One Day
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One Day

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67  ·  rating details  ·  47,533 ratings  ·  8,470 reviews
Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY.
Hardcover, 435 pages
Published August 28th 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton (first published January 1st 2009)
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsThe Help by Kathryn StockettOne Day by David NichollsHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. RowlingWater for Elephants by Sara Gruen
ONE DAY Best Summer Reads
3rd out of 1,752 books — 6,400 voters
A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. MartinThe Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsThe Help by Kathryn StockettForever by Maggie StiefvaterBossypants by Tina Fey
What's the book you can't wait to read this summer?
37th out of 1,607 books — 3,685 voters


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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 82,185)
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Stephanie
Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: People who love: Message in a Bottle, Atonement, Love Story
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

(I just copied this from my blog...and, didn't realize until it was pointed out to me (below) that I didn't copy the whole thing sorry!)

Please be warned this blog post contains SPOILERS for the following books: One Day, Message in a Bottle, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Lord of the Rings, The Way We Were, A Walk to Remember, Atonement, Bridges of Madison County, The Time Travelers Wife, The English Patient

This is the...more
Buggy
Opening Line: "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference."

So I’m going to try to write a somewhat sensible review here that doesn’t come across as all gushy fan-girl. I will say (hopefully only once) that I adored this book but you should know that I'm a bit of a sucker for a tragedy too. ONE DAY was brilliant in every way; making me laugh and cry while filling me with nostalgia and longing. And because I’m the same age as Dexter and Emma the time fra...more
Rosanne
A hilarious and realistic love story. Excellent characterizations, Nicholls captures life's ups and downs so well and tells Emma and Dexter's stories through snapshots on one day over the course of twenty years.

If you are a HEA junky like me, you might want to be aware that this is not a traditional happy ending at all, but in a way it is even better because the story continues beyond the HEA, it is real, honest and bittersweet.

I don't necessarily think this is a story ev...more
Brittany
Is love really all that difficult? Yes, yes it is. David Nicholls crafts a beautiful love story about two people who are so different that they really only have one thing in common: they are both mad for each other. The frustrating thing is though, that however much these two people love each other, they maintain a "friends only" status throughout most of the book. What starts out as a possible love affair after just graduating college, Emma and Dexter's chemistry and attraction falls...more
Tatiana
Tatiana rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: fans of depressing chick lit
Shelves: chick-lit
Frankly, after reading a spoiler about the ending, I simply have no will to continue on, there is just no pay-off after enduring this depressing tale sprinkled with occasional one-liners. Granted, I am never opposed to taking a good dose of drama, but melodrama I detest.

This story is about a man and a woman who one day come together as lovers, then break up, but stay connected. Their relationship is followed through the next 20 years by presenting just one day - July 15th - out of th...more
Rhi
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Heather
Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2011
Every now and then you read a book that sticks with you. It may have a serious tone, or in the case of One Day, no particular tone at all. I’m exceedingly glad that I withheld from reading reviews of this novel until after I was three fourths of the way through, as I’m not sure my experience with these characters, these words, would have been the same. It was bad enough to have been bombarded with blurb after blurb hailing this book as a comedy, others as a romance. I’m of the opinion that it is...more
EZRead eBookstore
Romances that bring friends together should show some reason why the two people like each other. Right? That seems to be the tactic that works for other stories.

As complete opposites, you’d think Dexter and Emma were turned on by these differing facts. But, the characters actually seem annoyed by most of what makes them dissimilar. In short, there is nothing to explain why they would actually care about each other. And, there’s no reason for me to care about them either, for that matte...more
Cecilia Solis-sublette
I was hesitant about this novel because it semed like a romance novel, but I picked it up because it came up on several "best books of the year list". I'm glad I did. This is a real-life romance novel. No fluff, no fantasy. It follows the lives of two very real people who struggle with life, relationships, and self. The novel is fast-paced in that you only get a glimpse of their relationship (or lack thereof) as it spans over twenty years. The author achieves this by picking one ...more
Aleeza Rauf
So here's the thing: The old me would've gobbled this book up. I used to love witty dialogue, 'clever'ish writing, and foreign locales. And heck, I still do. But I've read over 200+ books this year and have, naturally, become much more choosy in what I read. It's not that the book’s that bad, really. It’s just that the chemistry between the leads was nonexistent and the writing just didn’t get with me. And I’ve been in this horrible, horrible book slump—nothing seems to be holding my interest la...more
prettybooks
One Day is a simple concept: "Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways." The first chapter is set Friday 15th July 1988 in Edinburgh and each chapter takes place on the same day but a year ahead. At first, I struggled to think what to write for this review and so I browsed others for inspiration only to find a lot of people who also loved the book also did not have much to say. I think this is because there isn'...more
Anna
Every moment with this book felt like a waste of my time. I've seen it all before: the ugly duckling pining after the rich asshole who could be transformed into a better man if he only realized that the right woman was right there in front of him. This plot is so well trod that I feel like there are hundreds of better examples of it that I could have been reading. And here is the thing, I love these kinds of stories as the size of my romance shelf can attest. But I hated these characters so much...more
Sweetdhee

Dear Em and Dex,

Please tell me, what a true love is?
Coz i can't bear to read about how you both live in lies and denials for more than 10 years

Does it supposed to be like that? a true love?
Make you live in despair, trying to keep your love one closed, though you know you don't belong?
What's that all about?
Meh

Why it has to be that way, Em?
Why don't you realize that you are worth enough, even when Dex had told you how gorgeous...more
Kim
I kind of hate this book. I can only reason that I picked it up because I felt lonely and hormonal and thought that maybe I could pass the time with a cute little chick lit book... maybe on the lines of The Time Traveler's Wife, which I can also, reasonably, (though I am not always that) can see as being a hokey book. But--- this... no, I can't let it go. Yes... I was menstruating and I'm sorry if that's TMI... it plays an important role in my reviewing of this book because I could be biased o...more
Stephanie (Stepping out of the Page)
This book is completely overhyped. It is so dull. It's not exactly boring, but it's certainly not exciting. In my opinion, dull is the perfect adjective to describe 'One Day'. I was expecting something mindblowingly heart-wrenching from all of the praise I've seen for this book, but it was quite a disappointment. The book was well written and the premise was fantastic but it just didn't work for me - the whole thing just felt so drawn out and I didn't feel much for either Emma or Dexter - especi...more
Maroo
Amazing. Heart-wrenching, funny, real, albeit sometimes over-the-top. The author doesn't waste a word in this book; it's very character-driven, and each and every sentence seems to have purpose and feeling.

The more time that passes since I finished reading One Day, the more I wish there was more of it. You won't wanna put it down.
KarenH
I finished this book 3 days ago and I'm just now coming out of the stupor that I've been wandering around in since. One Day isn't a book with many gray areas...readers will absolutely love the story or they will hate it. I happen to be one of the former...so much so that I have spent all of my free time in the last 3 days hunting down pictures, articles, interviews, etc, related to the book and the movie adapted from it (opens nationwide August 19th). Since the author of One Day, David Nicholls,...more
Lucy
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Laura
Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: favorites
Rarely am I left speechless, I usually have plenty to say, but as I reflected on this novel, I realized there would be no surefire way to describe this book. It is a complete conundrum. Readers will either love or hate this book, I don’t think it there is much of a middle road with this one. It will speak to those with similar personal experiences.

I enjoyed the format. It gives the reader snapshots of Dex and Em’s life, like flipping through a stack of polaroid’s, just a flash at wh...more
Kim Castiglia
I was bored at the beginning and then got into a bit more, but didn't like the ending. The idea of the book is interesting, but I didn't like the characters much.
Nikki Mendoza
Finally finished reading this book yesterday, it only took a whole month. I love the occasional chick lit, the kind of book that I would pretend I haven’t read if I were that kind of person who cares that people judge me by the books I read. Having said that, I will secretly judge you if you tell me that you love the Shopaholic and Twilight series, not that I haven’t read them, I have, I just don’t love them. I’ve read more books by Nicholas Sparks than I care to admit, I just keep hoping that t...more
Dana
Only the fact that I borrowed this book from Courtney kept me from throwing it against the wall...
Tamara
Tamara rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: fiction
I spent all day being mad at this book. Mad that the characters couldn't get their sh*t together. Mad that they were so normal and ordinary and human. Mad that I stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish it and was met with that ending. Really? I mean, really?

But in the end, it made me think. It's so easy to go through the day without making one conscious decision about the direction of your life. And you tuck yourself in at night and wake up in the morning and do it all over again...more
Janosch
Oh wow... did this really happen? Did I just read this? First things first, I am to passionate to be a reviewer. I can not be objective or fair. That is why this book gets a 1/5. I try not to rant but I have a personal opinion which I like to share even if people/reader disagree with me. It is hard to rate a book low if so many people tell you the book is great!
Just to let you know, I was / I am moved by this story and I really cared for the two main characters!!!
The end ruined it f...more
Josette
I'm a bit late coming to this - it feels like the whole world and his wife has already read it...but now I understand why. As corny as it may sound, it's both heartbreaking and hopeful, and despite reading some mixed reactions to the ending, I actually liked where it ended up. Well, ok, maybe 'liked' is not the correct word, but it definitely ended the right way: for me, the fact that it wasn't neat and tidy brought the rest of the novel - on reflection - into a sharper focus than if it had ende...more
Shahirah
Yuck! What self-indulgent muck! I decided to read this book after having read extremely positive reviews in the British press, and upon finding out that a movie based on the book will be released imminently.



About 100 pages in, I was already hating it, and now, finally finishing it, I am convinced those raving reviews must have been written by people who hardly ever read books.



The book is cheesy and corny, predictable as a storm on a cloudy day, with characters who unfortunately display very li...more
João Paulo
Não seria eu, se não prestasse aqui neste espaço a minha homenagem a David Nicholls por este refrescante livro!
"Um Dia" é um livro que encerra em si os ingredientes para um resultado final que não deixará o leitor indiferente! A história de duas pessoas, marcadas por um dia da sua juventude, e, que permanecerá vivo de forma indelével no trajecto que escolhem para si nos tempos futuros! Urbano, actual, inteligente, divertido, sensível e ao mesmo tempo de uma tristeza difícil de c...more
Jasmine
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Rachel
Well, I have just finished reading this and I appreciate that not everyone will love this book equally. I don't generally read this type of book - but I loved this and was very moved by it. So if you hated this book or were left underwhelmed you might find the following illuminating.... ( or patronising..or possibly both)

1) You had to be there !I graduated a year after Em and Dex so throughout the book it felt like their story was my story. I really didn't like Dex as a character......more
Mith
And I give up.

Twenty pages in and I was already regretting my choice of picking this book up. Now, after one hundred whole pages of this trash, I can't take it anymore.

How do I begin to explain this atrocity? One Day recounts the story of Emma and Dexter in a never-before-seen format - each chapter is the just the one day - July 15th - of each year of their lives. This could have had so much potential but the execution is just...agonizingly painful.

Now, Emma i...more
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One Day (Paperback)
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David Nicholls is a British author, screenwriter, and actor. A student of Toynbee Comprehensive school and Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, he Graduated from the University of Bristol having studied English Literature and Drama.

After graduation, he won a scholarship to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, before returning to London in 1991 and finally earn...more
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“What are you going to do with your life?" In one way or another it seemed that people had been asking her this forever; teachers, her parents, friends at three in the morning, but the question had never seemed this pressing and still she was no nearer an answer... "Live each day as if it's your last', that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.” 334 people liked it
“Just kidding' was exactly what people wrote when they meant every word.” 278 people liked it
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