Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I don't really understand everyones interest in this book. It was so, so disappointing. The main character is so whiny, depressing, obsessive, creepy- and just sad (and I am not referring to her emotions). This was a creepy stalker-esque story. Really was not into it. Will probably read the sequel just because I hate not finishing a series.
There always seems to be a sense of trepidation when you are about to read a favourite author’s new book. There is, of course, excitement, but in the back of your mind there is that niggling fear that it may not be as good as the previous one, or even worse… different!
I fell beneath Gayle Forman’s spell when voraciously reading the story of Mia and Adam in If I Stay (2009) and Where She Went (2011). Forman constructs characters that crawl out from the page and into your chest cavity, where they play havoc. Your heart accelerates or plummets with a line of dialogue, a small gesture, or the realisation that what comes next isn’t on your list of predictions.
I am pleased to say all this is true of her new novel, Just One Day (to be released in Australia on 16th January). Some might be saddened that the story of Mia and Adam has concluded but I was racing to know Allyson in all her emotionally restrained glory.
We meet Allyson on the last day of her very structured, parent-approved tour of Europe. What is meant to be a celebration of the end of high school and the start of a new era (college) is soul sucking and uneventful… until she spots Willem. What results is the first impetuous act of Allyson’s life and the broadening of her horizons as she falls in love with Paris, and Willem. The beauty of this dynamic is that there are many signposts that Willem might not be the gleaming light that Allyson wants him to be. But Forman vividly creates a world, a twirling mass of romance, beauty and lust, which makes her protagonist and the reader fall deeply.
It makes the thump to earth real. The early-on revelation that Willem has deserted Allyson, and the readers, is made all the more painful.
At first Just One Day comes across as the simple tale of girl meets boy but it’s what occurs after boy leaves girl that lifts Forman’s deft touch to a new level. Allyson plateaus after the Paris debacle; she numbs herself at college failing to make connections with others and her classes. She is heartbroken and checked out.
Just One Day could be all about Willem but its strength is how this boy is used as a way for Allyson to find her way without him. There is relief in her final movement from inertia to living, her decision to break away from her suffocating mother, make her own life choices and grapple with the fissure that has developed between her and her childhood best friend. These story points ring entirely true – that shift that occurs after school is over and people begin to drift. Sometimes sharing a past isn’t enough to keep the ties that bind tight.
Just One Day is a character rich exploration of that time in life when you need to re-examine who you are. It’s about shifting focus and redefining what you want and how you want to get it. It’s about clarity, and love, and heartbreak, and angst. It’s the reason I love reading Gayle Forman’s world.
I fell beneath Gayle Forman’s spell when voraciously reading the story of Mia and Adam in If I Stay (2009) and Where She Went (2011). Forman constructs characters that crawl out from the page and into your chest cavity, where they play havoc. Your heart accelerates or plummets with a line of dialogue, a small gesture, or the realisation that what comes next isn’t on your list of predictions.
I am pleased to say all this is true of her new novel, Just One Day (to be released in Australia on 16th January). Some might be saddened that the story of Mia and Adam has concluded but I was racing to know Allyson in all her emotionally restrained glory.
We meet Allyson on the last day of her very structured, parent-approved tour of Europe. What is meant to be a celebration of the end of high school and the start of a new era (college) is soul sucking and uneventful… until she spots Willem. What results is the first impetuous act of Allyson’s life and the broadening of her horizons as she falls in love with Paris, and Willem. The beauty of this dynamic is that there are many signposts that Willem might not be the gleaming light that Allyson wants him to be. But Forman vividly creates a world, a twirling mass of romance, beauty and lust, which makes her protagonist and the reader fall deeply.
It makes the thump to earth real. The early-on revelation that Willem has deserted Allyson, and the readers, is made all the more painful.
At first Just One Day comes across as the simple tale of girl meets boy but it’s what occurs after boy leaves girl that lifts Forman’s deft touch to a new level. Allyson plateaus after the Paris debacle; she numbs herself at college failing to make connections with others and her classes. She is heartbroken and checked out.
Just One Day could be all about Willem but its strength is how this boy is used as a way for Allyson to find her way without him. There is relief in her final movement from inertia to living, her decision to break away from her suffocating mother, make her own life choices and grapple with the fissure that has developed between her and her childhood best friend. These story points ring entirely true – that shift that occurs after school is over and people begin to drift. Sometimes sharing a past isn’t enough to keep the ties that bind tight.
Just One Day is a character rich exploration of that time in life when you need to re-examine who you are. It’s about shifting focus and redefining what you want and how you want to get it. It’s about clarity, and love, and heartbreak, and angst. It’s the reason I love reading Gayle Forman’s world.
This book has left me without sleep. I couldn't do anything if I didn't first finish this book. It was so BEAUTIFUL. It was one of those books that made me scream: I LOVE READING!!
To put it shortly, "Just One Day" fueled my passion for books.
It is one of those books that you can read over and over again and never get bored!!
I loved everything about it:
-its structure (half of the events happen in one day and the other half in one year, - it really shows how little and in the same time how much is time important)
-the characters (OMG!!! Allison and Willem and so many other characters that however little their part may have been, they really left an impact on Allison!!
Allison a girl who journeys so much physically and mentally. Someone who becomes stronger, more confident and more comfortable with herself as the story progresses.
Willem, the guy covered in mystery who captures your heart and then leaves you hanging, making you feel exactly like our protagonist)
-the writing ( which is very good in fact, because I felt like I was in Paris, in Amsterdam, in Mexico...the atmosphere was so beautifully created!!!).
But most importantly, I enjoyed this book so much because of the messages this story transmits.
I won't forget this book!! It affected me in a way I didn't think a book could!! So highly recommended!!
To put it shortly, "Just One Day" fueled my passion for books.
It is one of those books that you can read over and over again and never get bored!!
I loved everything about it:
-its structure (half of the events happen in one day and the other half in one year, - it really shows how little and in the same time how much is time important)
-the characters (OMG!!! Allison and Willem and so many other characters that however little their part may have been, they really left an impact on Allison!!
Allison a girl who journeys so much physically and mentally. Someone who becomes stronger, more confident and more comfortable with herself as the story progresses.
Willem, the guy covered in mystery who captures your heart and then leaves you hanging, making you feel exactly like our protagonist)
-the writing ( which is very good in fact, because I felt like I was in Paris, in Amsterdam, in Mexico...the atmosphere was so beautifully created!!!).
But most importantly, I enjoyed this book so much because of the messages this story transmits.
I won't forget this book!! It affected me in a way I didn't think a book could!! So highly recommended!!
My thoughts upon finishing this book:
➜ Willem, you dog, you. I love you. And I hate you. But I can't stop loving you.
➜Insta-love done the right way! Also, HOW DO YOU EVEN END A BOOK LIKE THIS? Pure torture I tell you!
➜ So glad that the second book is already published because: WAITING, AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!
Dee, Y U SO FIERCE?!
➜ Must go to Paris and eat all of the macarons!
➜ Willem, you dog, you. I love you. And I hate you. But I can't stop loving you.
➜Insta-love done the right way! Also, HOW DO YOU EVEN END A BOOK LIKE THIS? Pure torture I tell you!
➜ So glad that the second book is already published because: WAITING, AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!
Dee, Y U SO FIERCE?!
➜ Must go to Paris and eat all of the macarons!
Another book by Gayle Forman that just makes you feel things. The only thing that bothered me was how the supposed best friend was written. A bitchy mother I can get, but a nasty bestfriend made their friendship seem unhealthy. I can't find any instances when the best friend wasn't rude or selfish to some degree. But I loved all the other supporting characters, and the allusions to Shakespeare. One last thought: if you enjoy closure, you probably won't be a huge fan of this book. That said, it certainly left a stain on me
Finishing this book gave me a case of the sads, because I wanted it to go on forever. I also now have a serious case of wanderlust.
Okay this will be short because much like If I Stay and Where She Went, I have no idea how to review this novel. It was just so, so much. It was everything. And everyone should read it. I know, I know. I'm not giving you much to go on. But it was so BIG and so intimate and everything else in between. It was everything I've ever wanted to do and didn't and did and what happens and doesn't. And full of what if's and doubts and chasing dreams. And I think about life and I think maybe that's what it is, just one chase after another trying to catch our dreams. I mean this book, it makes you think about everything big and small. It O-P-E-N-S your mind. Not to anything in particular, but it makes you wonder. This book was like magic to me. I don't want to tell you anymore about it. It was special to me but it will be something different to you. Still special, but you'll experience it in a different way. So read it and share what you want. And wait with baited breath for Just One Year.
When I read the summary for this book, it reminded me of that movie Before Sunrise with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy...it was a little like it and a little not. The book takes you through one day with Lulu and Willem....and then a year of Lulu trying to find him. It is a good read, with lots of likeable characters (Dee!) and a nice ending.