Goodreads Synopsis: When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of "Twelfth Night" in England, there's an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left.
Over the course of the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.
My Confession: I posted a few weeks ago about the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon sponsored by Penguin Teen in honor of this book. Did any of you read Just One Day in just one day? Gotta love that. Well, I did - and I must say, this book was worth every ounce of hype it generated. It's that good. I can sum up my love for this book in three parts: The Boy, The Best Friend, and The Trip.
The Boy. Willem, oh Willem. Forman has a unique way of writing male characters that are utterly refreshing, relatable, and enigmatic (much like If I Stay's Adam). We only meet Willem for a brief moment in the grand scheme of this story, but just like Allyson, we're left reeling from our encounter with this simultaneously carefree and dark Dutch boy. The way he and Allyson interact - like they're two halves of the same whole, from their conversations to the quiet, contemplative looks they exchange - is pure magic. It's the real-life romance that everyone craves, with just enough grit to remind you that this isn't a fairytale. In just one day, we're equally convinced that Willem belongs with Allyson, and she with him. His disappearance is throtteling, and I felt my heart break with Allyson's. But the question of what happened lingers, and you know in your gut that something must have gone very wrong. And you're left wondering just what that could have been.
The Best Friend. Having Willem disappear from Allyson's life and from the second half of the novel would have been an epic disaster if it weren't for Dee, a flambouyant and fabulous college coed who Allyson befriends in a Shakespeare class during her freshman year. Dee is the kind of supporting character who deserves a spin-off, his own chance to tell his story. Sweet, shy, cookie-cutter people-pleaser Allyson gets thrown out of her shell by Dee, who forces her to confront the issues she's suppressed for years. He opens her eyes to everything she could be. She pushes him away - he pushes back. Their friendship runs deep and begins to heal the fractured mess of emotions that Willem's disappearance created. And Dee is hilarious. He's wise. He's the wake-up slap Allyson so desperately needed. He's a character to remember.
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| One of my favorite Dee and Allyson moments. |
The Trip. Europe. France. Paris. If you can get through this story without wanting to jump on an airplane and book it across the Atlantic - congratulations. Your wallet is probably a lot thicker than mine. The setting, the scenery, the little detailed descriptions of cobbled side streets and grand architecture, turns Paris into the third main character. Every lovely word used to bring this romantic city to life felt like it was chosen with the most careful precision. It's the kind of place that could make even the harshest cynic believe in miracles. And, at the end of the day, Forman's gorgeous writing accomplishes what every great story tries to instill in its readers: hope.
My Recommendation: For heaven's sake, read this book. There was a very deep, unsettled part of me that could relate to Allyson and her Type-A mannerisms, her aching need to please everyone but herself, and her dubious but profound love for someone who finally took a chance on her. But this isn't a story about true love and Willem - it's a story about realizing what you want for yourself and allowing the happiness you know can exist when you let yourself be. That's why it's so powerful, and that's why everyone will be scrambling for Just One Year, Willem's take on his year without Allyson, when it releases in the fall. At the deepest root of human nature, we want to be able to believe in ourselves, so much more than needing someone else to provide that validation. And Just One Day taps into the Allyson within all of us - bringing us to the ledge of despair and then showing just what we're all capable of when we least expect it.
Rating: 5/5
368 pages, published by Dutton Juvenile (Jan. 8, 2013)
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