If the phrases “emotional rollercoaster” and “wanderlust” appeal to you, keep reading.
Just One Day and Just One Year by Gayle Forman make up a duology that took me quite some time to finish. Mostly because the end of Just One Day broke my little book-heart to pieces.
This series is about Allyson and Willem, who embark on a spontaneous adventure through Paris…for one whirlwind of a day. And things go really super well and everything is wonderful and then…something happens. And for one year, they are apart. The first book follows their one day together and the following year from Allyson’s perspective. The second follows the following year from Willem’s perspective. As a reader, you MUST read both (in my opinion) to get the full effect of their lovely story.
First thing I’ll say: I loved the writing in these books. I have read a lot of books (read: some might say too many… and to them I say hush), and a very small number of them have been as immersive as these. I could, and did, read these for hours on end and not notice time pass. Gayle Forman drew me in from page one. I greatly enjoy the idea of traveling, and this series has amplified that desire. I couldn’t get enough. And when the first book ended…
*deep breath*
The cliff hanger. Sort-of-cliff-hanger. I don’t know what to call it, but it left me excited and scared to pick up the next one. My biggest fear was that the little question at the end of the first book wasn’t going to be answered in the second and it would end at the same question and I would have no idea what to do with myself other than curl in a ball and question Gayle Forman’s quest to destroy her readers. I speak in run-on sentences sometimes.
I loved these books. The characters were wonderfully flawed and their love story was unexpected and took twists and turns and loop-de-loops that gave me the best kind of literary motion sickness.
I give these books an easy 4.5 out of 5 stars (losing the half a star for some inappropriateness that I personally think is uncomfortable).
Wishing you all double happiness. Read these books and smile when you get my reference.
Happy reading!
>Megan
Ink and Imagination 