There always was, and would always be, a new day.
There would never be another day–not like the ones that had passed her by.
from A New Day by Sue Mell

Hope and nostalgia. Believing that anything is possible–it just takes effort–and recognizing the transient nature of life, bemoaning all that has gone. We hang in the balance between these two core emotions.

Sue Mell’s stories in A New Day follow characters’ shifting relationships over nearly fifteen years. The stars never seem to align for them, one or the other or both in a relationship. There are one night stands and relationships based on convenience or on the rebound, just plain bad decisions, one-way love, ill timed reconnections. Careers are pursued and flounder. They settle for jobs to pay the bills, dreams crashed and burned.

The young adults in these stories begin with hope and end by acceptance. It is a life arc all of us over a certain age have learned.

Set between 1985 and 1999, the stories combine to tell of a generation’s coming of age. They will haunt you.

I received an ARC. My review is fair and unbiased. ( )