Just One Day (Just One Day #1) by: Gayle Forman

Title: Just One Day (Just One Day #1)
Author: Gayle Forman
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Shelves: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Recommended for Fans Of: Sarah Dessen, Elizabeth Eulberg, Sara Ockler

Synopsis: Allison Healey has always been plain and average. Living in the shadowed expectations of her parents, Allison has never been one for extemporaneous decisions. On a summer trip in the United Kingdom, she meets the one boy who will change her life forever. The complete opposite of Allison, Willem is spontaneous and when he whisks Allison, now also know as Lulu, away to Paris for a day, their lives and all their mistakes and heartbreaks crash into each other as they find out that anything can happen in just one day. 

Review: You know those types of books, the books where you just want to read it while sipping tea and sitting on a beach, watching the sunset? Well this is one of those books. Gayle Forman is honestly incomparable. The beautiful language she uses in this novel is astounding, and Allison's thoughts transform from "teenage opinions" to "goddess storyteller" with a wave of Gayle's magic wand. So I found myself sitting in a quiet coffee shop directly across from a glass window view of a brilliant sunset. And I have to say, absolute serenity is the key to Just One Day.

Characters: Allison is a very relatable character. She was weak and vulnerable, but when the occasion arose, she suddenly possessed the kind of strength every girl wishes they have when it comes to love. Granted, she wasn't perfect, but no teenage girl really ever is. Willem, however, was the only reason I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars, instead of a perfect rating. He seemed to care less about Allison than she did about him. I found it a little hypocritical of him, acting like he knew much more than his generation, when all he did was act like a typical male.

Setting: Oh Paris. *sigh* The destination of every girls' dream. And yet Gayle managed to show a different side to it. For the first time, I realized that to experience the genuine Paris, one has to dig down deep to find it. I love how Gayle also manages to relate the backdrop of Paris to her characters too.

Plot/Storyline: I was uncomfortable with the storyline because it broke my heart. Being in a foreign country by yourself is scary, but then paired with the feeling of abandonment and confusion, would be something that might scar a young girl forever. I wished that there was something I could have done to help Lulu and Willem at those moments that they both became lost.

Conclusion: Sensitive, poignant and bittersweet, Gayle Forman's Just One Day will whisk you away on a journey of love, and loss, and most importantly, faith.

xoxo,
Fiction_TheNewReality