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A review by bibliophile1019
Just One Year by Gayle Forman
5.0
Gayle Forman knocks it out of the park again with her retelling of Just One Day from Willem's perspective!
In Just One Day, Allyson thought Willem was perfect, a free spirit who loved life and had adventures. In Just One Year, we find out that is not necessarily the case. He was prompted to invite Allyson to Paris not just because he thought she was cute, but because he did not want to go home to Holland. He has a messy relationship with his mother, his father is dead, and he was kicked out of school. When he defends the young girls in the park from the skinheads and then tries to push Allyson away, we see that it is because he does not want attachments. But while he is recovering the hospital from being beaten by the skinheads on his way to get Allyson breakfast the morning she thought he abandoned her, we see something in him start to shift. In Just One Year, Willem has a similar journey to Allyson, trying to find her while ultimately finding himself.
I highly suggest that you reread Just One Day before reading this novel so that you can get the true impact of just how close Allyson and Willem were to finding each so many times. It's almost painful, but it shows Forman's supreme story-telling ability.
Many people argued that Willem was a stock character in Just One Day, and he was. This book provides all the backstory you need to understand why he is the way he is, and how he is perhaps more in need of finding himself than Allyson was.
This is truly a wonderful, intelligent love story for the modern teenager.
In Just One Day, Allyson thought Willem was perfect, a free spirit who loved life and had adventures. In Just One Year, we find out that is not necessarily the case. He was prompted to invite Allyson to Paris not just because he thought she was cute, but because he did not want to go home to Holland. He has a messy relationship with his mother, his father is dead, and he was kicked out of school. When he defends the young girls in the park from the skinheads and then tries to push Allyson away, we see that it is because he does not want attachments. But while he is recovering the hospital from being beaten by the skinheads on his way to get Allyson breakfast the morning she thought he abandoned her, we see something in him start to shift. In Just One Year, Willem has a similar journey to Allyson, trying to find her while ultimately finding himself.
I highly suggest that you reread Just One Day before reading this novel so that you can get the true impact of just how close Allyson and Willem were to finding each so many times. It's almost painful, but it shows Forman's supreme story-telling ability.
Many people argued that Willem was a stock character in Just One Day, and he was. This book provides all the backstory you need to understand why he is the way he is, and how he is perhaps more in need of finding himself than Allyson was.
This is truly a wonderful, intelligent love story for the modern teenager.