Book Review: Just One Day

Title: Just One Day.
Author: Gayle Forman.
Series: Yes, #1.
Pages: 368.
Source: Purchased.
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile.
Published Date: 1/8/13.
Links:
Book Depository
Goodreads

Summary:

"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."

My Thoughts:

Just One Day, follows Allyson's one crazy adventurous day in Paris with a complete stranger named Willem. She doesn't have any idea who he is, except that he a Dutch actor and takes part in a street play of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Allyson's friend has a weird feeling about this, but lets her go ahead anyways, but only with the promise of being back the next day.

Allyson has felt like a tourist her entire trip, looking at monuments, learning about each and every statue, and walking in a big group of other teenagers also taking this trip. But for the first time in the last two or three weeks, Willem is showing her a different side to Europe, one you can't see on a tourist trip.

After a day filled with sight seeing, eating, and roaming the streets of Paris, the two settle down for night, and get close. Within only a few hours Allyson explains her feelings to Willem, and knows that this is love at first sight. What seems like the perfect end to their day, comes shattering down, when Allyson wakes up, and realizes that Willem isn't there anymore, and that all of his stuff is gone.

Trying to find him, and calling out his name, Allyson doesn't know what to do, and where to go. Willem is gone, she's in Paris, and can't speak a word of French. Allyson has no other option but to call the tourist group leader, and hope that she can help.

Months have gone by, and Allyson isn't exactly living the college dream, but struggling through it. She knows what she has to do, and she can feel the pressuring building up from her mom. But college, and her mom's pushiness doesn't keep her mind from wandering back to the summer time, and back to that one day.

Allyson knows she shouldn't think about it, her best friend told her many times not to, but she can't help but wonder what REALLY happened. If she got the chance to go back to Paris, would she? Would she be able to handle all the memories that will come swimming back?

Final Verdict:

I wasn't too sure how Gayle Forman would pull of the story focusing on one single day, but Just One Day spends the first half of the book, on a single day in Paris. Then second half of the book, skims through months of college, what ifs, regrets and memories. I actually liked the way this book was organized, and that we got the full taste of the one perfect and happy day, and kind of quickly went through the months of pain and sad days.

My first assumption of Allyson was, DANG SHE'S CRAZY, SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THE GUY!! She's on this trip that her mom basically made her go to, and hasn't had one bit of fun the entire time. Then after saying two things to a guy, and watching him street perform, she decides to head off with him (by herself) to spend an entire day (including a night) in Paris! Isn't that just crazy?

But after being introduced to Allyson's uptight mom, who wants to control every single aspect of her life, I quickly understood why she did it!

Besides Allyson, I also liked her best friend, her dad, her grandmother, and Dee! I'm a little sad that Allyson and her best friend kind of parted ways after their trip, but I still really liked her at the beginning of the book. Both Allyson's grandmother and dad, bring some humor into the story when it comes to her over controlling mother. Dee on the other hand is my absolute favorite character, simply because he is so different, but also SO comfortable in his own skin!

Overall, Just One Day was a really good read! The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, but the GOOD kind! If I wasn't already reading Just One Year, I would be telling you just how EXCITED I am to get my hands on it!