One Day Can Change the Course of Your Whole Life
“People spend their whole lives looking for love. Poems and songs and entire novels are written about it. But how can you trust something that can end as suddenly as it begins?” (Yoon 58)
Was it fate or coincidence? If Daniel hadn’t left the house early that morning, he wouldn’t have seen Natasha. If she hadn’t been delayed by the security guard she wouldn’t have been there. If they hadn’t met she might have been hit by a car. Is it coincidence that her lawyer was also the man conducting Daniel’s college interview? If you’re a hopeless romantic that believes in fate The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon is the book for you.
The book is a modern version of Romeo and Juliet but instead of Capulets and Montagues you have Koreans and Jamaicans. Instead of banishment, we have deportation. They’re only 17 and from different backgrounds. Natasha is science-minded, and Daniel writes poetry. Many believe that opposites attract.
The book deals with social issues such as immigration (legal and illegal), interracial relationships, the American Dream, parent/child relationships, sibling rivalry and trying to fit in. Both Daniel and Natasha have parents that want them to date people within their own culture. Daniel’s parents have mapped out his whole life for him and Natasha’s father disrupts her life by getting the family deported. Even though they only spent one day together, their career paths and mindsets have forever been changed.