“People spend their whole lives looking for love. Poems and songs and entire novels are written about it. But how can you trust something that can end as suddenly as it begins?”
A charming novel that tells the story of Natasha and Daniel, how they meet, and the power of fate. Natasha is not one to believe in destiny and places her beliefs in science and facts. On what is set to be her last day in the US before her family is deported to Jamaica, all she can think about is finding a way to prevent that from happening. What she doesn’t plan on is meeting and falling for a boy. Daniel, on the other hand, is a dreamer and a romantic who is carrying the weight of his parents’ expectations on his shoulders. On this particular day, the universe leads him to Natasha. Through the perspective of both Natasha and Daniel, along with a few characters introduced along the way, we learn about everything that fell into place for them to meet, and follow their day as they get to know and learn about each other.
“There’s a Japanese phrase that I like: koi no yokan. It doesn’t mean love at first sight. It’s closer to love at second sight. It’s the feeling when you meet someone that you’re going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don’t love them right away, but it’s inevitable that you will.”
This one will speak to all the romantics. It does a wonderful job of presenting the various perspectives throughout and taking the reader on Natasha and Daniel’s journey. I came to really care about these characters and found myself eagerly turning the pages to see where the story would go and what their fate would be. There is an elegance and beauty to Nicola Yoon’s writing, which provides numerous lovely passages and sentences. She not only beautifully conveys the feelings associated with new love, but also with the immigrant experience through both Natasha and Daniel. A truly standout novel, which has made Nicola Yoon a must-read author for me.
“Maybe part of falling in love with someone else is also falling in love with yourself.”
About a Book 
Great review! I think you put it so eloquently: there is something elegant about the way Yoon writes, and I really, really love what she’s done with the characters in this one. Have you read Everything, Everything yet?
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Thank you! I did read Everything, Everything and really enjoyed it as well. Loved the writing and style of it, which is why I was looking forward to this one so much. Hope to see more books from her soon!
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