Just One Day (Just One Day, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Jan 30, 2013 Jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult

At first I didn't think I would like this book. It started out a bit like Before Sunrise (the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy movie) and a bit like THIRTEEN LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES, and I thought, Really? That's great, but it's been DONE.

Well, it hasn't been done by Gayle Forman.

I loved, loved, loved with hearts and kisses and tears her IF I STAY/WHERE SHE WENT. Loved. So I read this book without even bothering to find out what it was about. The title made me think it took place over the course of one day ...more

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Dec 09, 2016 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic, age-ya, audiobooks, 2016

Allyson is on the trip of a lifetime, a tour of Europe right after high school graduation... only it doesn't feel quite like that to her. Her best friend Melanie is trying to reinvent herself, but Allyson just feels stuck, until she takes a chance and sneaks off to see a Shakespeare play, and a Dutch guy named Willem flirts with her. When she bumps into him the next day, he convinces her to abscond for a day to Paris, the only city she hasn't visited. What follows is a crazy day of adventure and ...more

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Apr 15, 2014 Destiny rated it really liked it

I will admit that when I started this book I thought about putting it down. It didn't immediately grab me but I kept reading.

I feel like the main theme of the book would be: finding yourself? I feel like Allyson had to learn to be her true self outside of her parents, Melanie, etc. It struck a cord with me because I'm trying to do the same thing at the moment.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting. I like it. I don't love it but it does make me want to read more of Ms. Forman's work an ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

After a whirlwind tour through Europe, Allyson is looking forward to returning home and starting college in the fall. Even if it means missing Paris and even if the tour wasn't everything Allyson thought it would be.

Two days before she is set to return home, Allyson sees an underground of Twelfth Night that unexpectedly changes everything.

Accompanied by a laid-back Dutch actor named Willem as her guide, Allyson spends a whirlwind day in Paris where, finally, Allyson understands what her European After a whirlwind tour through Europe, Allyson is looking forward to returning home and starting college in the fall. Even if it means missing Paris and even if the tour wasn't everything Allyson thought it would be.

Two days before she is set to return home, Allyson sees an underground of Twelfth Night that unexpectedly changes everything.

Accompanied by a laid-back Dutch actor named Willem as her guide, Allyson spends a whirlwind day in Paris where, finally, Allyson understands what her European tour was meant to feel like. As she and Willem grow closer, Allyson starts to understand what a lot of things are supposed to feel like.

At least, she thought she did.

When Allyson wakes up the next day to find Willem already gone, Allyson's previous certainty shatters.

Starting college in the wake of Willem's abrupt departure, Allyson starts to fall apart. She knows what is expected of her. She even knows most of what's wrong. But she has no idea what she wants. No idea how to fix anything.

One day gave Allyson the chance to change everything even if it meant losing Willem. With one year, Allyson might be able to finally find herself in Just One Day (2013) by Gayle Forman.

Just One Day is the first novel in a duet. Willem's story, Just One Year is set to publish in fall 2013.

Forman expertly chronicles Allyson's self-destruction during her first semester of college as well as her efforts to start fresh (with a tabula rasa, if you will) in the following term. Allyson's changing relationships with her family and friends are also handled well in the story.

Filled with travel and a variety of settings, Just One Day is a vivid trip through Europe filled with descriptions of all of the sights Allyson takes in over the course of her story. I also loved the inclusion of so many Shakespeare references as counterpoints to Allyson's experiences. The underlying buoyancy and serendipity of the story is also refreshing as (after the obligatory wallowing) Allyson works on moving forward.

Told over the course of one whirlwind day and the subsequently turbulent year, Just One Day is ostensibly a love story--or at least a story of lost love. Except it's also a more than that. Knowing that the book is part of a duet, there will of course be answers about Willem's disappearance and his own feelings about Allyson. However, by the end of the story, that's very secondary to the story of Allyson finding herself and figuring out what she wants.

Possible Pairings: The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando, Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, Stranger in the Forest by Eric Harsen, Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, As You Like It by William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, The Statistical Probability of True Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr ...more

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Jun 08, 2013 Abigail rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Good grief, I wish I had known that I would get so entrenched in this book that I would need to read the sequel back to back with the first book. I loved the traveling pieces, I loved that Alyson didn't pine away for Willem for the *entire* book, I loved how she grew up and was able to come out of her shell and learn how to make friends, I loved the raw emotions and realistic way Alyson described her feelings and experiences. I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to. ...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Rachel Piper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-teen, ebook

Four and a half. How the rest of the story plays out will probably either leave this at a 4 or bump it up to a 5. I thought that Allyson's complicated relationship with her parents, especially her mother, was very well done. And far from being an overdramatic love story, this is more of a tale of self-discovery. And even though I roll my eyes at most travel stories, this one felt real -- Allyson actually struggles with traveling, and so you get a full picture of these European towns. ...more

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Jan 01, 2015 Marianne rated it liked it

Gayle Forman is a good romance writer for high school readers. Sequel to follow. . .

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May 17, 2015 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, misery-oh-misery, teen-books-adults-can-enjoy, youngadult, bildungsroman

This book makes me want to go to Paris, and NOT miss seeing the Louvre. I liked how it surprised my expectations by moving away from just boy meets girl, to girl goes on journey of self-discovery. I could so relate to Allyson, being a shy bookish type with surprising amounts of adventurousness hidden underneath. Good character growth, great locations, I was intrigued, moved, and inspired. I am going to Paris next year!

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Dec 09, 2011 Liz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 3-star, contemporary-and-realistic

I had incredibly high hopes for this one. The writing is okay but the story and Allyson drove me crazy because of where I am in my own life. I don't anticipate writing a full review. ...more

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