Just One Year (Just One Day)

by Gayle Forman

[Angie]

First of all, the description for Just One Year is a liar. It does not in fact, pick up where Just One Day ended. It happens concurrently, picking up after Willem left Allyson in that squat. His story definitely doesn't start off how I imagined it would, and at first I was very annoyed. Memory loss? Really?! Yes, he was beat up, suffered a concussion and spent all morning in the hospital, but that is sooo soap opera! I could not believe what I was reading! But of course, Willem's memory does come back and he immediately starts looking for Allyson (I just cannot bring myself to call her Lulu, that's my puppy!) who is obviously gone thinking she was ditched. Then we get to see what happened throughout the next year when the two are searching for each other.

After that initial chapter, I did settle into Just One Year and really enjoyed it. Just like Allyson, Willem compiles everything he knows about her and uses it to try to track her down. He starts with her suitcase that she left behind, leaving her a note, in hopes that she'll retrieve her luggage. This totally made me inwardly scream, since of course she does, but doesn't find his notes! Ah! Even worse was when he remembered her family spends the holidays in Mexico and he's there and she's there and they miss each other! Nice touch with that sandwich joke though! So many near misses and coincidences! It drove me nuts, but in a good way!

Then Just One Year ends exactly where Allyson's story ended, but we get one little tidbit to tack onto the conclusion of their story. It's not a definitive statement, but I found it satisfying all the same. I'd like to image things went in one direction from that point, but it's equally possible that it went somewhere else entirely, which I would also be okay with. I love that kind of ending. It's open, but not so wide that you can't imagine the possibilities.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.