Monday, January 7, 2013

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Title: JUST ONE DAY
Author: Gayle Forman
Published: January 8th, 2013
Series: Just One Day #1
Genre: YA/NA Contemporary
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
POV: 1st, present tense
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (unsolicited)
"A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines."
As much as I enjoyed Forman's IF I STAY and WHERE SHE WENT, both were only 4-star stories for me. They were enjoyable, emotional, and extremely intense – but something kept me from loving them. Whatever I was missing from those two novels, JUST ONE DAY has it. Allyson Healey's journey begins after a chance encounter with Willem, who offers to take her Paris for an incredible, chaotic day of adventure. But the next day, he's gone, she's alone, and so begins the next adventure as Allyson attends college, takes a Shakespeare class, figures out who she is and where she's going next in this bittersweet coming of age story. 

It may be a story you've heard before: Girl meets boy, instant and intense connection, one memorable and romantic adventure that ends far too quickly and messily. But, Forman knows her characters intricately, and it shows because the characters – with their quirky and endearing qualities – are the ones who lift the story up and make it fly. JUST ONE DAY is the most perfectly imperfect story of love, loss, friendship, chance, change, random acts of kindness1, independence, misunderstandings, and bravery. I wish I could do this novel some justice by giving it a remarkable review that inspires someone to pick this book up, but I guess I'll have to settle for simply saying this: do not let this story pass you by.

Highlights: Forman features imperfect characters and situations. Allyson isn't perfect or a cookie-cutter heroine, but flawed and evolving. Forman expertly writes emotion, making you grin at the flirty banter, blush at the more romantic moments, and even stirs sympathy deep within your core as Allyson finds herself in her lowest moment. The characters2 and locations3 are wonderfully written. I especially love the helpfulness and kindness of the some of the side characters. Life and friendships are not easy and don't always work out as you reach adulthood, so I appreciate Forman for portraying Allyson's life (every up and down) as realistically as possible. 

Lowlights: Waiting for the sequel? Yes, that's a definite lowlight. I need JUST ONE YEAR and I need it now. *glares at calendar*

1 Seriously, there were some moments where I felt all warm and fuzzy inside, just because of the kindness random characters showed to Allyson and other characters. I like to hope that there are plenty of people like that in the world. 
2 Dee! I adore Dee. And Willem, too. 
3 Paris! I want to go there so badly. It sounds lovely. 




20 comments:

  1. Ahh! So happy to hear that you loved this one. I adored If I Stay and Where She Went and since you think this one is even better, I'm excited. I will have to pick this one up very soon! Great review.

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    1. Hope you love JUST ONE DAY as much as you loved Forman's other works! It really is a fabulous story :)

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  2. Yay!!! I'm so happy you loved this one, because I've already pre-ordered it. I really liked her other books, and anything set in Paris is something I have to read. :) Can't wait to get it!

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    1. Hope you enjoy it once you get it! The Paris scenes are definitely some of the best ones :)

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  3. I NEED THIS BOOK! I love Forman (Where She Went was a 4 star for me; something was missing) but man this one sounds like a Kailia book. There's traveling and she's 18 and love and PARIS and LONDON. I plan on reading this when Just One Year is closer to being published so I don't have to wait as long! Great review Lea!

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    1. You should totally read it! It was a great story, and I especially loved how it followed her through her first year in college. It was such a great coming-of-age story :)

      Ooh, waiting is such a good plan. I waited to read IF I STAY until WHERE SHE WENT was coming out, but I was too tempted to read once JUST ONE DAY showed up...and now I'm dying to read JUST ONE YEAR ;)

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  4. I adored this book and I'm so glad you did, too! I cannot wait to read JUST ONE YEAR!

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    1. Yay! Glad you loved it too! So excited for JUST ONE YEAR! If only it would release sooner :(

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  5. I agree! I loved this one and the ending....AHH! I can't wait for Just One Year! I'm glad you enjoyed this as much as me.

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    1. Glad you loved it too! The wait for JUST ONE YEAR is going to be terrible...I need that book, now!!

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  6. I love Dee so much...less excited about Allyson and even less excited about Willem-they just weren't interesting enough for me.

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    1. Wasn't Dee such a great character? So sorry you didn't enjoy Allyson and Willem as much as I did, but I can see where you're coming from.

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  7. I just stumbled across your blog through another book reading blog and am glad that I did!

    I have read If I Stay and really enjoyed it, in fact I will be reviewing it on my blog later this year.

    I will keep checking back here for some great new reads,

    Stacy at Longtime Lover Of Literature

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    1. Welcome! Glad you stumbled on over ;)

      IF I STAY was a great story. Have you read WHERE SHE WENT?

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  8. I am really looking forward to reading this book. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much.

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    1. It really is incredible. You should definitely check it out, Christina (especially if you're a fan of Forman's other novels)!

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  9. Great review. I want to read all the books by this author because her writing sounds pretty good.

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    1. Her writing is incredible - very intense and emotional. She knows how to capture your emotions and twist them around ;)

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  10. Yeah, I have heard from a few people that Just One Day was their favourite Gayle Forman read, which is exciting because it sounds like I have a lot of great reading ahead of me when it comes to her books. It really sounds like she has a talent for genuine and relatable characters. So glad you loved this one, Lea, and thanks for the review!

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    1. Forman is excellent at writing characters and emotion - you should absolutely check out her novels! :)

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