Fabulous representation with distinct and lovable characters. I've never read anything by this author before but I will certainly read more of his work now! A pull-at-your-hearstrings novel, and I loved every moment of it. This book is not afraid to talk about deep, hard-hitting topics and it's stronger for it. Would definitely recommend for anyone in the mood for a cute YA romance!

When I saw Edward Underhill was writing another YA book, I knew it was a must-read following his debut, Always the Almost. However, This Day Changes Everything didn't appeal to me as much for a few reasons. Some of those were personal: I have mixed feelings about 24-hour romances and this one just didn't do it for me, and, part of what I loved about Always the Almost was the setting in Wisconsin—while both main characters here, Abby and Leo, come from small towns, the book is really about New York, which I tend to find less interesting. But I also felt that this lacked the strong characterization that was in Always the Almost, perhaps, in part, due to the 24-hour romance nature of the plot.

That being said, I do really enjoy Underhill's writing. I think the trans representation here is so important, as well as both main characters' inner monologues (and occasional dialogue) navigating their identities and what those identities mean to them when interacting with their families, friends, and the greater world. I will definitely be reading Underhill's next book. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and Leo were really great characters. I loved their frantic exploration of New York City while (somewhat) unintentionally ditching their band field trip.

The comp for this was Dash and Lily, and This Day Changes Everything absolutely has those vibes! I loved this story of two Midwest teens in New York City in order to play in their high school bands at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade who get separated from their respective schools and find a friendship (and more!) together.

This Day Changes Everything is a joyous queer romp through New York City.

This is one of those books that makes me so happy for the modern YA audience. There’s so much more representation available now and stories like this are just so full of queer and trans joy that fills your heart with all the warm and fuzzies. It feels like everything great about an 80’s high school movie but in a modern setting.

We follow two teens who happen to get separated from their respective school’s tour groups. They have to find their way back to their friends, but there’s a lot of self-actualization to do along the way. There’s unrequited love, grumpy/sunshine, and a whole bunch of fate. I really thought both MCs had great stories and were well fleshed out. These are teens that feel like teens and there was

This Day Changes Everything is a wonderful coming of age story full of wit and hope. I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading!

This was so CUTE! Such an enjoyable read with a lovable cast of characters and a super fun premise. Pacing was perfect and it made me laugh a few times. Both lighthearted and emotional. Just all around a great read. I think young readers will adore it.

Really cute story aimed for a younger audience. Solid 3.5/5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is a really sweet coming of age in a day story that takes place in New York City. A little odd for a Thanksgiving Day Parade book to release in February, but the parade is just what brings out protagonists to the city.

I absolutely loved watching Leo and Abby start to come to terms with their queerness and identities. I wish I could do a bookstore scavenger hunt! It really hit home how important it is for young people to have role models and examples of queerness around them so they don't feel like an "other."

However, I was not as impressed with the romance subplot. I appreciate how Leo made Abby really look closely at her feelings, but for her to go from loving one person for weeks to loving Leo in a day was a bit of a stretch for me. Maybe this is just the ace in me, but I almost would've loved to see their friendship grow rather than their romance.

Overall very cute and soft book.

I have thoughts and feelings about this book, but you won't hear them. Not yet. And it's a pity, because I really wish I could openly support this queer, BIPOC author. Unfortunately, St. Martin's Press has yet to address the issue surrounding the issues surrounding their boycott. My full review will be posted with an accurate star rating when the demands of the boycott have been met. Until then, my review will hold at one star.

The demands are:

1) Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from their employee.

2) Offer tangible steps for how they're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.

3) Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

For more information on the boycott, visit the Reader for Accountability website: https://r4a.carrd.co/

This second YA novel from Edward Underhill is an excellent read!

Abby and Leo have both recently arrived in New York City where their high school marching bands are to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They’ve put in years of practice and ridden for many hours on a long bus ride (IYKYK). Suddenly, an ill-timed FaceTime and some dog poop alter the course of their days as they both get on the wrong subway train. Was this truly an accident or did the universe help bring Leo and Abby together?

I absolutely loved the adventures that Abby and Leo went on throughout the city as both characters learned so much about themselves.

I wish this book was out now so that you could get all of the awesome Thanksgiving vibes. For now, you should definitely preorder this one and devour it as soon as it arrives in February.

Edward is now an auto-buy author for me. I’ve absolutely loved each of his first two novels which are filled with music and trans joy. Thank you, Edward, for your beautiful stories!

I really enjoyed Edward Underhill's debut novel so I was super excited to pick up this one as an ARC! And let me say, it did not disappoint. I haven't loved a YA book like this in a long time and it was so refreshing to read. Being a former high school band geek myself, I absolutely love that Underhill's books feature characters in marching band.

i loved getting to know Abby and Leo and following their trek through New York City. their grumpy x sunshine dynamic was so fun and is one of my favorite romance tropes. although i will say, i wasn't entirely expecting them to end up together? it felt kind of like it was added to the story randomly toward the end, but at the same time, i think it worked out okay. it was definitely weird to have them say "i love you" after knowing each other for literally one day, but i'm glad that ridiculousness was acknowledged and then justified by the characters themselves lol

i especially loved the message that not everyone needs labels and that's perfectly okay. some people have lgbtq+ labels that they identify very strongly with, and some people never find a label that fits them well enough.

anyway, there's so many things i loved about this book. i hope every queer band geek gets to read this because it's something i would have loved to read when i was a teenager.

Wow. This has some depth to it that I wasn't at all prepared for. If you enjoyed "On Earth We're Briefly Beautiful." Then you're going to love this. Underhill crafted such a story that I was left in shock for hours later.

Edward Underhill crafts characters that inspire you and make you feel so deeply! I couldn't put it down because I was rooting so hard for Abby and Leo. The description of a queer Dash & Lily meets Ferris Bueller was so apt and now I also have such a burning desire to do a bookstore scavenger hunt. I would describe it as more of a Christmas/holiday book than a Valentine's read but its a love story that works for any time of year!

This book was so beautiful. I loved seeing what it was like to see NYC for the first time through these characters. The representation (queer and trans main characters) was so great and I loved the journey that Leo and Abby went on. Of, course they were still teenagers and I thought all the inner thoughts and questions about both of their identities were so impactful. I also loved how many other LGBTQ+ characters were in the story. The scavenger hunt may have been one of my favorite parts and the vulnerable conversations had me emotional. Being a teenager is hard for anyone, but Underhill brought these two people together and it was magical, if you will. I also loved that they were both in marching band. I feel like that is such a niche part of the high school experience and it was really cool to see that brought to life. I loved all the little classic NYC things and it felt like home to me. I would have loved an epilogue for Abby and Leo only because I loved their journey so much. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-ARC to read and review!

This book was a 2.5 for me. I read Always the Almost and I liked it but this one for me was really slow and it felt like nothing was really happening. I wanted to like it more cus I loved all the queer rep but the story just didn't really do it for me.

This book was super hard for me to keep up with. I also felt like the writing was super young. I did not finish reading this one because I just did not care for the overall story.

THOUGHTS

This book is so warm and fuzzy and cute. I don't know what else to say besides that. I thought Always the Almost was good, and this book was so much better than that.


PROS
Fangirl: Abby knows that the book she loves isn't necessarily "good" on a technical level. But that doesn't stop her from absolutely loving it. This Day Changes Everything is really embroiled in niche fandom and fanfiction cultures, and I love that. I love that it highlights the communities that can form around books and writing, and I love how unapologetic Abby is about adoring this not-necessarily-great book. When she loses her extra-special edition, it truly is devastating.

Small Town Reality: Both of these kids come from small towns in conservative-leaning states, and that really makes a difference in their coming-out stories. Leo is out, kind of, and because of this, he feels ostracization in his everyday life. Abby isn't out, and she isn't sure she can be. She doesn't know if her home is safe, if her town is safe. She knows her state isn't, with new anti-LGBTQ legislation all the time, and so though this book is ultimately light and fluffy, it does touch on this bit of reality. And I appreciate that.

Queer Fluidity: These kids aren't quite settled into their queer identities, for the reasons listed above, and so this book is not just a straightforward (pun intended) love story. They're still figuring things out, trying labels out, and wrestling with what it means to be queer--and how that might not be something so black and white.


CONS
Off-Season: This isn't necessarily a complaint about the book itself (which in itself says a lot about the book!). But the decision of the publisher to put this holiday book out in February makes no sense to me. It is very much a holiday book. It's Thanksgiving week, and they're marching in the parade. And the NYC they experience is fully in the holiday season. So reading it out-of-season diminished my experience a bit, and I can't imagine being a bookseller trying to sell this book in February. I'm not sure why the publishers have decided to hurt a genuinely excellent book's sales in this way. (In other words, do buy this cozy romance its publication week and save it for a wonderful holiday read when next winter rolls around!)

YOLO FOMO: This book gave me so much anxiety. I might be too much of a rule-follower for this particular fantasy, but as soon as they were separated from the group, I got nervous. I know they're teenagers, not children, and they did have each other... but being stranded in a major city (when they're both small town people) and missing out on the actual tours that were scheduled (which is a tragedy, in my own tour-loving opinion) is just anxiety-inducing. Having their friends cover for them not just for a little bit but for the entire day... It was almost too much for me! The cuteness overruled this anxiety, but I was definitely anxious about the fact that they were missing their itinerary.

Weird Sniping: The biggest (genuine) complaint I have about this book is Leo's weird snippiness. I know it's grumpy-sunshine romance. And I have no problems with Leo's generally grumpy attitude. But when he kinda starts to maybe be into Abby, he grows pretty snippy with her. If I were Abby, just getting to know him after a few hours with him, this would be a major turn-off, and I didn't like it. Luckily, he doesn't stay in this funk long, but I did still find myself annoyed with him.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9/10
Fans of Lio Min's Beating Heart Baby will love this new marching band romance. Those who adored the NYC of Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop will love this charmingly festive cityscape.

'This Day Changes Everything' is a book that will resonate with both teenagers and adults. It presents a sweet and touching romance involving teens who are in the process of self-discovery, exploring what that means for themselves, their friendships, and families. Underhill does an excellent job of portraying the experiences and emotions of the LGBTQIA+ community through the characters, all while taking readers on a fun high school marching band (mis)adventure in NYC. I appreciate how he emphasizes that not everything needs a label or fits neatly into a category.

“Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, for sending this eARC for review consideration.”

I've previously read another book by Edward Underhill, Always the Almost, which was adorable and still lives in my thoughts rent-free, and this second novel by Edwards is no exception. When I saw that the vibe of this book was Dash & Lily meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I immediately shouted YES! Ferris Bueller is one of my favourite movies, and I adore rewatching Dash & Lily around Christmas, so I figured this story would be a huge comfort, and I was right.

This book, no matter how it was going to go, seemed so vital to me since it was full of queer joy and trans appreciation. Leo and and Abby felt extremely authentic and real, in the sense that they had the kind of softness that people who are still figuring themselves out have. I adored them, and Edward has always created characters who leave a lasting mark on you, so please read this when it is released!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

Synopsis: Two queer kids in the Macy’ Parade get lost in NYC and have an adventure of a lifetime.

Thoughts: A super cute novel about two queer kids, NYC and falling in love. Unfortunately I felt the character development was slow and it wasn’t until the end of the book that I felt more connected and routing for Leo and Abby. Nevertheless a cute, easy novel about queer and trans kids!

Thank you to Edward Underhill, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending this ARC my way. Underhill has done something truly wonderful in this book. I have to ask first off did he secretly spy on me during my high school band trip to California for the Rose Bowl Parade? All jokes aside, everything in this book was very relatable in the band sense. I was SHOCKED to find out the author himself was never in band or went to a parade! He did an amazing job accounting what it would be like and I can say he's right on the mark.

Now to the plot. I adored the set up for this novel. Two queer characters meet in precisely the way the universe intended. Leo is a trans boy trying to find where he fits into his small southern town and more importantly his identity. Abby is trying to figure out what queer means to her and what title suits her best. Again from a small town where it isn't the easiest to be who she is. They spend 24 hours together and discover more than landmarks in New York City. The romance felt effortless and the use of liminal spaces as describing people was genius.