Just One Day

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Just One Day by Gayle Forman (369 pages)
Overview: Allyson's parents think they're giving her the trip of a lifetime, an organized tour through Europe the summer before college with her best friend, Melanie. The trip is going okay, but it certainly isn't spectacular, till the last night when Allyson connects with a mysterious stranger preforming in a Shakespeare production in the park. She thinks this fleeting moment is all she will have till they meet on the train to London, and he offers to take her to Paris for the day before she must fly home. Taking on a new identity, wholly separate from her straight laced, future pre-med existence, she takes him up on his offer.
After the most amazing day, Allyson wakes up alone with no clue what happened to her mysterious lover and flies home distraught. For the rest of the year, she must reconcile what that one day, and how it ended, meant to her and her new view of the world. Through college, new friends, Shakespeare, and Paris, Allyson looks and finds the answers she needs. Overall: 4

 Characters: 4 As a whole, I liked Allyson. She was an interesting narrator to follow, though I did find her, at times, to feel a bit stale or predictable. She's the good girl who's growing out of her old skin into an independent woman separate from her parents or classes. While there were plenty of authentic moments, some fell back on tropes or cliches.
Willem, while a central part of the story is never terribly developed. He's a mystical creature that exists for a day before disappearing into the Parisian morning. His motivations are never terribly clear, and in many ways he's never more than the male version of the manic pixie dream girl trope.
For her friends, Dee is nicely developed and multifaceted. He was actually one of my favorite characters and made the time she spent in college interesting.

Plot: 4 While not terribly realistic, the globe trotting, romance chasing, self discovery story makes for a fun vacation read. There were some slumps that I feel weren't particularly interesting, but, overall, the action moved the story along.

Writing: 4 I thought that Forman did a nice job with this story. Her character and premise was interesting, and she made me feel like I'd been through Europe. The writing was straightforward and simple, though at times a bit wordy. To Buy Now: Click Here
If You Liked This Book...
I See London, I See France: Review Here
Links of Interest:
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter: Review Here
March Book Haul: Review Here
The Serpent King: Review Here
Emergency Contact: Review Here

 *The product link is through the Amazon Associates program so I may receive a portion of the sale at no extra charge to you.*
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