In 1988 Dexter and Emma spend one night, July 15th, together on the eve of their college graduation.  Without actually making that total physical connection they manage to connect well enough that they stay in contact with each other for the next several decades.  But theirs is not a simple relationship.  Instead, they bounce off each other like billiard balls exploding from the break as they both try to find love in all the wrong places.  Like “When Harry Met Sally” meets “Same Time Next Year,” we learn about Dex and Emma’s struggles to find meaning and romance as we check in with the characters on the same day over a period of twenty years.  Nicholls deftly combines witty dialog with real soul-searching to create a funny and heartbreaking novel.

Laura