Skip to main content

Review: Just one day by Gayle Forman






When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

My Thoughts


Where do I start with this review? I must admit it seems like I'm in a minority being someone who didn't love it.

For me this book could have been so much more. I loved the first section, the romance, the excitement and the ending left me desperate to read more. So much about what I read I loved. Quite honestly I don't think you could have asked for better when it comes to writing style as the story is beautifully written and therefore makes it a pleasure to read.

However I did find at times I just wasn't engaged. The middle part of the book involves a lot of the main character wallowing in self indulgent misery just because of a boy whom she met completely by chance. She knows very little about him, he abandons her in a foreign country (I'll come back to that) and yet she spends the next few months utterly miserable of someone who seems isn't worth all the grief. I must admit I was also annoyed by the "abandonment" and the way she didn't even try to find out more. She could have left a message with her bag but instead she goes off crying without a backward glance. Surely she could have realised that there must be more to the story??

Will I read the next book? Yes definitely as I need to know what happens next and I need to fill in all the gaps about Wilhelm's story but not a book I loved as much as everyone else seems to.

Comments

Lucy Powrie said…
I've been hearing a lot about this book lately and know that I must read it myself. It does seem interesting and it's something that I would like to try out myself so that I can have my own opinion.
Great review!
You're not completely alone as I also didn't really like this book. I just didn't care for Alyson for most of the book and my interest wasn't piqued until the arrival of Dee.
I haven't read this one yet but it sounds like I'll have the same gripes as you. I will be reading it, but I'm glad I read your review because now my expectations aren't quite as high. :)