REVIEW ~ Just One Day by Gayle Forman

 Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the "accidents" of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.
  The first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

 

Wow... Gayle Forman's writing is so deep. She really guides her readers into her characters feelings so flawlessly. While I read Just One Day, I felt as though I went on a journey. This is how I'd picture myself if I were in Allyson's shoes. The words in this book poured into my soul. Just One Day really "stained" me.

Just One Day is an inspiring story about a girl who breaks free from her reserved life and after a trip to Europe, blossoms into self-discovery. After watching an urbanized guy and his rendition of an urbanized Shakespearean play, Allyson breaks through her barrier and tests her limits.

My heart was like a beating drum from the excitement I had when Allyson took a leap to Paris. That alter ego of hers pushed her along with the help of a mysterious, smirky Willem, which led to this one impulsive, out of character day.

Allyson was a very passionate character. The reader feels this character blossom in every page- the rattling of Allyson’s nerves, her confidence radiating at acknowledgement, her hope, her despair.

And there's the guy Willem. He made my breath catch. The dude seriously had words of wisdom that charmed me to kingdom come. He's like a saint of characteristics, or something. He's also a dang tease with that smile, dammit! I want to be that coin in his pocket. Plus, he was full of mystery and free spirit—but I think that was to escape his own reality.

In Just One Day, Allyson experiences so many feelings from freedom to intimacy to abandonment. After a battle with depression, and a little help from Shakespeare and some friends, she reflects and regains herself in just one year. Gosh, I can see so much of myself at a younger point in my life in this girl.

GF leaves us with an ending that will leave you drooling for more. So be prepared!

The cover of this book fit the story magnificently. If you are looking for a read that will magnify how fate can happen in Just One Day ← well then- there you go.

Just One Day was a beautifully told story that will stay with you. Forever and a day.

Find Just One Day by Gayle Forman on Goodreads

Purchase Just One Day by Gayle Forman on B&N, Amazon, Book Depository

KIMBERLY