Book Nerds Across America: where she went

Friday, October 18, 2013

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

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!(from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
Okay, I LOVE If I Stay and Where She Went. I LOVE to travel. And so many people LOVE Just One Day that I basically went in thinking it was going to be my new favorite book.

...maybe that was my first mistake. I know I am in the minority here, but I just couldn't connect with this book. I've always had a hard time when I don't like the protagonist or any of the main characters in the story. And I just didn't like Allyson. I understand that she had to start off in one place in order to experience growth over the course of the novel and end up in a better place than where she started. But does that growth have to take forever?! I'm going to be honest -- I didn't make it all the way through the book. I got to page 172 of a 368 page book and she was still hanging on to this thing that happened half a year ago and living a mopey life. She wasn't being at all nice to the people who loved her most -- her parents and her best friend. Still, I can understand. One of my favorite books started off with the character being a complete jerk. (I'm looking at you, Sam Kingston!) But I didn't feel that Allyson was growing at all. She was in the same rut and I just couldn't make myself keep reading to see if she got out of it. I kind of skimmed the second half of the book, and I see that more travel is involved. But even that couldn't motivate me to sit with Allyson any longer.

On the positive side, the actual Day? Pretty cool. I liked that it wasn't the typical touristy Paris that Willem and Allyson did. They just kind of went with the flow and experienced Paris as it was happening to them.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

WOW, Gayle Forman. You really know how to break my heart, but do it so artfully that I'm thinking it's beautiful while it's shattering.

I loved If I Stay so much, and I'd had the foresight to pick up Where She Went from the library, so as soon as I finished the first one, I dove into the second one. Where She Went is told from Adam's point of view. The story takes place three years after the events of If I Stay. Mia wakes up, gets better, and goes to Julliard in the fall as she'd originally planned. But soon after she gets to New York, she simply stops talking to Adam. Now, it's three years later and Adam's band Shooting Star has skyrocketed to phenomenal success...yet, Adam still struggles with the question of Mia and where she went. One night in New York City, their paths cross and...

Adam is a beautiful broken bad boy. I have to admit, I am a sucker for these YA guys! Because they're not really bad -- they're broken. And beautiful. Adam, you can write me enough songs to fill an entire CD anytime you want! Here is my favorite quote in the book:

"Mia's smile is melting chocolate. It's a kick-ass guitar solo. It's everything good in this world."

If you enjoyed If I Stay, then definitely, definitely pick up Where She Went.

~Flo~

*Note: The image above is one of almost 40 "Team Adam" button contenders. Go to Gayle's blog to vote for your favorite.