Review: Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt

Bright Before Sunrise 
by Tiffany Schmidt
Released Date: February 18th 2014 by Walker Childrens
Pages: 288
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository 

When Jonah is forced to move from Hamilton to Cross Pointe for the second half of his senior year, "miserable" doesn't even begin to cover it. He feels like the doggy-bag from his mother's first marriage and everything else about her new life—with a new husband, new home and a new baby—is an upgrade. The people at Cross Pointe High School are pretentious and privileged—and worst of all is Brighton Waterford, the embodiment of all things superficial and popular. Jonah’s girlfriend, Carly, is his last tie to what feels real... until she breaks up with him. 

For Brighton, every day is a gauntlet of demands and expectations. Since her father died, she’s relied on one coping method: smile big and pretend to be fine. It may have kept her family together, but she has no clue how to handle how she's really feeling. Today is the anniversary of his death and cracks are beginning to show. The last thing she needs is the new kid telling her how much he dislikes her for no reason she can understand. She's determined to change his mind, and when they're stuck together for the night, she finally gets her chance. 

Jonah hates her at 3p.m., but how will he feel at 3 a.m.? 

One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

Bright Before Sunrise is a must-read!

Tiffany Schmidt did an amazing job describing the characters really well and having everything happen in one day made it impossible for me to stop reading. From the setting to the background stories of the character, Bright Before Sunrise is a relatable book that would appeal to everyone that has gone through the same experiences as the characters. The losing of someone or something important and having to cope with it while not letting other people get hurt. 

Jonah is miserable when he is forced to move away from his old life in Hamilton to Cross Pointe on his senior year. He has everything he has ever known in Hamilton, so he hates the idea of having to move to another town. Now if that wasn't all, he also has to deal with his step-father and new baby sister in his life. Although he is a caring brother, the relationship between him and his step-father hasn't started on the right terms. Jonah has isolated himself from anything, including his classmates at his new school. But it doesn't take long before Brighton, the popular girl at school, notices him and his new adventure takes off. 

Apart from being liked by everyone at school, Brighton has suffered a lot in her life. She has to put up a happy face and show that she is fine so that she doesn't get pity from everyone around her. For once in her life, she feels liberated that someone is not afraid to tell her how things go without being afraid of breaking her. But everything around her seems to bring back memories of her diseased father. She knows that attending his anniversary is going to break her and so she avoids it by taking on the task of making Jonah, the new kid, realize that Cross Pointe is not as bad as he thinks it is. 

Both characters have a lot to learn and to let go, and when they are stuck together for the day, they start to discover new things about each other that brings them closer. Their growth reflects on the time they spend together and that's one of my favorite things about this book. Schmidt is able to bring relatable characters as well as situations that just about anyone can relate to. The end of the book is the end of the day for both characters and they are in a much better place than they were before. The writing flowed beautifully and it all felt right. I highly recommend this book to everyone to give it a try, you will not regret it. 

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

My Rating: