This was such a lovely YA romance! It hits all the notes of a whirlwind romance, strangers to lovers, finding oneself, echoing classic young adult love stories but with such believable and relatable main characters, and so wonderfully queer.

Abby and Leo are marching band students from different schools, both marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. They meet by chance and after some mishaps for both of them and end up spending a day together exploring New York. So many call backs to classic romance, from the locations they visit, to a nighttime Empire State visit. Abby and Leo have such distinct voices and personalities, as well as stressful issues that are weighing on them both as far as their identity.

This is an appealing, engaging, energetic book, with strong and relatable main characters, a well paced plot, and good use of romance tropes. I read a fair amount of young adult and to me this book felt fresh and fun, serious when it needed to be, hopeful and romantic. A quick and feel good read.

highly recommend. This is the second book I have read by this author and I am eager to read more.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this book . Opinions are my own. 4.5 stars

Abby believes in the magic of the universe - especially since her high school marching band is going to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She now gets to spend the next few days in New York City with her best friend, Kat. The exact same New York City their favorite book is set in - and the perfect place to finally tell Kat she loves her (and that she’s gay). She’s got a signed copy of the book that she's spent months annotating, now she’s just got to find the perfect moment to create her own rom-com.

Leo on the other hand, just wants to get through the next few days without too much of a family blowup - especially since he’s about to be outed on national television to his Southern family as the trans boy he really is. He’s not excited for the parade, he just wants to get it over with - yet alone spending the day sightseeing with his band.

When fate throws both Abby and Leo on the wrong subway trains heading in the opposite direction of their bands, the duo get lost in Manhattan. And worse yet, Leo makes Abby lose her one of a kind gift for Kat. To hopefully fix it, they decide on a new mission: find a souvenir at every location mentioned in the book, while their friends can hopefully cover for them during sightseeing. Maybe, just maybe, fate and a little magic will make this a day that changes everything.

I wasn’t sure what year this was supposed to be set in. They mention Tumblr a lot and I used it religiously for twelve years, but haven’t messed with it too much in the last five when my dash became so slow because people stopped posting. Is that still a popular website, or was this set roughly ten years ago? I think knowing this would also help me in understanding where Abby was in knowing about Queer activities in and around the KC area.

I’m not the biggest Romance fan, but this just sounded super cute when I read the premise - plus a lot can happen in a big city in 24-hours and this book doesn’t disappoint.

Overall, great representation of Teen Queer communities. Also for those who love that grump and sunshine trope.

*Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

A queer coming of age that was full of joy and self-discovery!

This Day Changes Everything centers around Abby and Leo, two teens in New York City with their high school marching bands for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Both are struggling with figuring out their identities and how they fit into the world. In a case of happenstance (and maybe the universe intervening), they end up lost together and find themselves on a whimsical adventure to find their way back and maybe find a kindred spirit in each other.

This was such a fun YA read and I loved the themes throughout it. This book spoke a lot about identity, self-acceptance, friendship, family stress, queer love, and trans issues. But what really spoke loudest was the idea that you don’t need to apologize for existing. You’re allowed to take up space in the world even if you don’t know who you are yet. I loved the feeling of love and hope this book left me with.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for this arc! All thoughts are my own.

Edward Underhill has done it again. This is another great title filled with so much warmth and love that I just wanted to keep reading! There could have been an additional three hundred pages and I still would have begged for more. Abby and Leo had a lot to learn about themselves & each other and it was a little messy but so is highschool. It feels as if Underhill just has a direct line to the developing teenage brain and I LOVE it. This is YA at it's finest.

DNF at 20%. I wanted to love this book!! I loved Underhill’s previous book and was so into the premise. Queer YA romance featuring teens in the marching band in NYC for the Macys Thanksgiving Parade? So much yes!!! Unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I read 20% and put it down and never wanted to pick it back up again. And when I finally did - I found I just didn’t want to be there. So this one isn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

I did not finish this one, as I didn’t pay enough attention to the fact it was a teen book and I wasn’t in that mindset at that moment! I feel this would be a great read for teens trying to figure out their sexuality or even teens in general! I’m just not in high school romance mode right now! Recommend it to teens

So many people don’t see Leo as the boy he is. His parents call him a tomboy and his extended family don't know he is trans. Now he is about to be outed on National television. Abby is hoping to finally tell her best friend that she is gay, and in love with her. Everything changes when Leo and Abby get lost on the New York subway. Using New York City as a backdrop, as cliché as it is, really adds to the whimsy of this YA LGBTQ romcom. The characters and story felt so real and genuine, and that cover is Stunning!

This was a cute, YA romance. I liked the New York setting and the sort of mutual dislike to like trope. My biggest thing was I found the characters to be a little annoying at times. I understand their teenagers and that just comes with the territory sometimes, but when it was the last third of the book and they were still being dramatic and mean to one another I was just kind of over it. I will also say too, I don’t really like when the story is meant to be a romance and the MC’s don’t get together until the literal end of the book. It’s like you don’t even get to see them happy because the book just ends. That was probably my biggest beef with the book, but again that is just a personal preference of mine. I really enjoy Underhill's writing, so I look forward to what he releases next!

This Day Changes Everything was the most delightful story of queer joy! Two small town marching band kids - Leo, a trans boy, and Abby, a gay girl, are thrown together and have the adventure of a lifetime in NYC. I absolutely loved this book and I wish I had stories like this as a teen. At a time when the LGBTQ+ community is under attack, stories like this are so important! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Edward Underhill, you've done it again. You've gone and made me fall for your characters again.

I loved Abby and Leo so much. Not just because they are band nerds like I am, but because they were trying so hard to figure themselves out and that's such a hard thing to do. I remember trying to figure out who I was, what I liked, crushes, telling your family... it was all so hard. I also think that New York was such a magical place for this to happen because as a small midwestern city friend you always imagine going to New York, Washington D.C., or other big cities and experiencing the magic you've only read about.

The 24 hour timeline really kept things moving and made me feel for the characters more than I was prepared for. It shows just how much one day can change things for you and set your course for a new direction. I cannot wait to see what else Underhill house in store for us in future books because this was yet again another LGBTQIA+ book that does wonders for the soul. 4.5/5 star review rounded up to 5 stars.

Edward Underhill’s second book, This Day Changes Everything is a delightful coming of age romantic story filled with teenage angst set in NYC. Abby is from Missouri, questioning her sexuality and identity, searching for a label, believing she is in love with her very best friend, Kat. Her marching band from Missouri practically wins the lottery by being chosen as one of the High School marching bands to perform in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. Abby is a hopeless romantic and has read her most favorite romantic book set in NYC, The One Hundred Romances of Clara Jane 24 1/2 times. Her bff, Kat, has read it almost as much and they both read fan fiction about it as well as go on a deep dive in Tumblr to analyze it. Abby believes she will give Kat a special autographed copy of the book she has discovered and annotated as a big romantic gesture akin to standing on the top of the Empire State Building, or strolling through Chelsea Market, Chinatown, or the middle of Grand Central Station, all wonderful places mentioned in both the fictional One Hundred Romances book and in This Day Changes Everything. As a New Yorker, AND as someone who was a manager for Macy’s and marched in the parade as a balloon handler one year for the Babar balloon, I greatly appreciated the descriptions of all of these places. They were described as close to many of my own memories and with as much care and love as these two young high schoolers are portrayed.
Our other high schooler is Leo, a trans boy whose parents describe him to their extended family as just a tomboy. He may be questioning his sexuality, but he’s pretty clear his gender is male, no longer female, and doesn’t want his parents to just say they accept him, but won’t tell the rest of the family the truth. His marching band from Springfield, Tennessee is also chosen to board a bus bound for the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC.
Not paying attention to their marching bands who are touring all of NYC from a Circle Line Cruise to a Broadway show and dinner in Times Square, Leo and Abby both get on the wrong train. They are heading in the opposite direction of their bands and then to make matters worse, the subway does that magical sometimes okay, usually annoying thing that every New Yorker knows, and suddenly becomes an express train skipping all of the local
stops so they can’t get off and go back easily.
Abby and Leo recognize the lost look immediately in each other, lost on the train, maybe even the lost among their peers and small towns’ look, and strike up a short conversation about being in bands performing tomorrow and losing their groups sightseeing today.
They slowly begin to trust each other and even like each other as they get caught up on a quest and their own sightseeing tour of many of the places mentioned in Abby’s favorite book. As one hour turns into several hours and then most of the day, they text their friends who run interference for them with the chaperones to help keep up the appearance Abby and Leo are with their respective groups.
Abby and Leo are both very well defined, likable characters and I greatly enjoyed their connection, their character’s arcs and growth over just a 24 hour period. I enjoyed being inside of the brain of a teenager in the big city very much. It was written with care and tenderness reminiscent of some of my teenaged moments.
The queer aspects are written into the story in a very real, gentle hand, and are a big part of the story, but the relationship which develops between Abby and Leo can be any two teenagers wandering lost around NYC.

I really enjoyed this story a lot and give it 4.25 🌟s. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books and the author Edward Underhill for providing me with this advanced reader’s copy. For all of those reading my review, you are in luck and this is a “Valentine’s Day” pub date and was published just two weeks ago on February 13th so you can go get your copy of it now!

#bookreviewmaureenvandusky

Absolutely adorable. I love the rep in the story, the lovely cover, and two grumpy souls who get lost but maybe find more than they were looking for. I love the first meet, the grumpy way they handled each other. I loved the confusion of being lost, the messages. I even appreciated the little points about marching band, even though I don't know anything about it. I was just instantly pulled into this story and I loved every moment of it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Talk about a whirlwind rom-com with the thrill of adventure and the power of connection! "This Day Changes Everything” by Edward Underhill, readers are invited into a delightful whirlwind of romance, adventure, and self-discovery. Set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, this book weaves together the lives of two queer teens in a single, life-altering day.

Meet Abby Akerman. She’s a Midwest high school student who believes in the magic of the Universe. Her marching band is about to perform in the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and she's convinced that extraordinary things can happen. Will she seek to create her own epic rom-com moment?

Meet Leo Brewer. He is grappling with his own challenges. As a trans boy, he's about to face a pivotal moment: coming out to his Southern extended family on national TV. Leo's not thrilled about the parade or a day of sightseeing with his band, will fate have other plans?

Underhill explores themes of self-acceptance, friendship, and the unexpected connections that shape our lives. Underhill's prose is both witty and heartfelt and the pacing kept this reader engaged! As a lover of New York City, the vivid descriptions evoke a sense of wonder, making it a character in its own right. It also really made me want Gray’s.

This story is heartwarming and celebrates love, identity, and the magic of unexpected encounters. This book left me smiling and remembering the serendipitous moments that altered my life forever.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a great coming-of-age story. The two main characters are lost in different ways. They are lost in the literal sense and in their lives. Being someone who dreamed of being in the Macy's Parade and also someone who grew up being in a marching band, I really connected to the arts aspect of this book. This book has great representation, and I am glad this book is out there for teens. I know that this was a 24-hour romance, but I felt like the pacing was a bit off and rushed towards the end. I just wish that we could've followed the characters after they returned home from NYC. Once again, I appreciate all of the representation in this book. I look forward to reading more by this author.

I got an ARC of this book.

This is my Underhill’s sophomore book and it is pretty fantastic. It didn’t quite entrance me as much as the first, but it was a wonderful read.

My two issues with this book are large enough to make a big difference. The trans rep is great. Seeing a trans guy that isn’t sure about his sexuality, because all of his time has been on gender (and band) is amazing. So many trans people explore their sexuality differently when they can actually be themselves so it felt so true to my experiences as a trans teen growing up. So the way that Leo was Leo was not a problem, the issue was most of his plots were about being trans. I want more from trans rep than “I’m trans, being trans is hard”. While this didn’t rely on sexual assault, bullying, or abuse, it did rely on that being his central character trait. It felt a little shallow. Leo’s interactions with others were amazing though. The way that people around him responded to him being trans was affirming in a weird way. People just didn’t care or bat an eye most of the time, so while I am a bit grumpy that was his main plot I am also excited by how much it was a non-issue in the traditional sense of the trans plot.

The other big issue is the ending was so rushed. It was FAST fast. The rest of the book felt so intense and wonderful, then the ending felt like a drop off the edge of the world level fast. It didn’t fit the rest of the book with the feeling and the attention, but it also made a lot of sense considering the ending itself.

I will say that this book did not feel like Ferris Bueller’s, which I am thankful for. I can’t stand that movie. Instead it felt like a less sad version of They Both Die in the End. It was that level of intense character connections and adventures.

Shout out for the interesting ace rep that I was 100% not expecting!

The story revolves around Leo and Abby's shared theme of feeling lost, with Leo struggling with his transgender identity and Abby grappling with her hidden homosexuality. Edward Underhill's vibrant writing skillfully develops both characters, addressing the challenges of small-town isolation and the liberating experience of self-discovery. The turning point occurs when Leo and Abby, lost on the New York subway, find solace and connection amidst the city's diversity. Underhill's narrative underscores the importance of embracing one's true self and finding meaningful connections in a world shaped by individual choices.

This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill is a mesmerizing YA romance that expertly captures the essence of New York City. Underhill's portrayal of Manhattan is nothing short of masterful, immersing readers in its bustling streets, iconic landmarks, and vibrant neighborhoods. From the chaotic energy of the Union Square Holiday Market to the serene beauty of seeing the Manhattan skyline for the first time, every aspect of New York City is vividly depicted with striking accuracy.

What truly sets this book apart is its ability to make the city feel like a living, breathing character in its own right. As Abby and Leo navigate the streets of Manhattan together, readers are treated to an intimate glimpse into the heartbeat of New York City, experiencing its highs and lows alongside the protagonists. That's not to say the plot of the romance itself falters; while one starts the story questioning how Leo and Abby will manage to tolerate each other through their adventures, the final chapters will have you cheering for them to fall head over heels in love. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for them to both get back to their marching bands without a chaperone noticing, which leaves the reader on edge! Nonetheless, Underhill's attention to setting the scene is impeccable, from the nuances of navigating the subway system to the sights and sounds of the city that never sleeps.

In the end, This Day Changes Everything is not just a love story; it's a love letter to the enchanting and endlessly captivating city of New York and the LGBTQIA+ community who will forever feel just a little more comfortable in its presence. Maybe it's just the former New Yorker in me, but this read left me itching to fly off to JFK.

This book gave me so much joy, largely for just existing and being a book I wish existed much earlier in my life. It took a lot of classic story lines and tropes and gave it so much more life and depth than a lot of books have been missing out on lately. I just cannot describe how much I appreciate this book.

This Day Changes Everything is another fun YA romance featuring trans joy! And this one, I think, would translate so well into a movie. Leo and Abby are two teens from different schools who have come in to NYC to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with their school bands. After a few mishaps, Abby and Leo manage to both get on the wrong train and get separated from their school group-leading to Leo messing up Abby's plans and him trying to help fix it all. It's a love letter to New York City, the feeling of the holidays, and fresh new feelings. Like, I wish I would have read this during the holiday season, because I think it would would be a good cozy comfort read for then.

As much as I liked it (Edward Underhill just has a special way of writing that I enjoy and breeze through) I had a few nitpicks. The whole romance takes place over 24 hours, and I know that instalove is totally a thing, but I had a hard time buying it. Not only that, but the main characters are so irresponsible, I could feel my inner high school self having an absolute anxiety meltdown over how they were acting. Overall, I still liked the story a good deal though.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Edward Underhill really blew me away with this. I loved the concept of the book: two teens from different high schools getting lost in New York City the day before their marching bands are supposed to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

The storyline itself was great; even though most of the book takes place in the span of one day, it wasn't rushed at all. I loved watching Abby and Leo's feelings develop for one another, which was another plus: the romance wasn't rushed either!

If you find that, like me, you weren't a band geek in high school, you can still enjoy this novel regardless! And to Edward Underhill, if you ever read this: please actually write The Hundred Romances of Clara Jane and then let me know, so I can read it. Because I 100% will.