Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Title: JUST ONE DAY
Authors: Gayle Forman
Publisher: SPEAK (An imprint of Penguin Group Inc.)
First published in the USA by Dutton Books, 2013
Publication date: August 2013
Page: 369
ISBN: 978-0-14-242295-3
Price: Rp 292.000 (Periplus Online)
Rating: 4/5

ALLYSON Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase-packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she's not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: twenty-four-hours that will transform Allyson's life. A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the "accidents" of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost... and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.

"We are born in one day. We die in one day.

We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day.

Anything can happen in just one day."

It took few months for me to finally finish this book. Boring? Yeah, but not entirely because I'm sober enough to give it 4/5 stars. I spotted this book on The Bookie Looker. It seemed enchanting out of all the beautiful things on that blog. So, I bought it trough Periplus Online, which is one of my book shopping solution. Since I'm a member, I always get discount 15% or more ;) Other than the book's outer look, I've heard so many praises of Gayle Forman's works. I've read If I Stay and Where She Went in a day without a break (except went to shower, had a drink and food) and I love them! Well, I like the first book better. That was why I had no doubt to purchase Just One Day.

Image by TRAVELFREAK.COM

Some people say that they can't connect with Allyson character. Some people say that Allyson's life is related to them. But for me, reading this book is like reading a friend's story on her blog. Allyson's life makes me so envy. She has good grades and her parents are generous. Europe trip for a graduation gift? That is something unusual in here, especially in my family. We don't do gift for grad. We just do a so-not-big feast at a so-not-fancy restaurant and that's it. I believe high school is so much easier in my country. When Allyson and Melanie (the best friend from childhood) arrived at London, Allyson decided to go on a just one day trip to Paris with the Dutch boy named Willem (I don't get the name). That's where the story begin...

FYI, one of my goals in life is travelling around the world. That is why I was super duper excited to read the part where Willem shows Allyson about Paris. I somehow could picture every details of it. I took French class though last semester. But the lecture was suck and I have to learn from the very basic from Duolingo (an app on iPad). The way Forman describes Paris is something that I'm always looking on travel blogs. Unfortunately, the great descriptions are not match with the story. I mean, the plot is not that exciting as Paris. I got bored and had postponed my reading. Just few weeks ago, I started to read this book from right where I had left them, the sleep together part. Yep, I've read some blogs that say it's unrealistic. How can she sleep and fall in love so deeply with a guy she just met? Well, I believe in so many things, including love at the first sight. Meeting a guy who is flirting all the time, making you as his queen, and playing nicey nice, HOW CAN YOU NOT FALL FOR THAT?? But, the chemistry between them, that what I'm missing.

That one day turned out to be an incident. Willem left at the morning and Allyson went back to London, crying. The story moves faster to when Allyson is already in college, living a miserable life. She doesn't make good grades as she used to. She doesn't have friends. She doesn't even talk to her roommates! Except for "Is this your shock?" What kind of life is that? If I'm to criticize Allyson, I hate her. I hate her for being so weak. But, I enjoyed this part because of people who are surrounding her, the gay friend Dee, the roommates Kali, the boss Babs, and the tourist Wren. Taylor Swift's newest song echoes in my head when I imagine them: "The rest of the world was black and white, but (they) were in screaming color." Yes, those characters put various colors in Allyson's gloomy life. I don't know if any people pay attention to them. But I value friends more than anything, yet I just have several friends that I'm not sure I can depend on in real life.

Things are getting intense when Allyson go to Paris once again in order to find Willem. I can't tell you more about this. But trust me, it'd worth your time ;) If you are already in progress in reading this book and feel bored, DON'T GIVE UP! Just be patient. At the end, you'd be screaming. Trust me, you'd hate Forman for hanging you. Ask my roommate if you don't believe me lol. I screamed and grumbled about the ending. Damn you, Forman! Now I feel bad for not buying Just One Year in one bill. Well, I can't give a bad rating for the not-so-unique plot. Because I'm so excited with the travelling part in Paris and the supporting characters. So, if you're Forman's fans, of course this is a must read. But, if you're looking for a more complicated story or non-mainstream story, I won't recommend this to you.