Just One Day (Just One Day)

by Gayle Forman

[Chelsea]

Thoughts When I Finished:

Disappointment was my first emotion. There was a lot of hype surrounding this book and I knew I’d be at least a little disappointed but I ended up really not liking this book.

What I Loved:

Not much to be honest. I think the only part I liked was the beginning. Allyson meets a cute boy and sneaks off to visit a city in one day. It seems cook right? It was! The book felt so promising after that beginning that I was forgetting about how I didn’t like the main character. It was spontaneous and cute and I was very interested.

I will give a point to the author for being a good writer though. Her writing was very nice and flowed smoothly.

What I Didn’t Like:

I couldn’t stand the main character, Allyson. Everything she did and said annoyed me to death. I couldn’t get past how much I didn’t like her and it made the book worse for me. I found that even though she was trying to be adventurous and spontaneous when she goes to Paris, all she ever does while she’s there is question herself and the boy and her decisions. I got tired of listening to all her little insecurities, which I know we all have, but come on. Even when she goes back home she’s unhappy and does nothing to change it. She doesn’t like her classes that her mom told her to take? Great then grow up and pick your own classes. It just drove me insane. I’m sure a lot of people can relate to her but I think my personalty is just so different from hers that I could never like her.

I found the plot to be a little weird. The beginning was great and all this stuff was happening and then…she goes homes. It felt like the plot buildup was at the start instead of the end where it normally is. I think this is mostly why the book fell flat for me. We were in Paris and having a good time and then all of a sudden back to the US with no questions answered. It felt like the book was almost finished and then restarted.

Who I’d recommend To:

I don’t think I’d actually recommend this book to anyone. A lot of people seem to love it but if you’re not a big contemporary reader, like myself, then maybe don’t pick this one up.

Quick Review:

While I’m sure there’s a lot of people who would love this book, I was not one of them. It’s hard to read about characters you have a clashing personalty with and that’s not the author’s fault. It was still beautifully written and not too badly paced for a contemporary book. If you’re not a big fan of contemporaries on a good day then maybe you should skip this one. Otherwise give it a shot and maybe you’ll fall in love!