Just One Day (Just One Day)

by Gayle Forman

[Sam@WLABB]

Allyson's parents gift her with a Teen Tours! to Europe for her high school graduation. The tour is nothing but disappointing to her UNTIL she meets Willem. She spends one day in Paris with Willlem. One day that was filled with fun, fancy, whimsy, love, lust, fear, desire and ends abruptly with Willem disappearing. It was one day, which changed Allyson. It was one day that she would spend a year trying to figure out.

I cannot lie, I really liked this book. I liked this book for many reasons. It's not just a love story. Willem and Allyson's time together is only the first 30% of the book. Then Allyson returns home to deal with all her feelings and misgivings by herself. This is a story of self discovery, of taking a chance, of conquering fears and learning to live. A year after her one day with Willem, Allyson is not the same girl she was when they met. She has grown and changed in so many ways. Her world has expanded. I got to experience the wanderlust, the friendships and all the beautiful people Allyson met on her way.

I will say, I can see a parallel here to the If I Stay books (which is not a bad thing: I loved those books). This book is written from Allyson's POV and it ends RIGHT when you want to know a whole lot more. I know the second book focuses on Willem and we will get his side of the story (like how Where She Went was from Adam's POV).