Loved this book! It was so cute!

The synopsis of This Day Changes Everything compares it to the classic movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And as Abby and Leo run through NYC, it does give some of the same vibes as Ferris and his friends seeing the sights in Chicago. But Chicago is merely Ferris's playground, while NYC is Abby's delicate hope.

Abby has decided that on this trip with her marching band to NYC, she is going to take the leap and tell her best friend that she's in love with her. It will be a grand romantic gesture that centers on the gift of their favorite book. But the book is lost and Leo, also in NYC with his own band for the Macy's parade, is to blame.

Determined to still do something special, plan B is to gather souvenirs from all the places mentioned in the book. Anyone with a familiarity of NYC will enjoy following Abby and Leo on their scavenger hunt through the city.

Both Abby and Leo shine as characters. Their hopes and fears made them feel almost delicate. I worried for them and desperately wanted them to feel safe and happy.

Maybe that's why my favorite scene was when they fall into a queer teen meet-up at a local bookstore, and learn there are communities where they are welcomed fully as themselves.

I love how Edward Underhill writes such hopeful stories about and for queer teens.

I remain a big fan of Edward Underhill, particularly for his tender portrayals of queer YA romance. This book stars two closeted queer teens from conservative areas of the US, who meet by chance in NYC. They have an epic day of adventure in the big city, laced with honest conversations about identity, self-discovery, and the fears of coming out to their conservative families. Ultimately, queer joy triumphs, which is just the best!

Secondly, this book is an enchanting love story to the city of New York. The main characters are in town to participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with their respective marching bands, which is a nostalgic event I grew up watching. Also, the story is centered around an impromptu scavenger hunt through some of NYC's most iconic locations - Grand Central, Chinatown, the Strand, and the Empire State Building. There is so much joy and authenticity in the way the city is portrayed in this book. Makes me want to plan a trip!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, & Wednesday Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This Day Changes Everything caught my attention the second I realized it involved marching band, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and a queer romance. Marching band was and still is one of the forces that helped create who I am as a person. The long practices, the dedication, the friendships that were formed, the adult mentors I found, the music I fell in love with, the memories remain with me today. So to find a book that might encapsulate all that along with the parade I had always wished we could participate in? I was hooked.

Leo is beyond nervous for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. This will be the first time his extended family will see him a trans boy. Not the tom boy image his parents have been trying to sell but the real live him on national television for all to see. Meanwhile, Abby fellow band nerd from another marching band is so excited for this day. Why? Because she has decided to tell her best friend Kat that she is in love with her. Everything quickly changes though when Leo and Abby find themselves separated from their respective bands and lost on the subway together.

Edward Underhill creates a whirlwind backdrop within the streets of NYC. As someone who has visited NYC multiple times, I always enjoy seeing it through different characters eyes. It helps recreate some of the magic that I think gets lost. I really enjoyed the adventure that Leo and Abby went on together. So many epic things that happened in one magic epic night. It's cute, heartwarming, cringey, and realistic all rolled into one delicious story.

This Day Changes Everything is an inclusive story that honestly is just so "feel good" but also makes you pause. It causes you to think about what it might be like if you were in Leo or Abby's shoes wanting to blend in but also desperate to be unique. You think about what it might be like to be put in a box with a label that doesn't necessarily fit but is forced upon you. The characters of Leo and Abby feel so real and you can't help but root for them to find their happy endings (even if Leo doesn't necessarily believe in happy endings). I really enjoyed living viciously through them for a day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.


I really love this author's first book. So I was excited to request their next book. However, I am going to dnf this book. I will try again later.

Maybe it is that I just don't vibe with circumstances that the Universe gave them (or the comp titles [don't come for me]) but something just felt off. I overall was waiting for the big moment where everything for me would feel right, but alas it never came.

This is a story about Abby, a hopeful girl, and Leo, a pessimist trans boy. The story follows them in New York as Abby is about to give her best friend Kat a big gift as a declaration of love. However, Leo is the reason for Abby to lose this big gift. They then try to find a new gift for Kat as they travel the entire city.

I liked the queer representation and the New York vibes. However, I did not like the insta love thing between the characters because it did not fit with Abby’s main goal of declaring her love to Kat. She thought she loved her for months and then she meets a guy and not even a full day later declares herself in love with him. It was still a cute and hopeful story that anyone could like.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Here’s a detailed and NetGalley-appropriate review for *This Day Changes Everything* by Edward Underhill, incorporating your character notes and themes:

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**Review for *This Day Changes Everything* by Edward Underhill**
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

*This Day Changes Everything* is a heartfelt and quietly powerful YA novel set during one life-changing day in New York City—the backdrop of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Edward Underhill brings together two very different but equally compelling main characters: Abby Akerman, a hopeful romantic from the Midwest, and Leo Brewer, a guarded trans boy from North Carolina, each navigating deeply personal journeys.

Abby is earnest and endearing, full of big feelings and belief in the universe’s signs. She’s come to NYC with a mission: to finally confess her love to her best friend Kat, using an annotated romance novel as a meaningful gift. Her inner monologue is a blend of excitement, nerves, and intense vulnerability, and her love for romance—both the genre and the idea—is sweet and relatable.

Leo, by contrast, is anxious and wary. He’s worried about being outed as trans on national television and grappling with questions of identity, safety, and belonging—especially within his conservative extended family. His internal struggle adds emotional weight to the narrative, offering a nuanced and authentic portrayal of the trans experience, particularly in public spaces that feel unsafe or scrutinizing.

The story alternates between Abby and Leo’s perspectives as they collide, separate, and find their own moments of clarity and courage over the course of the day. The LGBTQ+ themes are handled with care and honesty, particularly the pressure to come out, the longing to be seen for who you are, and the hope of finding someone who understands.

While some of the pacing felt slow in spots, the emotional heart of the story and its tender character work made it a worthwhile read. This isn’t a big, flashy romance—it’s more introspective, about the quiet bravery it takes to be honest with yourself and others.

A thoughtful, character-driven novel about identity, queerness, and the magic of the right place at the right time.

thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

This book is total rom‑com magic. It follows queer teens Abby and Leo, both marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, who get accidentally stuck together for one whirlwind, life‑changing day. Abby’s plotting a big confession, Leo’s terrified of being outed...but as they scramble through the city hunting souvenirs, they find themselves...and each other. It’s sweet, heartwarming, and full of that New York-as-a-character vibe. Underhill nails the balance of queer joy, vulnerability, and found family. If you want a feel‑good adventure with emotional depth, this one delivers.

After loving Edward Underhill’s previous book I was excited to pick this one up and it did not disappoint. This book follows two teens, Abby and Leo, who are “lost” in New York trying to find their way back to their respective marching bands but also getting into lots of adventures along the way. This book felt like reading a modern classic. You could really feel what the characters were going through. I loved the way queerness was talked about in this book. This book had so much trans joy and it was wonderful. I loved that it focused on two queer kids from the middle of nowhere parts of the country where they feel isolated and alone and how they found community in each other. This will be such a great winter book and I will be recommending it to everyone.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Abby travels with her high school band, including her best friend Kat, to march in the Macy's parade in NYC. Abby has big plans to reveal her crush on Kat while they are in NYC because of a book they both love. Leo has also traveled with his high school band and is terrified of being shown on TV as his parents do not want his family to know he is trans. Abby and Leo get thrown together on the wrong subway train they end up lost in Manhattan on their own adventure. They both come to accept that maybe they are okay just the way they are. I really enjoyed this YA romance and this it would be a great fall read.

A super cute, easy to read romance. I really enjoyed this, and while it's definitely a teen romance, it wasn't as cheesy or underdeveloped as I thought it would be.

This copy was given to me as an advanced copy, however I'm reviewing this after the publishing date.

I'm so late reviewing this, but this book is lovely. It's all about being your most authentic self and learning to challenge yourself and be brave. I love the use of 2 points of view. I love the way the romance blooms unexpectedly. Books that start with characters having a specific goal and changing their minds when they realize they want something else are so wonderful.

The way that the characters build community is really nice too. There's a cute scene at a bookstore where the kids meet members of a LGBTQ+ book club and they learn more about the queer community and its such a big moment for them because they don't have that kind of support back home. There are so many good moments, but that was one of my favorites.

This is a really wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone looking for a thoughtful and funny YA romance.

5 stars

This is unfortunately a DNF for me. I have tried three times to read this. Including the audio book. But I just cannot get into it. I do like underhills writing. This story was just not for me. I think the falling in love in one day trope can work but it doesn’t in this instance.

Sunshine and grumpy, being lost and finding yourself and great representation!

What I loved most about this story is the powerful parallel between being lost and getting lost. Leo feels unseen and misunderstood, with his family unaware of his trans identity and others constantly misgendering him. Abby is equally lost, caught up in a romance novel fantasy while secretly in love with her best friend, Kat. Everything changes when they both get lost on the New York subway.

I’ve always had a soft spot for romances with wild, impossible scenarios but relatable characters. It’s the appeal, right? While these things may never happen in real life, the characters feel real enough that the story feels closer to home.

First and foremost I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book. These thoughts are all my own.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book. As someone who has struggled to label myself to fit into the box that society excepts, I completely resonated with the FMC. This was such a beautiful read that spans over just a few hours. I found myself longing to find out what happens next.

This book was cute, sweet, and swoony. It was an adventure in the big city perfect for teen readers, and I’d happily recommend it to anyone who wants a book celebrating New York.

Rating: 3.5

I'd like to acknowledge that this book was not written for me and that if I was a teenager, I probably would have loved it. That being said, I thought it started losing steam a little over halfway through and the writing got a little repetitive. Other than that it was good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts!

From the exciting setting that is New York, the utter chaos of trying to capture memories in the busy city, to the way the characters are willing to go to great lengths for those they care about, this book was such a joy to read!

Cute story about fate! This Day Changes Everything is a romcom meet cute young adult romp. I enjoyed the journey of Leo and Abby. It was a lot of fun as information was parsed out and the characters bonded. Their issues are discussed in depth as people flow in and out of their path. I really liked the souvenir collection, but not the result of it (chuckle - trying not to give anything away).

The secondary cast is used to provide information or another point of view. Edward Underhill doesn’t shy away from the ignorance within our own rainbow circle and how we deal with it and grow.

Overall, their day is touched by magic just like the movies. The story can lag at times as there are a lot of details and both characters share their thoughts on the same events. Just like a movie there is a big finish so wait for it. This Day Changes Everything will have you smiling at the end.
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The diversity and range of characters in this book was wonderful. The setting of New York was fun and helped facilitate a visual for me while reading the book. Most of all I loved the queer representation and how it was discussed and handled.