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A review by janicewangg
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
5.0
Actual rating: 4.6 (Some spoilers in this review)
Is the ending of this book considered a cliffhanger? Because I'm definitely on the edge of my seat! I need to know what happens after the door opens!!
I finally got this review done! I rated this book 4.6 stars because I really enjoyed it and its overall meaning. I felt as though I could really relate to Allyson Healey, our main character. She reminded me of me... Pre-med, always trying to please her parents and the people around her, not sure who is she. Definitely sounds like me. Allyson, in the book, went on this soul searching kind of journey. It's almost like Gayle Forman reached into my soul and my deepest innermost thoughts and put them into words. A story. That's why I find this book so amazing. It was real for me. I'm in love with Gayle Forman's writing now. I'm definitely going to read her other books as well!
So Allyson Healey is our protagonist and she has just graduated high school, so her parents sent her on a trip that tours most of Europe. One day, in Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets a stranger named Willem and he invites her to spend one day with him in Paris. Crazy right? So obviously she goes. With Willem, she becomes someone totally new and different. "Lulu". Anything can happen in Just One Day.
SPOILERS DOWN BELOW! CAUTION! BEWARE!
Okay I warned you! The rest of this review contains spoilers! Anyways, I really loved all the literary allusions and references to Shakespeare throughout this book since I just finished reading The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. I do feel like I should read his other plays to fully appreciate the book though.
GUYS! I REALLY DIDN'T LIKE MELANIE! From start to finish, she irritated me to no ends. I'm glad they had that fallout. It was inevitable. She always made those snarky, condescending comments and was a horrible best friend. I really did like how Allyson made new friends like Dee and her roommates. I was so proud and happy for her when she went up to the group of Australian teens and asked to tag along. I would never have done that in a million years, and she wouldn't have done that either if she was still the same girl as she was in the beginning of the book. That was pretty brave in my opinion. I just find this book so relatable! It's crazy! Allyson really grew in this book. I mean, she went with Willem and lost herself, and through the course of that year, she went finding herself again. And the girl she found wasn't the Allyson Healey from a year ago. I found Allyson really brave. I would never go to Paris all by myself with limited French and actually get lost. On purpose. She was thinking of giving up so many times on her search for Willem, and each time she didn't.
Let's talk about Willem now. You see... I liked Willem. I liked his air of mystery. However, I didn't like how he kept looking at other girls when he was with Allyson/Lulu. But Allyson completely had my mindset (or I had hers). I kept thinking that if I was Allyson, these would be the thoughts running throughout my mind: "Why is he looking at other girls? I mean... Aren't we here together? Wait we're not. I mean, he's had plenty of girls I assume. What makes me so special" Which is what she was thinking just as well! But yeah, that's the one thing I really didn't like about Willem, but I want to know him better. I want to know about his family, why he travels, and etc. So I know the next book, Just One Year is from Willem's perspective and it's going to cover the entire year that's gone by after "he left Allyson" at that art studio place. I heard that many people didn't like the next book because they wanted a sequel and not a companion novel.
Anyways, what made me really love Willem was the things he said about accidents and falling in love vs. being in love. Everything happens because of accidents. You missed your train and had to catch the next one, and on that train you meet the love of your life. His words really touched me and I just don't know. It made me like him a lot.
I loved how Willem talked about how being in love is a stain, and maybe that isn't the right word for it, but it never goes away verses falling in love can. "It's something that never comes off, no matter how much you might want it to".
After she went back to school and was failing her classes, I was a little frustrated. I kept thinking, "Allyson! Don't do this. Don't let a guy dictate what goes on in your life. Don't let some boy get in the way of your education. This cannot be the reason why you're failing." So her counselor called her in and told her of a possible reason on why she's failing. She was failing because she's not doing what she loves... She's not chasing her dreams when she should be, but she doesn't even know what her dreams are. Again, I can totally relate. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to drop all of my pre-med classes and do what I love/am interested in. I can just imagine my parents' reactions. What Allyson did takes guts. She was brave. Really brave.
I rated this book very high because I could connect and relate to it. I really hope other people did/can too. Can't wait to move onto the next book! Hopefully it wont take me as long to read as this one. (I was in a reading slump after reading COHF).
Is the ending of this book considered a cliffhanger? Because I'm definitely on the edge of my seat! I need to know what happens after the door opens!!
I finally got this review done! I rated this book 4.6 stars because I really enjoyed it and its overall meaning. I felt as though I could really relate to Allyson Healey, our main character. She reminded me of me... Pre-med, always trying to please her parents and the people around her, not sure who is she. Definitely sounds like me. Allyson, in the book, went on this soul searching kind of journey. It's almost like Gayle Forman reached into my soul and my deepest innermost thoughts and put them into words. A story. That's why I find this book so amazing. It was real for me. I'm in love with Gayle Forman's writing now. I'm definitely going to read her other books as well!
So Allyson Healey is our protagonist and she has just graduated high school, so her parents sent her on a trip that tours most of Europe. One day, in Stratford-upon-Avon, she meets a stranger named Willem and he invites her to spend one day with him in Paris. Crazy right? So obviously she goes. With Willem, she becomes someone totally new and different. "Lulu". Anything can happen in Just One Day.
SPOILERS DOWN BELOW! CAUTION! BEWARE!
Okay I warned you! The rest of this review contains spoilers! Anyways, I really loved all the literary allusions and references to Shakespeare throughout this book since I just finished reading The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. I do feel like I should read his other plays to fully appreciate the book though.
GUYS! I REALLY DIDN'T LIKE MELANIE! From start to finish, she irritated me to no ends. I'm glad they had that fallout. It was inevitable. She always made those snarky, condescending comments and was a horrible best friend. I really did like how Allyson made new friends like Dee and her roommates. I was so proud and happy for her when she went up to the group of Australian teens and asked to tag along. I would never have done that in a million years, and she wouldn't have done that either if she was still the same girl as she was in the beginning of the book. That was pretty brave in my opinion. I just find this book so relatable! It's crazy! Allyson really grew in this book. I mean, she went with Willem and lost herself, and through the course of that year, she went finding herself again. And the girl she found wasn't the Allyson Healey from a year ago. I found Allyson really brave. I would never go to Paris all by myself with limited French and actually get lost. On purpose. She was thinking of giving up so many times on her search for Willem, and each time she didn't.
Let's talk about Willem now. You see... I liked Willem. I liked his air of mystery. However, I didn't like how he kept looking at other girls when he was with Allyson/Lulu. But Allyson completely had my mindset (or I had hers). I kept thinking that if I was Allyson, these would be the thoughts running throughout my mind: "Why is he looking at other girls? I mean... Aren't we here together? Wait we're not. I mean, he's had plenty of girls I assume. What makes me so special" Which is what she was thinking just as well! But yeah, that's the one thing I really didn't like about Willem, but I want to know him better. I want to know about his family, why he travels, and etc. So I know the next book, Just One Year is from Willem's perspective and it's going to cover the entire year that's gone by after "he left Allyson" at that art studio place. I heard that many people didn't like the next book because they wanted a sequel and not a companion novel.
Anyways, what made me really love Willem was the things he said about accidents and falling in love vs. being in love. Everything happens because of accidents. You missed your train and had to catch the next one, and on that train you meet the love of your life. His words really touched me and I just don't know. It made me like him a lot.
"And that's when I understand that I've been stained. Whether I'm still in love with him, whether he was ever in love with me, and no matter who he's in love with now, Willem changed my life. He showed me how to get lost, and then I showed myself how to get found. Maybe accident isn't the right word after all. May be miracle is. Or maybe it's not a miracle. Maybe this is just life. When you open yourself up to it. When you put yourself in the path of it. When you say yes."
I loved how Willem talked about how being in love is a stain, and maybe that isn't the right word for it, but it never goes away verses falling in love can. "It's something that never comes off, no matter how much you might want it to".
After she went back to school and was failing her classes, I was a little frustrated. I kept thinking, "Allyson! Don't do this. Don't let a guy dictate what goes on in your life. Don't let some boy get in the way of your education. This cannot be the reason why you're failing." So her counselor called her in and told her of a possible reason on why she's failing. She was failing because she's not doing what she loves... She's not chasing her dreams when she should be, but she doesn't even know what her dreams are. Again, I can totally relate. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to drop all of my pre-med classes and do what I love/am interested in. I can just imagine my parents' reactions. What Allyson did takes guts. She was brave. Really brave.
I rated this book very high because I could connect and relate to it. I really hope other people did/can too. Can't wait to move onto the next book! Hopefully it wont take me as long to read as this one. (I was in a reading slump after reading COHF).