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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Devoured this in one day. Kind of like a YA version of Before Sunrise. Loved all the characters, and enjoyed the second half of the book as much as the first.
Allyson has always been on the straight and narrow path: good student, career-minded (pre-Med!), and obedient. But then she meets someone who sweeps her off her feet and over to Paris for a day; nothing will ever be the same after. The freedom, independence, self-reliance she feels makes it impossible to return to her former ways.
Tension builds as she loses and then tries to find the guy who started her down this path.
Tension builds as she loses and then tries to find the guy who started her down this path.
This was a disappointment. I've read several other Gayle Forman novels, of which I all enjoyed, but this one was simply not good. The protagonist, Allyson, is terribly annoying and unlikable. In general, she was aloof and selfish in her ambitions. The fact that she spent an entire year wallowing in self-pity over a man she met for one day in another country was annoying. The ending further ruined any chance of salvation for the plot. Not to mention the extremely stereotypical and offensive descriptions of literally any character of another race. Wouldn't recommend.
A terrific read for a snow day. I had started Just One Day by Gayle Forman a couple weeks ago, but put it down because the first 1/4 of the book wasn't grabbing me. Allyson, an American girl on a European tour just before she starts college, meet Willem, and Dutch twenty-year-old, after seeing him in a Shakespeare production of As You Like It in London. Willem challenges Allyson, who he only knows as Lulu (because she reminds him of a silent film star actress with that name) to take a chance and visit Paris with him for just one day. Allyson/Lulu, takes the risk, which is out of character for her. I didn't love the description of their time in Paris, and the coincidental run-ins with other young women that Willem kept having. It felt too forced. And I felt disappointed that Just One Day couldn't hold a candle to If I Stay and Where She Went, also by Gayle Forman.
But ... bring on a couple of snow days and the urge to just keep giving it a shot ... and I found myself thinking this is exactly the book I wanted from the author. The best parts of the books are focused on Allyson in the year AFTER she goes to Paris and meets Willem. During that year, we get to know Allyson as she starts college, as she tries to get over the events that happened in Paris, and she goes through a process of self-discovery and growth. The last 3/4 of the book kept me interested and kept me reading til the very end. And now I just have to read Just One Year, the extension of Just One Day, but told from Willem's point of view.
But ... bring on a couple of snow days and the urge to just keep giving it a shot ... and I found myself thinking this is exactly the book I wanted from the author. The best parts of the books are focused on Allyson in the year AFTER she goes to Paris and meets Willem. During that year, we get to know Allyson as she starts college, as she tries to get over the events that happened in Paris, and she goes through a process of self-discovery and growth. The last 3/4 of the book kept me interested and kept me reading til the very end. And now I just have to read Just One Year, the extension of Just One Day, but told from Willem's point of view.
I'm in love with this book.
I love Gayle Forman and her books before and now this has just reassured me on the fantastic writer she is.
I fell in love with Willem. How can I explain how much I wanted her to see him and how much I loved their chemistry? I can't. You have to read the book to understand.
Some people might think it's the typical girl meets boy in Europe and all that, but somehow it wasn't. There was more flavour added into it along with the whole college experience that I'm sure a lot of people don't read about in books.
It being centered in Europe is another thing that made my heart squeeze with joy. I really liked how it wasn't all about the tourist attractions and the love being on top of the Eiffel Tower, just as the narrator put it too. It showed a different side of Europe, the one that we all yearn to live, even if it is for only one day.
I cannot wait to read One More Year this October and I hope times flies by quickly (or flows ;) ) as I can hardly wait.
I love Gayle Forman and her books before and now this has just reassured me on the fantastic writer she is.
I fell in love with Willem. How can I explain how much I wanted her to see him and how much I loved their chemistry? I can't. You have to read the book to understand.
Some people might think it's the typical girl meets boy in Europe and all that, but somehow it wasn't. There was more flavour added into it along with the whole college experience that I'm sure a lot of people don't read about in books.
It being centered in Europe is another thing that made my heart squeeze with joy. I really liked how it wasn't all about the tourist attractions and the love being on top of the Eiffel Tower, just as the narrator put it too. It showed a different side of Europe, the one that we all yearn to live, even if it is for only one day.
I cannot wait to read One More Year this October and I hope times flies by quickly (or flows ;) ) as I can hardly wait.
I absolutely loved the author's books 'If I Stay' and 'Where I Went.' So I thought for sure this book would be a sure winner for me. The book promised it would be a story of love, loss and finding one's self. (Spoiler Alert) It was not. It was about how a teenager girl has a one night stand and can't handle the consequences.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A heartening journey of a girl from shy, sheltered, and risk averse to an independent adult. It's not really a romance, but instead an inspirational portrayal of a reinvention of oneself. There's a lot of life lessons sprinkled throughout that culminate into gaining the courage to become the person you want to be through one's own actions and that's why I love this. That's why I read it for the third time! I especially love this because of the stronger focus on friendship and internal reflection rather than the romance.
Having said that, reading this for the first time as an adult who has since dappled into classics and poetry after the last read through, it was apparent on the first page that the writing style isn't extraordinary - and I don't believe in handwaving that criticism just because this is YA. I found the first 40%, the part that focuses on the romance, to be quite gray. Now, is it because the author purposely wanted to show the effect of rose-colored glasses overly exaggerating the euphoria of limerence to tie into the book's theme of self-love? Or was it because the author struggles to write conversation and romantic connection? I struggle myself to choose one because the main character's, Allyson, development arc crescendos beautifully. The book sails in "Part Two" of the in-book divide, so while the writing isn't extraordinary it isn't bad, no not at all, just anonymous and at times, flat.
I understand the moderate rating as it is disappointing if you're under the assumption that it is a whirlwind, Parisian romance. But I must EXCLAIM how lovely this novel is for anyone who is like Allyson - struggling to exist for themselves, outside themself, to step into and embrace the discomfort. Ironically, this is a comfort read for me.
Having said that, reading this for the first time as an adult who has since dappled into classics and poetry after the last read through, it was apparent on the first page that the writing style isn't extraordinary - and I don't believe in handwaving that criticism just because this is YA. I found the first 40%, the part that focuses on the romance, to be quite gray. Now, is it because the author purposely wanted to show the effect of rose-colored glasses overly exaggerating the euphoria of limerence to tie into the book's theme of self-love? Or was it because the author struggles to write conversation and romantic connection? I struggle myself to choose one because the main character's, Allyson, development arc crescendos beautifully. The book sails in "Part Two" of the in-book divide, so while the writing isn't extraordinary it isn't bad, no not at all, just anonymous and at times, flat.
I understand the moderate rating as it is disappointing if you're under the assumption that it is a whirlwind, Parisian romance. But I must EXCLAIM how lovely this novel is for anyone who is like Allyson - struggling to exist for themselves, outside themself, to step into and embrace the discomfort. Ironically, this is a comfort read for me.
Cute story, but found it a little elementary and very predictable. Had trouble liking the main character - she was a bit annoying.
Hate this book. Do not understand whatsoever all the hype about it.