Abby plays clarinet in her Missouri high school's marching band, and she wants to take the opportunity of the band's trip to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to tell her best friend Kat that she's in love with her. While Abby is still trying to understand her own sexuality, she believes in true love and wants to use their mutual love for a particular book set in NYC as a way of expressing her feelings for Kat.

Leo, a drummer in his North Carolina marching band, is headed to NYC for the same reason, but he's much less excited about the trip because it means he will be inadvertently outed to his conservative family as a trans male. His best friends Evan and Gina know and support him, but his folks back home have already proven unwilling to rock the boat with the family at large.

As both bands tour the city the day before the parade, Abby and Leo both get separated from their groups and end up on the wrong subway train together. As they struggle to find their way back to their friends, they learn more about each other and develop a tentative friendship -- but their time in the big city moves pretty fast, and they might just miss out on something more.

There's so much to love about this book, starting with Abby and Leo and how they are growing in understanding about their own sexuality and gender, thanks to supportive friends and a more welcoming and accepting atmosphere (love that bookstore scene!). Both characters are imperfect but genuine, and their growth over the course of the book was heartwarming to read. And while their adventures running around NYC on their own might be a bit unbelievable for two teens from small towns, I sure had fun reading about them.

This is Edward Underhill's second book, and he just keeps knocking them out of the park. 4.5 stars rounded up.

CW: transphobia and misgendering

Thank you, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

i love queer ya book about learning and loving your true self and this book was exactly that! i couldn’t get enough of it and i finished the book in one day!

i really related to abby and leo and loved their dynamic!

thank you netgalley for the eARC!

I’m starting to see that Edward Underhill really is the type of author who knows exactly how to pull at your heartstrings but make your entire being happy at the same time. I was lucky enough to also get an advance copy of his first work, ‘Always The Almost’ last year and both stories have brought me so much joy.

At the root of the story is discovering who you are, very coming of age in a time when it’s sometimes difficult to get others to understand. I’ve said it before but stories like these, that unpack the very real turmoil queer teens go through, is more important than ever. They need to be heard. As someone who grew up as a queer teen with no sense of what that meant or who that made me and not knowing who would accept me, Abby’s story especially hits me.

Both Abby and Leo are lost but in very different ways. It takes New York, one of the most magical places in the world to me, and it takes you on a whirlwind of adventures in such a short span of time. Both lead characters are incredibly endearing and as much as I adore the romance aspect, the bonds of their friendship were also very strong. The representation was beautiful — finding space for trans youth and also kids who might not know where they fall yet and that’s okay. It details that happiness isn’t dependent on a label and as long you are true to yourself, then there’s nothing else to worry about. That bookstore scene will stick with me and it made me so giddy, I can’t even properly explain it.

Using New York City as a backdrop, as cliche as it might be, really adds to the whimsicality of the narrative. It’s so freeing and beautiful, taking you through ups and downs with the same lifts and dips as the marching band music Abby and Leo play. You feel it and it doesn’t have to be the most realistic or plausible for it to feel that way. Sometimes believing in a little magic is what helps us create that magic in our every day lives and you get that theme throughout the entire novel. No matter what age you are or how you describe yourself, there is a slice of happiness to be found in this book. In the span of 24 hours. Not to mention, the ending had my heart soaring to outer space.

Extra shoutout to the supporting friend group who are exactly the kind of people you want on your side and when you’re two teenagers running around in New York unsupervised. I couldn’t adore them more if I tried.

Thank you always to St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for providing me with an advanced copy for reviewing purposes!

This Day Changes Everything is exactly the kind of book I wish I’d had when I was a teenager. It’s a heartwarming YA romance that explores themes of self-discovery, identity, and falling in love for the first time.

The setup for this book is amazing. Leo and Abby are two teenagers from small towns - each navigating their own personal struggles - who find themselves in New York City to play with their marching bands in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. When they both get separated from their groups, a series of spontaneous adventures ensue.

I really appreciated the author’s vibrant descriptions of NYC; it was almost as if the city was one of the main characters. The descriptions of NYC beautifully capture the spirit of the city, with its boundless energy, and the magic of unexpected encounters.

Leo and Abby are really endearing, and I found myself rooting for them to continue their adventures & continue forging their connection.

There's just SO MUCH JOY in this novel in general. Definitely a must-read for anyone looking for a heartwarming, wholesome coming of age romance.

Leo is a trans-boy, and isn’t out to his extended family, who are all going to be at his parents house to watch as he marches, with his band, in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in New York. Abby is in love with her best friend, and isn’t sure if she is a lesbian, or gay, or what, but she loves her so much, and wants to spend the day that she has, before the parade that she is also marching in, with her, so she can profess her love.
But things do not work out as either Abby or Leo plan, and they get put together in the wrong place at the wrong time, and try to get back to their bands as they travel around New York City.

At first I got frustrated with the author. I wanted Abby to profess her love. I wanted Abby to have her best friend as her lover. And so did Abby. I didn’t want her to fall in love with Leo. But as the day progressed, and they looked for souvenirs for Kat, they gradually started having feelings for each other.

And that worked. Really, as much as I was rooting for Kat and Abby, it worked.

Cute story, really. The acknowledgement showed just how much research he had to do to get all the locations, and incidents to work right.
Thanks to Netgally for making this book available for an honest review. This is coming out from St. Martin’s Press, division Wednesday Books, the 13th of February 2024.

I wrote in my review of Always the Almost (which I loved- read it ASAP if you haven’t) that I was so excited for more future books by Edward Underhill. Well folks, he did it again. This was a 5-star read and Edward has officially landed himself on my auto-buy author list.

This Day Changes Everything is the serendipitous story of two high school marching band members crashing into one another’s lives in NYC. Abby is from a small town in Missouri. She loves reading romance novels and browsing queer Tumblr. When she realizes she has feelings for her best friend Kat, she starts planning the perfect romantic gesture to win her heart. Leo is a trans boy from another small town in North Carolina. He’s struggling with the fact that while he’s out, his parents don’t seem to want his extended family to know. He feels conflicted about hiding his identity for the sake of peace in the family while also wanting to be his true, authentic self. Both Abby and Leo’s marching bands are chosen to perform during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, both end up staying at the same hotel, both get separated from their respective bands, and both wind up on the wrong train together. Enter 12 hours of spontaneous, uninhibited adventures all over Manhattan.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the initial grumpy / sunshine dynamic between Leo and Abby that blossomed into pure adoration. I also loved the tone and the pacing in this book. This is the first book I’ve read where the entire book takes place in the span of one day. I was curious to see if I would feel rushed or find myself wanting more, but I felt nothing but a full heart. The author executed Abby and Leo’s story flawlessly.

I also can’t say enough about the setting of this book. I’m a Jersey girl, and watching Abby and Leo run around to some of my favorite spots in Manhattan was absolutely magical. I was so invested in and captivated by their spontaneous adventures together. There was a scene in the Strand where I actually felt giddy; like full on giggling and kicking my feet while reading.

Read this book if you want A+ representation, genuine chemistry, self-acceptance journeys, and two people finding someone who makes them feel complete.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC

This book is an absolutely perfect whirlwind of a romance that evokes the heartwarming, larger-than-life feelings of YA classics while still feeling absolutely fresh and modern and also being very queer (which makes it infinitely better, sorry not sorry). I tore through the pages, adoring both the complex, relatable and loveable characters of Abby and Leo, and found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with Underhill's writing in the short time I spent with this beautiful, beautiful book.

Funny, emotional, relatable, romantic, and downright magic--this sophomore novel is an instant YA romance favorite that won't need time at all to settle right in your heart. I seriously couldn't have loved it more!

This was a really cute book and I highly recommend to anyone in the mood for a wholesome ya romance.The characters and story felt so real and genuine. There was a ton of queer and trans joy in this. I just finished and already want to start it over again.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.