From Goodreads:
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.
Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!
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.
Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!
I think it's safe to say that most of you reading this review have read If I Stay and Where She Went, two of my favorite books in the entire world. If you haven't read them, um, are you living under a rock?!
I kid, I kid. But seriously, you should seriously read them immediately. I have a funny feeling that you're going to love them.
Anyway, if you've read Gayle Forman's other books, you're familiar with her beautiful writing style, characters you can't help but fall in love with, and emotional story that breaks your heart a little bit more with every turn of the page. Just One Day had all of these things, and more. As the biggest fan of If I Stay and Where She Went EVER, I was extremely impressed by Just One Day, and it even managed to exceed my super high expectations.
Just One Day made me want to hop on a plane to Europe immediately. There is absolutely no way you can read this book and not want to go to Paris and England and all the beautiful places where the characters find themselves in this book. Just One Day also made me want to go watch Shakespeare being performed. In a park, in a theater, in a classroom...wherever. I just want to experience Shakespeare's plays like the characters in the book experience them. The setting and the focus on Shakespeare are such important parts of the book, and I absolutely loved them.
The main character, Allyson, is someone that I didn't always love. She did a lot of things that annoyed me or that I just didn't understand, and at times it was hard for me to relate to her. But she is a compelling character with so many layers to her personality that you get to see more of as the book goes on. Willem is...well, a cute Dutch boy. Need I say more?
The day these two characters spend together is nothing like the insta-love I was expecting. The way the two characters interact with each other...it's easy to believe that something important is happening between them. Their relationship just works. It doesn't feel forced; it doesn't feel unrealistic. Gayle Forman has yet again created a couple of characters who are so in love that their relationship just leaps off the page.
But this book isn't a romance. Not exactly. Just One Day is more about the effect that meeting Willem had on Allyson. It's about her journey as she struggles with her first year of college and her parents and life.
I feel like Just One Day kind of...changed my life. I don't know exactly how, but I just get the feeling that I was a different person when I turned the last page from the person I was when I first cracked open the spine. That might sound ridiculous or crazy, but it's really how I feel. This book had an effect on me that I don't know how to describe.
Just One Day is beautiful and emotional. It made me feel things and it ripped my heart out, and I enjoyed every second that I spent reading this book. I know that this is something I'll be rereading again and again.
Also, can Just One Year please come out right now? I NEED TO KNOW WILLEM'S SIDE OF THE STORY.
-Rachel
The main character, Allyson, is someone that I didn't always love. She did a lot of things that annoyed me or that I just didn't understand, and at times it was hard for me to relate to her. But she is a compelling character with so many layers to her personality that you get to see more of as the book goes on. Willem is...well, a cute Dutch boy. Need I say more?
The day these two characters spend together is nothing like the insta-love I was expecting. The way the two characters interact with each other...it's easy to believe that something important is happening between them. Their relationship just works. It doesn't feel forced; it doesn't feel unrealistic. Gayle Forman has yet again created a couple of characters who are so in love that their relationship just leaps off the page.
But this book isn't a romance. Not exactly. Just One Day is more about the effect that meeting Willem had on Allyson. It's about her journey as she struggles with her first year of college and her parents and life.
I feel like Just One Day kind of...changed my life. I don't know exactly how, but I just get the feeling that I was a different person when I turned the last page from the person I was when I first cracked open the spine. That might sound ridiculous or crazy, but it's really how I feel. This book had an effect on me that I don't know how to describe.
Just One Day is beautiful and emotional. It made me feel things and it ripped my heart out, and I enjoyed every second that I spent reading this book. I know that this is something I'll be rereading again and again.
Also, can Just One Year please come out right now? I NEED TO KNOW WILLEM'S SIDE OF THE STORY.
-Rachel
I have this book on order- but it's delayed! *cried*
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it, I want it so bad!
ERIKA