March 05, 2018

Review: Just One Night by Gayle Forman

Just One Night (Just One Day #2.5)
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Children's
Publication Date: May 29, 2014
Pages: 55
Format: Kindle Book

After spending one life-changing day in Paris with laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter, sheltered American good girl Allyson “Lulu” Healey discovered her new lover had disappeared without a trace. Just One Day followed Allyson’s quest to reunite with Willem; Just One Year chronicled the pair’s year apart from Willem’s perspective. Now, back together at last, this delectable e-novella reveals the couple’s final chapter.

Review: I really enjoyed reading about Allyson & Willem's reunion! It was so sweet seeing them reconnect. Especially as they got to talking about what happened to each other over the previous year. Neither really realized the other was like seriously hardcore searching for the other. Willem knew about the letter Allyson sent eventually, but that was about it. They never really realized the other was genuinely searching. Its even more sad that they found out they had been at the same New Year's party in Mexico but never found each other there. It's like you really wish they had so we could have got more to their story besides a short novella. 

I loved how it seemed like they had never been apart in the first place. You can see the genuine love these two share for each other once they are back together. I love how they filled in the missing pieces of each others stories. I love how they had to get all their friends together with them once they reunited since so many people had played a part in helping them find their way back to each other. The only thing I really wish was that this was longer. At the end Allyson agrees to stay in Amsterdam with Willem longer than she was planning since she still had time before she had to fly back to the US for her next semester of college starting. Why couldn't we get more of what happens during those weeks!?!?!?! Gahhh!!!

There is one thing though, and its one thing I agree with so many others about with this book. Willem's sudden foot fetish. Honestly, it was a bit weird. Like this fetish was never even remotely mentioned in the other books. I just found it so distracting reading this. Like everything sounded normal then suddenly there's an inserted foot fetish sentence. I'm sorry, the foot thing is weird!!! But other than that, I found the rest of the book fine. 

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March 04, 2018

Review: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Just One Year (Just One Day #2)
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton BYR
Publication Date: October 10, 2013
Pages: 323
Format: Hardcover/Own

Just One Day. Just One Year. Just One Read.

Before you find out how their story ends, remember how it began....

When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . .

The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents that happen—and the happiness we can find when the two intersect.

Review: I really liked this book, however, I still like Just One Day slightly more. I really did like seeing Willem's side of the story though. We really see him change and grow throughout his story. We also see some amazing things happen in his life. 

After the events in Paris, Willem seems lost. He doesn't realize exactly why he feels so down and lost for a while. He just tries going on with his life like he used to. Finding and sleeping with other girls. Going on his adventures and trying to lose himself in them. But he really struggles through this. No matter what he does, he just feels like its not what he wants, like there's something missing from his life. Eventually, he decides to make some of his adventures going looking for Allyson. While this doesn't prove fruitful, he does meet another woman, who ends up becoming a good friend for him and eventually opens up a huge opportunity for him in the end with his acting. Had he never went to Mexico to look for Allyson, and then went adventuring, he never would have met the person who would open up acting opportunities in the US for him. 

I think this lost feeling was also good for him regarding his family. We know his dad died and his mom just disappeared to India and he didn't really talk much to anyone else. After getting lost and sick in Mexico however, he finally goes to India to see his mother. And while it starts off pretty rocky and bad, eventually they come to have a heart to heart. He opens up to his mom about Allyson and Paris and his mom completely lets her guard down. She cries because the story reminds her of her and his dad. She completely understands her son and this heart to heart finally changes the dynamic of their relationship. Eventually Willem goes home and lives with his uncle, who he finds out is having a baby. His family is expanding. This too makes Willem really think about his family and how he wants things to be going forward. 

Near the end of the book he ends up in a play. He started out as the potential replacement to actually having to replace the main actor and take on the lead of the show. This is actually what leads him to get into contact with Kate, the woman he met in Mexico and seriously considering joining her acting troupe in the US, which is another life changing idea. 

The ending, this was the only thing that really bugged me. It ended in the same exact way Just One Day ended, but from Willem's perspective. Instead of us seeing Allyson find his flat and knock on the door to find him, we see it from Willem opening the door of the flat to seeing Allyson standing there. It was the exact same ending but from the other perspective. I was really hoping we would have got more than that. I felt a bit let down by the ending even though of course it was still a happy ending. I feel like this really is what is keeping me from giving this book 5 stars. 

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March 12, 2013

Giveaway: Signed Copy of Just One Day by Gayle Forman

So yesterday I went to the Tucson Festival of Books! I got to meet some awesome authors, and one of those awesome authors was Gayle Forman! So Just One Day is my favorite book of the year so far and since Gayle Forman was at the festival I decided to buy two copies to get one signed for a giveaway!!! So I now have a very pretty signed copy of Just One Day to give to one of you lucky people!!!

See!!!!! Isnt it pretty!!!

So I'm giving away the pretty signed copy of Just One Day and also a pretty Time Between Us bookmark that I got at the festival as well!

Giveaway Rules:

• US Only 
• Giveaway runs from 3/12-3/28
• 1 Winner
• Winner will have 48 hour to respond to email

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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February 20, 2013

Waiting On Wednesday [#76]

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

Just One Year (Just One Day #2) 
Author: Gayle Forman
Expected Publication: October 2013

Companion to JUST ONE DAY. It will be in Willem's POV.

"Can you fall in love in just one day? Can you become a new person? How about in just one year? In JUST ONE DAY and its companion novel JUST ONE YEAR, sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey and easygoing actor Willem De Ruiter are about to find out against a guidebook-worthy array of foreign backdrops. Equal parts romance, coming-of-age-tale, mystery and travel romp (with settings that span from England’s Stratford upon Avon to Paris to Amsterdam to India’s Bollywood) JUST ONE DAY and JUST ONE YEAR show how in looking for someone else, you just might wind up finding yourself."

So thats all there is about it on Goodreads so far, but man... I AM SO FREAKING UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED FOR THIS!!!!!!!!! I read Just One Day last week and absolutely loved it!!! And guess what!!! This cover was just revealed today!!!! (Good thing I waited a little longer to post my WoW today). I like the cover! Can this hurry up and come out???? I need it like now!!!! 

What are you waiting on this week???

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February 14, 2013

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day (Just One Day #1)
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: January 8, 2013
Pages: 368
Source: Hardcover/Library

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay
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.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

Review: I totally don't think I'm gonna do this book justice with this review, but I'll try. Lol. This is my favorite read of the year so far, and definitely my favorite contemporary so far (it's gonna take another mind-blowingly awesome book to kick this out of #1 contemp of 2013). So first of all, I'd like to point out that this book starts out in Europe and ends in Europe. I love Europe. I also loved that the main place in this book (besides Allyson's home in the US) was Paris. Everyone in their right mind knows I love Paris. But I also love Europe in general so it was awesome seeing Allyson in places like London and Amsterdam. It was awesome seeing someone around my age just going places in Europe, without being stuck in just one place. That made this book so much fun to read! I also got to learn a bunch of french in this book so that was pretty cool too! (If any of you know, I really like French and really hope to learn the language and speak it fluently.)

Now, onto Allyson and Willem's fun day in Paris. First of all, I totally don't condone getting on a train with a stranger and going to a different city than the one your supposed to be in... But hey. If thats your type of thing I'm totally not gonna stop you! I really thought this trip to Paris was cool. In so many ways. First of all, hot guy. Who wouldn't want to be wandering around Paris with a hot guy??? Second of all, they didn't plan their day. They just let things happen at will. I thought that was really cool. I mean if I went to a foreign country I would probably have a list of places I wanted to see, but I think I'd rather let things happen and have more of an experience than just a list I have to complete. I also thought it was really cool that Willem paid for a bunch of stuff for Allyson (LuLu) even though he didn't have to. They also just kinda got to know each other in their own way. They would open up about certain things, and just really talk even though they had only met each other hours before. I definitely don't think I could do that with a stranger. I don't know though, I could sense there was something between them. I mean Allyson was pretty open with her feelings but Willem... I really couldn't get a read on his feelings. So I really didn't know what to think of him when he just left her all alone. I wanted to hate him, but I felt like I shouldn't because we didn't know why he left her or if he tried to get back to her. But anyways. I thought this whole sudden trip to Paris with Willem was really cool though. Allyson really jumped out of her comfort zone to do this and it really ended up changing her life. I wish I could jump out of my comfort zone like that. I mean, I have jumped out of it recently, but nothing drastic like that. I kinda look up to her a little bit in that respect in having faith to just do it instead of chickening out or worrying about all that could go wrong. 

I really felt for Allyson when she went home, because I have totally been in the shoes she was in. She had no idea why Willem left her and she was pretty in love with the guy. I've been there. So I really understood her depression in the first few months of college, because I've been there (minus the college). Not to mention, she was studying something she didn't even want to study. Being a doctor was always her moms dream and her mom pretty much forced it on her. So I can see why she was also bombing her classes first semester. Its hard to be enthusiastic about classes you don't wanna be in. I was so glad when she changed her schedule second semester to something she liked more. I was also happy that Allyson made new friends once she let herself come out of the whole she had dug herself into. I didn't like however though that her parents blew up on her for it just because she wasn't studying what they wanted her to study. I was proud of Allyson for standing up to them though. Her mom seriously tried controlling every aspect of her life and if I was suffocated like she was I would probably end up doing the same thing. Its her life, not her parents, she should be able to study what she wants and do what she wants with her life. Shes an adult and can make adult decisions. I definitely though the Shakespeare class and the French class she took during the summer were really good for her. Those things really helped her find herself. Especially when she decided to look for him and went back to Paris to try and find him. I really feel like that was a big part of her finding herself. She needed to find him, to know what happened, but she also learned a lot about herself, changed herself to be like the girl she wanted to be, not her parents wanted her to be, and really just opened herself up to new experiences she never would have experienced before if she didn't find herself through this whole thing. I am definitely looking forward to Just One Year (Willem's story), especially with the ending of Allyson finding him. I need to know what happens after that. We better find out!

This was such a good book about love, stepping out of your comfort zone and finding yourself!

5 Stars!

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