The have a sense that the length of a day is mutable, and you can never see the end from the beginning. They have a sense that love changes all things all the time.

That’s what love is for.

— Nicola Yoon, The Sun is Also a Star

I love this book so much more than I expected to; 5 of 5. I thought I was getting into a romance book, but I honestly don’t think that category adequately describes the book. It’s character driven, and is more an exploration of how lives interconnect, different perspectives on the world, and how perception and experience colors our world than it is a romance. It definitely is a book about love, but despite the wonderful conversations and philosophies on romantic love, it also is a book about family love and love of those around us and love of life.

The two main characters are very well explored – we get a great look into their thoughts, and spending an entire, emotionally jam-packed day with them, gives plenty of room to learn them and become connected and invested. But perhaps what makes the book truly special is the interludes where the supporting characters – some that are barely a blip on the radar, some that are heavily on the characters’ minds – are given a rich history. These connections make the book into something that transcends a simple romance.

The entire book takes place in a single day, but oh what a day. Daniel is headed to a college interview he doesn’t want to go to out of obligation to his parents, and Natasha is desperately trying to stop her family from being deported that night. Natasha has lost her desire to dream or find passion in life; Daniel is a dreamer who’d rather be writing poetry than pretty much anything else. On the surface, not only should these two never cross paths, but when they do they shouldn’t even really like each other. But they do, and in a place where they both need someone, they find their way through a roller-coaster day and to each other.

In the mix with these two are the families that come from immigrant backgrounds and various expectations that come with that, the lawyer and his paralegal, the suicidal security guard, the father grieving his lost child, a history of eyes, a history of love, and the fates. All of whom get their own moment in the sun, and who enrich this story so that it becomes a woven tapestry of inspiration, humor, and enough tragedy to keep your feet on the ground. I couldn’t put it down.

This book left me uplifted and curious about the world and lives I encounter every day. Even if romance isn’t your thing, I highly recommend this book.

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Nuggets of gold from The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
1. Maybe part of falling in love with someone else is also falling in love with yourself.

2. “I don’t believe in love.” “It’s not a religion,” he says. “It exists whether you believe in it or not.”