Review: Just One Day (Just One Day #1) by Gayle Forman

Title: Just One Day
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: Just One Day
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: January 10th 2013
Pages: 369 (paperback)
Source: own it






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 and 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.

Goodreads

Just One Day isn’t a typical love story. It’s a story about finding love, losing it and the journey of finding yourself.

My expectations for Just One Day were high after I had read If I Stay and Where She Went a couple of months before. Gayle Forman didn’t disappoint me, in fact I like Just One Day even better! I got everything that I expected, heartbreak, great prose and a great connection with the book. Maybe the connection was even better with this book because I have visited so many places Allison travelled too myself. London, Paris, the Netherlands… I felt I was walking the streets together with Allison and Willem. And since I’m from Belgium I speak Dutch and French. I loved it that Gayle Forman used some references in those languages.

Allyson is an awesome and witty character. I really enjoyed reading from her perspective and watch her grow throughout the book. She was lost at first, without even knowing it, and after meeting Willem she was even more lost than before. Not knowing who she was or who she wanted to be. But at the end of the book she was this amazing girl who knew exactly what she wanted.
Willem was a great guy. I was hard to figure out who exactly he was since it appeared that he was always covering up his true feelings. But when he let his walls down, even for a second then there was this amazing guy. And like Allyson I couldn’t resist his charms. He had this free spirit, he had been travelling for the past two years. He just went wherever life took him. And I admired him for that. Of course he travelled just to be away from home and that might not be perfect. But Allyson changed his life, in just one day. We only know him for a short period in this book so he didn’t change that much. But there were already some little signs on the wall that his life was going to change. I can’t wait to read his book.

Just One Day is a novel you have to read when you are looking for a fun and inspiring read. It’s charming, humorous and often a bit depressing as well. Gayle Forman has once again created a heartbreaking realistic read. And I won’t forget this book for a long time!

El