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blebbing's review against another edition
4.0
Both of these books (Just One Day and Just One Year) were good but I liked the second better. Willem's story just has more oomph than Allison's.
reuben_surrender's review against another edition
3.0
First some background on me - I got into Gayle Forman because Goodreads recommended her series (If I Stay/Where She Went) to me, which I totally love. Part of the reason because I'm a musician who had been on several national tours so I can understand how Adam feels when he is on tour. I continued reading Forman's next series (Just One Day / Just One Year) and have to say that this particularly series never quite captured the emotional context for me. I think it boils down to the difference between the two series.
In If I Stay, the books were about reconciliation. It's about two people who are very different in nature, finding common ground, falling in love and breaking up. And then reconciling their differences and coming back together again - this time stronger, and better. It's the work of two people with two different opinions and living two different lives and trying to make it work for them.
In Just One Day, the books are not about reconciliation. They are about self-exploration. It's the story about Williem who had a chance opportunity to meet with Allyson for a day, and thinking about opportunities lost for an entire year. It quickly became into a whine-fest of a trust-fund baby who pines for the one that got away. The views are very one-sided as bumped from friend to friend, lover to lover until he finally finds Allyson again. I'm willing to bet that if this happens in real life, if Williem continues with Allyson they would break up very quickly. Because Williem spent the entire book learning about who he is; Allyson spent the first book learning about who she is. But they both never really learned who they BOTH together are. Which was what made the If I Stay series spectacular.
In If I Stay, the books were about reconciliation. It's about two people who are very different in nature, finding common ground, falling in love and breaking up. And then reconciling their differences and coming back together again - this time stronger, and better. It's the work of two people with two different opinions and living two different lives and trying to make it work for them.
In Just One Day, the books are not about reconciliation. They are about self-exploration. It's the story about Williem who had a chance opportunity to meet with Allyson for a day, and thinking about opportunities lost for an entire year. It quickly became into a whine-fest of a trust-fund baby who pines for the one that got away. The views are very one-sided as bumped from friend to friend, lover to lover until he finally finds Allyson again. I'm willing to bet that if this happens in real life, if Williem continues with Allyson they would break up very quickly. Because Williem spent the entire book learning about who he is; Allyson spent the first book learning about who she is. But they both never really learned who they BOTH together are. Which was what made the If I Stay series spectacular.
lisawreading's review against another edition
5.0
I loved Just One Year, which is a sequel to Just One Day, but also its mirror image. In Just One Year, we follow the same timeline as in the previous book, but from the other character's perspective. It's fascinating to get the other side of the story -- or journey -- and I loved how well the two narratives mesh together, weaving in details and clues to form one whole. If you enjoy contemporary young adult fiction that values strong characters with rich inner lives, check out these two books!
My full review is up at Bookshelf Fantasies.
My full review is up at Bookshelf Fantasies.
nina_rod's review against another edition
2.0
So I hated the first book.. Just One Day. So, why did I bother to read the second novel? Well, I had some unanswered questions about Willem. This book answered them. Willem is a loser that Allyson unfortunately got mixed up with.
heyjudy's review against another edition
4.0
~4.5/5
This book… was absolutely perfect. It was everything it could have been in companion to the first novel.
I loved the first book, with Allyson’s growing up and becoming her own person. And while I went into this hoping that I would get more time with Allyson and Willem together, Willem’s story was just as good and just as important.
I loved seeing Willem grow, become who he needed and wanted to be, find his family again and see it expand. Finally decide to commit to something, decide that he wanted to act. And also to see him want Allyson, go after her, as best as he could, in the same way that Allyson did for him.
I think it’s important to note going into this series that, while it is a love story, and their impact on each other is definitely present and acknowledged, this series is even more than that, about these two characters growing up and finding themselves and their families, on their own. This book ends in pretty much the same spot as the first, with I think a step farther that makes this series complete.
Then there were the places that he went, and the things he did, and the people he met. I love all of the side characters, and the way they’re all shown and developed. Broodje, in particular, is awesome; I love him.
This was a perfect companion, and I love that this series let me fall in love with the characters individually, while making you eager to see them together.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
This book… was absolutely perfect. It was everything it could have been in companion to the first novel.
I loved the first book, with Allyson’s growing up and becoming her own person. And while I went into this hoping that I would get more time with Allyson and Willem together, Willem’s story was just as good and just as important.
I loved seeing Willem grow, become who he needed and wanted to be, find his family again and see it expand. Finally decide to commit to something, decide that he wanted to act. And also to see him want Allyson, go after her, as best as he could, in the same way that Allyson did for him.
I think it’s important to note going into this series that, while it is a love story, and their impact on each other is definitely present and acknowledged, this series is even more than that, about these two characters growing up and finding themselves and their families, on their own. This book ends in pretty much the same spot as the first, with I think a step farther that makes this series complete.
Then there were the places that he went, and the things he did, and the people he met. I love all of the side characters, and the way they’re all shown and developed. Broodje, in particular, is awesome; I love him.
This was a perfect companion, and I love that this series let me fall in love with the characters individually, while making you eager to see them together.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
brennadf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I much preferred Alyson's point of view to Willem's
bmg20's review against another edition
3.0
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A copy of Just One Year was provided to me by Dutton/Penguin Group (USA) for review purposes.
'It was like she gave me her whole self, and somehow as a result, I gave her more of myself than I ever realized there was to give. But then she was gone. And only after I'd been filled up by her, by that day, did I understand how empty I really was.'
Finally. We have Willem's story. Just One Day left readers contemplating what possibly could have gone wrong, why he never came back to Allyson and if they were ever going to be able to find each other again. Just One Year possesses the same melancholy feel as its predecessor with Willem stumbling around in an apparent daze, unable to trust the stability of his feelings for Allyson because after all... they only knew each other for a single day.
'...it's Lulu I miss, and I know it must be displaced, my loneliness a heat-seeking missile, her the heat. Only I can't seem to find a new source of heat.'
This is a tough one for me to figure out how I feel about. Willem was a tough nut to crack and I went through the majority of the book not feeling any sort of compassion towards him, no pity for his plight, when I think that would have been the regular response. He gave up his search for her very early on and considering we already know what Allyson went through physically and emotionally makes me sad for her. Willem was convinced to start looking for her again by friends and as much as he kept saying he was still looking for her that whole time, it wasn't an active search. It felt like he was simply sitting back and waiting for something to happen, for her to find him.
'The truth and its opposite are flip sides of the same coin.'
Willem's story became less about their romance and more about him discovering things about himself and becoming a better person because he met her. This is actually what I had originally hoped for her in Just One Day; for Allyson to recognize the incredibly transformed person she had become (and she did) but that even though it resulted from her meeting Willem that she didn't need him to continue to be as such. Willem found the independence and strength their meeting imbued and used it in a positive manner and while I'm glad at least one of them did this, I never quite liked Willem enough in order to root for him. I never saw what appealed to Allyson and I never understood quite why they transformed each others lives in the first place.
While I'm glad to have the closure of Willem's side of the story, I still can't help but feel the ending would have benefited from... more. I needed to see Willem and Allyson's transformations being applied since we as readers were only afforded a quick glance before reaching the final page.
Just One Year is a tale of transformation, of finding happiness, of finding love and finding yourself.
A copy of Just One Year was provided to me by Dutton/Penguin Group (USA) for review purposes.
'It was like she gave me her whole self, and somehow as a result, I gave her more of myself than I ever realized there was to give. But then she was gone. And only after I'd been filled up by her, by that day, did I understand how empty I really was.'
Finally. We have Willem's story. Just One Day left readers contemplating what possibly could have gone wrong, why he never came back to Allyson and if they were ever going to be able to find each other again. Just One Year possesses the same melancholy feel as its predecessor with Willem stumbling around in an apparent daze, unable to trust the stability of his feelings for Allyson because after all... they only knew each other for a single day.
'...it's Lulu I miss, and I know it must be displaced, my loneliness a heat-seeking missile, her the heat. Only I can't seem to find a new source of heat.'
This is a tough one for me to figure out how I feel about. Willem was a tough nut to crack and I went through the majority of the book not feeling any sort of compassion towards him, no pity for his plight, when I think that would have been the regular response. He gave up his search for her very early on and considering we already know what Allyson went through physically and emotionally makes me sad for her. Willem was convinced to start looking for her again by friends and as much as he kept saying he was still looking for her that whole time, it wasn't an active search. It felt like he was simply sitting back and waiting for something to happen, for her to find him.
'The truth and its opposite are flip sides of the same coin.'
Willem's story became less about their romance and more about him discovering things about himself and becoming a better person because he met her. This is actually what I had originally hoped for her in Just One Day; for Allyson to recognize the incredibly transformed person she had become (and she did) but that even though it resulted from her meeting Willem that she didn't need him to continue to be as such. Willem found the independence and strength their meeting imbued and used it in a positive manner and while I'm glad at least one of them did this, I never quite liked Willem enough in order to root for him. I never saw what appealed to Allyson and I never understood quite why they transformed each others lives in the first place.
While I'm glad to have the closure of Willem's side of the story, I still can't help but feel the ending would have benefited from... more. I needed to see Willem and Allyson's transformations being applied since we as readers were only afforded a quick glance before reaching the final page.
Just One Year is a tale of transformation, of finding happiness, of finding love and finding yourself.
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
I, like so many others, read [b:Just One Day|12842115|Just One Day (Just One Day, #1)|Gayle Forman|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348674290s/12842115.jpg|17992862] with much anticipation and excitement. I was a little more wary of Just One Year than most though, which is why it has taken me this long to read it. I loved Allyson's story and I was actually a-okay with how it ended. I liked the mystery and that I could fill in the gaps myself. I was a little worried that getting Willem's side of the story would take away from that. I enjoyed it just as much though, and was pleasantly surprised by that.
My favorite part of this duology is that it is not just a romance. The romance is there, but it is a spark that sends both Allyson and Willem on their paths of self discovery. It is those stories that made me fall in love with both of them, and I appreciated how their journeys mirrored each other. They are incredibly similar but with enough contrast to match their differing life places and personalities. Both of them are struggling to figure out what they really want in life, Allyson with too much parental direction and Willem without enough. Like Allyson, Willem has issues he needs to work through with his mother. They are different issues but his relationship with her is strained in a similar way. (His mother is far more likable though.) Shakespeare plays a huge part in bringing both of them to a realization of what they want and how to proceed with their lives. In Willem's story travel also plays a big part as he goes around the world in search of a plan and purpose.
One thing that really bothered me about Willem's character all along was how he used girls and sex as therapy. His careless attitude is what had Allyson wary of him and there was enough evidence in her story of the trail of broken hearts he left in his wake. While these girls allowed themselves to be used, and so are also to blame, I really hated that he never seemed to notice they were people as well as sexual partners. And that changed so much over the course of his story making me feel far more satisfied with his character arc than I was expecting. More importantly, I like that it wasn't Allyson coming back into his life that changed it but his altering perspective on his own life and seeing his own flaws in a different light. I like flawed characters because that makes them believable, and Willem is certainly flawed, but I also like to see characters who grow and try to see their flaws. Willem does this, some things he accepts about himself, but he changes SO MUCH. Part of that is his finishing the grieving process for his father, but a lot of it is him discovering who he wants to be. It was a fascinating journey to be a part of and I was unable to put the book down until it was finished.
I can see some readers being annoyed with the ending, but I LOVED what she did. It leaves so much up to the imagination and possibility. And that's what these books were ultimately about, the limitless possibilities of life and love.
I, like so many others, read [b:Just One Day|12842115|Just One Day (Just One Day, #1)|Gayle Forman|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348674290s/12842115.jpg|17992862] with much anticipation and excitement. I was a little more wary of Just One Year than most though, which is why it has taken me this long to read it. I loved Allyson's story and I was actually a-okay with how it ended. I liked the mystery and that I could fill in the gaps myself. I was a little worried that getting Willem's side of the story would take away from that. I enjoyed it just as much though, and was pleasantly surprised by that.
My favorite part of this duology is that it is not just a romance. The romance is there, but it is a spark that sends both Allyson and Willem on their paths of self discovery. It is those stories that made me fall in love with both of them, and I appreciated how their journeys mirrored each other. They are incredibly similar but with enough contrast to match their differing life places and personalities. Both of them are struggling to figure out what they really want in life, Allyson with too much parental direction and Willem without enough. Like Allyson, Willem has issues he needs to work through with his mother. They are different issues but his relationship with her is strained in a similar way. (His mother is far more likable though.) Shakespeare plays a huge part in bringing both of them to a realization of what they want and how to proceed with their lives. In Willem's story travel also plays a big part as he goes around the world in search of a plan and purpose.
One thing that really bothered me about Willem's character all along was how he used girls and sex as therapy. His careless attitude is what had Allyson wary of him and there was enough evidence in her story of the trail of broken hearts he left in his wake. While these girls allowed themselves to be used, and so are also to blame, I really hated that he never seemed to notice they were people as well as sexual partners. And that changed so much over the course of his story making me feel far more satisfied with his character arc than I was expecting. More importantly, I like that it wasn't Allyson coming back into his life that changed it but his altering perspective on his own life and seeing his own flaws in a different light. I like flawed characters because that makes them believable, and Willem is certainly flawed, but I also like to see characters who grow and try to see their flaws. Willem does this, some things he accepts about himself, but he changes SO MUCH. Part of that is his finishing the grieving process for his father, but a lot of it is him discovering who he wants to be. It was a fascinating journey to be a part of and I was unable to put the book down until it was finished.
I can see some readers being annoyed with the ending, but I LOVED what she did. It leaves so much up to the imagination and possibility. And that's what these books were ultimately about, the limitless possibilities of life and love.
nagam's review against another edition
5.0
Review originally posted on Rather Be Reading...
After finishing Just One Day, I couldn’t help but feel this sense of wonderment. The places Willem and Allyson visited. Their adventures… and even their misadventures. It left me yearning to travel more. And then there was that ending. Let’s just be honest and say that it shocked us all. Was Willem the boy we had fallen in love with? Who was this boy? And why, oh, why must Gayle Forman torture us and make us wait to find out what happened?
Just One Year is told from Willem’s perspective this go-around. With all of my hesitations about his character, I was left feeling pretty unsure about wanting to know him better. I needed Allyson to give him a good one-two-punch and knock some major sense into him. Willem’s story begins the day he and Allyson are separated — oh, you know, the day that our hearts all swooned and we wanted to break into buildings with boys we met the day before. He recalls moments with Lulu (the only name he ever knew her by) and we get to see what he was thinking and feeling as they spent their day together. (Le sigh.)
Most important to me were the details of WHY he left her alone, stranded, what happened, and how he spent his year. Was Willem searching for Lulu like she was searching for him? We’re led to believe he’s a bit of a playboy, but is it true? Does he pine for her (maybe a little less melodramatically), or does he just move on with his life?
Just One Day was about Allyson’s growth and transformation, just as much as Just One Year is about Willem’s maturity and coming to terms with the loss of his father and peace-making with his mother. He and his mom aren’t on good terms after the death of his father. He’s become lost, a wanderer. Above all else, I love that Forman doesn’t just focus on the reunion of Willem and Allyson (though heck yes that’s the top reason I was breezing through the pages). Willem’s story is a journey, quite literally the majority of the time as he traipses around the globe … one that will have you glued to the pages.
Without fail, Forman’s writing continues to be top-notch. She beautifully enters the mind of a young male who can sometimes be easily distracted and quickly discouraged. She impeccably describes each of the locations Willem ventures to and will, without doubt, make you wish you could hop on the next flight out from your local airport.
After finishing Just One Day, I couldn’t help but feel this sense of wonderment. The places Willem and Allyson visited. Their adventures… and even their misadventures. It left me yearning to travel more. And then there was that ending. Let’s just be honest and say that it shocked us all. Was Willem the boy we had fallen in love with? Who was this boy? And why, oh, why must Gayle Forman torture us and make us wait to find out what happened?
Just One Year is told from Willem’s perspective this go-around. With all of my hesitations about his character, I was left feeling pretty unsure about wanting to know him better. I needed Allyson to give him a good one-two-punch and knock some major sense into him. Willem’s story begins the day he and Allyson are separated — oh, you know, the day that our hearts all swooned and we wanted to break into buildings with boys we met the day before. He recalls moments with Lulu (the only name he ever knew her by) and we get to see what he was thinking and feeling as they spent their day together. (Le sigh.)
Most important to me were the details of WHY he left her alone, stranded, what happened, and how he spent his year. Was Willem searching for Lulu like she was searching for him? We’re led to believe he’s a bit of a playboy, but is it true? Does he pine for her (maybe a little less melodramatically), or does he just move on with his life?
Just One Day was about Allyson’s growth and transformation, just as much as Just One Year is about Willem’s maturity and coming to terms with the loss of his father and peace-making with his mother. He and his mom aren’t on good terms after the death of his father. He’s become lost, a wanderer. Above all else, I love that Forman doesn’t just focus on the reunion of Willem and Allyson (though heck yes that’s the top reason I was breezing through the pages). Willem’s story is a journey, quite literally the majority of the time as he traipses around the globe … one that will have you glued to the pages.
Without fail, Forman’s writing continues to be top-notch. She beautifully enters the mind of a young male who can sometimes be easily distracted and quickly discouraged. She impeccably describes each of the locations Willem ventures to and will, without doubt, make you wish you could hop on the next flight out from your local airport.