept each other intertwined in their lives, without risking the chance of being together romantically and for some reason having that fail. As you read more about Dex and Em, and their experiences, I think it’s fair to say that the fear of failing romantically stems from being insecure - Emma is too practical and realistic for Dexter and Dexter is too carefree and spontaneous for Emma. But for those exact same reasons are probably why they are good for each other, because they balance each other out.
📆 Dates and Diction
I didn’t realize until the very end how important the dates were in this book. It took me past the acknowledgements and summary page to realize that each chapter occurred on July 15th and focused on a snapshot of where Dexter and Emma were in their own lives, across the span of two decades which I also didn’t know about. So Pro Tip: Make note of the dates in the chapters - they are important!! I also wanted to mention the writing style of the book. I think the diction used is perfect for the setting of the book and the way it is written, Nicholls really translates the trials of growing up and “adulting” beautifully through Dexter and Emma’s story.
📆 Love Hard
Reading this book makes you think and reflect on all of your relationships in your life. It reminds us that life is finite and anything can happen at any time, so let the people around you know that you love them. We aren’t promised love in this life - it is through the connections that we choose to form and nurture that love grows, and well, love is one of the best feelings in the world. So love hard, and share your love with the people you care about and who care about you.
If you have made it this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read this review, I hope you enjoyed it - I love to chat about books, so comment with your thoughts, and subscribe for more book content coming soon <3