Title: Just One DayAuthor: Gayle Forman
Published January 8th 2013 by Dutton Juvenile
Contemporary YA
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Sometimes you just don't like the main character. Sometimes they
just rub you the wrong way. But sometimes it doesn’t matter that much because you
can still like the book.
Allyson and I are simply incompatible. She's running away from
everything that I am: a med student, a girl who doesn't let her emotions get in
the way, someone who would never ditch the Louvre to go in a boat ride. Maybe
it’s only me, but I was kind of offended by everything she said and did.
So because Allyson is such a huge part of the story, it made it
kind of impossible for me to enjoy a big portion of the book. However, it was
good to watch her grow and stop being so self-centered. I have to say that to
me, obsessing over a boy you knew for one day to the point that you start
failing your classes and stop making friends, that was just pathetic, too Bella
Swan for my liking. But I am the first to admit there have to be girls out
there who see that in another light, maybe even romantic, and who am I to judge?
The only redeeming thing about Allyson was that she kind of let
lose by the end of the book. When she goes back to Paris, one year after she
met Willem, she is a whole new person. And I liked her much more, even though I
still thought going back to Paris to look for a boy you met one day was stupid.
Now, Willem. What can I say about him except that he wasn’t even
that talkative. In every paragraph Allyson states that he’s laughing and
smiling and being awesome and I was uninspired. Don’t get me wrong, he was a
cute guy who had a deep, awesome conversation about falling in love and being
in love, but it was just one
conversation. I couldn’t fall in love with him because there was so little to
fall in love with.
I ended up not hating the book only because it had gorgeous
descriptions of the setting, and the writing was flawless, but I thought it did nothing to stand out from the ever-growing pile of travel-and-find-yourself-in-the-process
books, and I’m not sure I want to know more about the story or the characters.
Bummer! I'm really looking forward to this one. Allyson might not bother me as much but I can understand how sometimes some characters just don't mesh with you. Interesting that she spends one day with him and then goes back to Paris to find him. I can't totally think that it is crazy since I met a guy on a cruise for a week and for years since then we have kept in touch and visited each other across the country. But I'm still stuck feeling like it would be stupid to move across the country for a boy so here I stay for now.
ReplyDeleteThat's actually awesome because you guys kept in touch, but Allyson didn't even know his last name much less his email. But then again, she was in love and love makes people lose their minds, so I can understand but I don't really approve you know? I just hope young girls across the country don't start following her example, I mean it could happen but it not always does :)
DeleteI really struggled with Allyson as well for the exact reasons you listed. I'm a lot more like you! I also got so tired of her moping but at least the book picked up when Del appeared-he was fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHmm. Well, I'm glad you didn't hate it. LOL I think I'm definitely going to pass on this one.
ReplyDelete