My opinion on One Day fluctuated quite a bit. Right form the outset, I was determined that I hated Dexter, and thought he was a massive asshole. Having finished the book, I still think that that is true. But, I think I've decided that disliking the character doesn't have to stop me enjoying the book. Because, by the end of it, while I was reading the last 40 pages through my tears, I found myself looking back on the book, and understanding the story that it had been trying to tell. Or, at least, the message I had got from it. Sometimes, it's enough just to have what you have, and things don't have to be perfect in order to be happy. Or something like that. That's the message that I got from Emma's perspective.

Anyway, while I was reaching this conclusion through the book, I realised that, my opinion of Dexter was irrelevant. In fact, if anything, my hatred of him just strengthened the opinion was really, really good, if it had managed to make me detest this character so much. And, it was Emma's life that I was reading. So while I hated him, and hoped that Emma would finally give him up, by the end of the novel I couldn't fault her, because that was what she wanted.

The structure of the novel is also interesting, and at time frustrating. Since each chapter was only a snapshot, I often found myself incredibly drawn in to particular circumstances, wanting to know more, and to know the consequences, only to find that it was a year later, and nothing but the general storylines had been resolved or furthered. But I don't think this is necessarily a fault; experimenting with form is interesting, and it managed to convey its point well by using this type of form. The idea was to show just that: a snapshot of life, show what's been changing, but more importantly, what's stayed the same.

Overall, this book has turned out far better than I imagined it to be - I thought it was going to be trashy romcom-esque throwaway literature, but it turned out to be much more than that.