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Just One Day (Just One Day, #1)

Gayle Forman

Start date: May 1, 2014

Finish date: May 31, 2014

Discussion: Group Read

Discussion leader: Brittany

Why we're reading this: Contemporary BotM
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December's Book of the Month: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
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last updated Dec 06, 2014 07:58PM

December's Book of the Month: Where She Went by Gayle Forman
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last updated Dec 06, 2014 06:03PM

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What Members Thought

Apr 22, 2015 Simmaron rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, reviews-on-blog

I'm actually confused about what words would be most suitable to describe this book.
Gaye Forman though didn't disappoint in her writing style and in the way she described all the characters and their emotions.
The book revolves around Allyson Healey, an uptight, scared girl who is afraid to take risks and prefer to play by the rules. I've used the word Scared here for her not Coward because that she's surely not. She's scared to take risks but not coward to back out of the situations. She's the I'm actually confused about what words would be most suitable to describe this book.
Gaye Forman though didn't disappoint in her writing style and in the way she described all the characters and their emotions.
The book revolves around Allyson Healey, an uptight, scared girl who is afraid to take risks and prefer to play by the rules. I've used the word Scared here for her not Coward because that she's surely not. She's scared to take risks but not coward to back out of the situations. She's the sort of girl who if believes in herself and gives her life an actual chance by saying Yes to things then might be able to discover her true self. Being an only child of her parents, a lot is expected from Allyson, but what does she expects from herself she barely knows. After graduating from high school she is gifted a tour package to Europe by her parents which she's afraid to go to because of her overprotective childhood. Though by the end of the tour she meets a Guy (Yeah, right. There's always a guy.) who apparently changes her opinion about things and helps her to look at her own life by a totally new point of view. She meets Willem, "The Guy" on the last day of her tour. It was fate, miracle or an "Accident" as how he says or merely a coincidence, is hard to say. But that so called "Accident" of meeting him intrigued her for the first time and made her go against the rules which she set up for her own life. That one day which she spends with Willem in Paris changes her whole outlook towards people, her own life and about travelling and gave her a new identity. In that one day she experienced the adventures worth remembering for a lifetime, she felt the turmoil of emotions which she didn't know was suppressed inside the core of her.
People say that one person can change your life and this book does justice to that phrase. I don't know what happens to Willem since this book is written from Allyson's POV. After spending that one day together they part their ways. It might seem sad or depressing to many people but I don't agree with that. If they'd have been together for that one year, after that one day then she might not have been able to discover her own adventure, meet new people and new friends. That one year helped her cope up with situations on her own rather be dependent on her own parents. That one year made her bold enough to face life as it comes and say "Yes" to things and her life. Sometimes the people who know us less, understands us more. This book also covers the important issues of parenting.
The author keeps up with the standards of her other books. And it would surprise you that how you could feel so many things in just few hundred pages. Enchanting tale of adventure, wanderlust, independency, discovering and about believing in "Accidents".
There are many questions unanswered so I'll read "Just One Year" that is written from Willem's POV. ...more

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Sep 12, 2014 Harmony rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-stars

I will not lie.

I expected more from this book. This just wasn't my cup of tea. I give Just One Day a solid three stars. It was simply okay, at times it piqued my interest but for the most part it was bland. It felt like I was eating a stale piece of bread, tough to get through but rewarding in the end. ...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Marijoe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: goat-favourites, young-adult, best-series

Once again, I see the familiar element of family, friendship and romance in this another enthralling novel of Gayle Forman. But she added other formulas that will easily draw you in to the story: travel, adventure, Shakespeare and the notion of getting lost and being found. This is a story that tells about Allyson’s self-discovery and her quest of finding the guy who changed the way she sees herself and her life in just one day.

Forman’s If I Stay is rich with music as Just One Day is with litera Once again, I see the familiar element of family, friendship and romance in this another enthralling novel of Gayle Forman. But she added other formulas that will easily draw you in to the story: travel, adventure, Shakespeare and the notion of getting lost and being found. This is a story that tells about Allyson’s self-discovery and her quest of finding the guy who changed the way she sees herself and her life in just one day.

Forman’s If I Stay is rich with music as Just One Day is with literature. Apart from the notion of ‘Anything can happen/change in just one day', another factor that piques my curiosity is the introduction with Shakespeare’s As You Like It. I’m an avid fan of Shakespeare and his plays being quoted or used in contemporary novels always intrigues me; and prior to As You Like It in this story, it only heightened my excitement as to what kind of romance this story has to unravel.

Shakespeare's plays are one of the many variants that take responsibility for the romance that sparks between Allyson and Willem. His plays and characters weave their way through Allyson and Willem’s life story revealing their characteristics and different perspectives in life.

Just One Day sets in different countries but its European setting will mainly burn your desire for a eurotrip. It will give readers a buoyant mood with its every mention of its rich culture. I also found humor at the expense of revealing of some comical differences between american and european culture.

Forman, once again, used her talent at tugging the heart of her readers with a vivid and emotional depiction of how most of teenagers and young adults deal with their parents. Prior to this and her novel If I Stay, she made sure that her stories don’t only revolve around the protagonists but also focus on the significant people around them.

The story ended the way I did not expect nor suspect; I think that’s what Gayle Forman always does--she puts you on the edge of your seat and anticipates you with this kind of ending. You will surely jump right into this book’s companion novel. I love the story, kudos to Gayle Forman! ...more

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Jun 22, 2014 Brooke ♥booklife4life♥ rated it liked it

Shelves: girl-pov, compeleted-series, read-in-2014, read-as-ebook

Title: Just One Day (Just One Day #1)

Author: Gayle Forman

Format: E-Book

Time to Read: 10 Days...

My Review: ugh. i think i just didn't want to read a love story at this point it time. i just couldn't get into this book, i keep putting it down to read something else. it wasn't a bad book but it just didn't live up to If I Stay and i just was crushed. most of the stuff that happens wouldn't have happen for reals to anyone ever. she was acting like a freaking b word 13 yr old though out most of the b ...more

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