.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}

Just One Day by Gayle Forman 

By  BookishBearx

So this is my review for Just One Day by Gayle Forman.

The synopsis is as follows:

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 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.

(Disclaimer: I haven’t got my physical copy with me so this synopsis is from Goodreads and may be worded differently to the hard copy.)

So Just One Day is a Young Adult book that is predominantly a romance. I know, I read a romance book. Shocking. Genuinely. It was published in August 2013 by Speak and was Goodread’s Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult fICTION 2013. This book follows an American Teenager who’s life is carefully planned and controlled by her mother. Everything she does is because it is expected of her. After graduating High school, she is sent on a trip of a lifetime. A European tour with her best friend. What should be a fun, amazing experience for her turns out to be the opposite, until she meets a man performing Shakespeare in an English Park. Due to Accidents, she meets him again on the train and they engage on a unplanned, whirlwind day in Paris. They fall in love, mean to be or not to be? That’s the question.

I love this book. It is the first book of three and it is genuinely such a lovely read. I am not one for romance, but for me even it is so easy to read and to love. It isn’t overly cringe-worthy like some romances can be, its so well written and quite natural in how things develop. It doesn’t feel overdone, or cheesy. Forman does a great job and making this story epic and strong rather than a guilty pleasure. The characters are great too. They feel like they have a lot of depth too them, and it is so easy to relate to them.

There are times where the characters frustrate me, but that’s more because you are rooting for them and less because of character flaws. You find yourself invested in their journeys and their happiness from the very beginning. I love the way that Forman develops the storylines both generalised and also for the characters individually. The book flows so well and ties up so lovely as well. I can’t fault it.

I’d recommend this book to most people. It is so easy to read, the characters and the stories are refreshing and lovely. It is engaging and entertaining and most importantly for me it isn’t cheesy and cringe-worthy. I started reading the second book straight after and I’m hooked on the series again! I think it will always be a favourite of mine.

Star Rating 5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Subscribe to our newsletter now!