Just One Year
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Children's
Date Published: October 13, 2013
Kindle version
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.
My Thoughts:
As I mentioned previously, I did not love Just One Day, however, there was so much build-up in it. And with that cliffhanger? Well, I had to find out what was going to happen next.
I was a little leery when I discovered that Just One Year was told from Willem's point of view. I'm not really a Willem fan, however, he really had some explaining to do, and I wanted to hear it. Plus, I wanted to know who this guy really was! On a side note: I really enjoyed Gayle Forman's book, Where She Went, which was told from a guy's point of view, and she has a real talent for that, so I thought I would keep going and read Willem's story.
While Gayle Forman still did a great job writing from a guys point of view, I still wasn't sure what to think about Willem. I did like him a little more once I found out what he had gone through. I don't know that it warranted being so secretive with Allyson, especially since he had felt such a deep connection with her. Deep enough that he still thought about her for months afterwards. A fair part of this book was about his, uh..."activities", and that didn't make me love him either. At the same time, I enjoyed reading about his adventures abroad, as well as learning a little bit about The Netherlands. I was also happy to see his personal growth.
I felt like this book seemed to stretch and I kept waiting until the part where book one left off. I just kept wanting to get to that part, and was getting really anxious. When we finally did, the book just...ended. It was shocking to be honest. I know some authors want part of the story to be left to the imagination of the reader, but in this case, I cannot understand why this author did that? To build all of this tension and suspense, and then just stop, without a resolution? It felt incomplete. If I did not know that there was a short story waiting to be read, I would have been so disappointed and pissed off!
I wasn't sure how to rate Just One Year, and debated it for awhile. While I liked hearing about Willem's growth and adventures, the ending just killed it for me. I am so grateful for Just One Night, but feel it should have already been a part of Just One Year, as and epilogue.
3-3.5 Stars
Just One Night
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Children's Books
Date Published: May 29, 2014
(I decided not to add the synopsis here, because it was very spoilery, and I don't want to ruin anything, folks).
I just want to say, Thank You, Gayle Forman. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I really feel for the people who read this in 2013, and didn't have this little gem. I don't want to give anything away, but I just wanted to say that the author did a great job wrapping everything up, and it was all that I could hope for. Well, I did want to see Dee again, but hey. ;)
4 Stars
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