Just One Year

JUST ONE YEAR was a very different read for me than JUST ONE DAY and I really contribute that to the fact that it felt much more like a personal journey and much more of a personal struggle for Willem than it had been reading Allyson's story. I feel like the reason for that was that Allyson was going through so many transitions at once -- from high school to college, from Europe to home, from sheltered to wanderer -- whereas Willem, although already a constant traveler, felt much more stuck in his life. He seemed much more lost, unsure of where to go and what to do and was already in the thick of it when he met Allyson. Allyson hadn't realized her life needed a change UNTIL she met Willem so for her, I felt much more of the romantic attachment -- especially since her story changes with the encounter with Willem and Willem's story starts after his meeting with Allyson had already come and gone.Of course I had been dying to hear Willem's side of the story ever since JUST ONE DAY, and I found it really fascinating. Willem's story sort of unfolded much more like a mystery to me. We slowly got to find out the secrets of his past that had shaped his life as well as the way he interacted with Allyson (and the various girls he met in Paris). I really, really appreciated getting to know Willem more and finding out about his family. We knew nothing of his parents except their names in JOD and it was so bittersweet to learn about his relationship with both of them and exactly where that relationship stood at the beginning of JUST ONE YEAR, not to mention how his relationship changed towards the conclusion of the book as well.JUST ONE YEAR wasn't as emotionally moving or particularly as life-changing as JUST ONE DAY had been simply because it was an entirely different journey that we were on. Of course I had identified with Allyson as the "good girl", aiming to please her parents and please others so I just connected more with her journey on a personal level than I had with Willem -- But that's not to say that I didn't feel for Willem because I really did feel his pain, his loneliness, his sense of just feeling a little lost and I appreciated the changes he went through as well.The biggest thing that struck me about JUST ONE YEAR were all those "almost"s -- all the "missed connections" -- and that absolutely killed me. Just to see how close he and Allyson came to crossing paths -- the attempts to find each other and the pure chances were incredibly surprising! But as we know from Allyson's side of the book, they never do end up meeting until her story in JUST ONE DAY concludes, leaving us with Allyson at Willem's front door. To watch all of Willem's attempts to find her or run into her, though, just was so heartbreaking. She really had an impact on him and even though I knew they wouldn't meet up again until that moment, I secretly kept hoping for there to be a chance meeting! ** Strong feels ahead about the ending of this book that may be spoilery if you haven't finished this book yet! Just a kind word of warning :) **So the ending. We already know that the end of JUST ONE DAY ends with Allyson at Willem's door step but we don't know where it goes from there and it takes us a while to get back to that point because obviously we have to find out Willem's side of what happened after he and Allyson separated in Paris. I won't say exactly HOW the book ends, but I cannot write this review and omit the fact at how disappointed I was with it. I want to say I can understand Gayle's choice to end the book like this... But I really can't. (Spoilers on the specifics of the ending below... Do not click if you haven't read the book.)The ending was not an ending for me. We ended up in the exact same spot that we left Allyson with a mere five seconds added on to that scene. I didn't even need that much more. Just maybe... some words? A SINGLE exchange of words? A conversation? To simply end like it did crushed me. Sure, you could infer a lot of what was going to happen but honestly, I need it to be spelled out for me at least a LITTLE bit. I needed a bit more closure. It also makes me a TINY BIT enraged at the cover. I mean, come on...After finishing the book and ending the way it did... I was honestly enraged. I felt let down. Abandoned in the middle of this story. And I HATED that I was mad. I really enjoyed the whole book up until that point and I couldn't believe it ended like that. I legitimately felt a little bit betrayed that I had been so emotionally invested in the ending for these two characters and that was the way we left them. I may have been spoiled by how perfectly WHERE SHE WENT ended because I absolutely loved that whole book, cover to cover, but I didn't quite understand why JUST ONE YEAR had to end like that.I wanted this to be a series I could rave about, shove in the hands of friends, jump up and down with, hug!!!! But the ending left me feeling so confused and emotionally raw -- I had a serious book hangover, but not quite in a good way. I thought about this for HOURS after I finished reading and my feelings have settled a little bit, but I'm still upset with the way this book ended and I can't deny that if affected how I feel about this book as a whole. I will still recommend the read but just a word of warning to the readers that you may be in for shock and rage in the last chapter.

Absolutely perfect. Absolutely beautiful. My words are not enough to give this wonderful book the justice it deserves. This is one of those books that you finish and then just sit with a smile on your face and a deep, resounding sigh of satisfaction. ... And then you turn around and start reading the series again, just so you can capture all of the emotion of this story again.Just One Year tells the story of what was going on in Willem's life during the year that he was separated from Allyson. Typical stories retold with the boys point of view usually just tell the exact same story with a few added scenes thrown in for good measure. They are nice because we get to hear what was going on in the mind of boys we fell in love with in the main story, but they aren't really original. Same story, different viewpoint. This story is not that sort of story. We do not get to revisit the events of Just One Day as they are happening. Instead they are memories for Willem as he pieces together exactly what happened that day as he recovers from the brutal beating that kept him from returning to Allyson that day. Slowly, as his memories come back Willem, who up to this point was a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy, suddenly realizes that this day meant more to him than he knew at the time. He needs to find this girl ... but who is she? He doesn't have a name. He doesn't have an address. He doesn't really know anything about her. But he HAS to find her. Thus begins a year-long journey that takes him all over the world, sometimes actually looking for his Lulu, but really finding himself.This book is not really a book about a one day romance between a guy and a girl. If you are looking to find satisfying romantic moments between Allyson and Willem you will be unhappy with this story. Instead, this is a novel of self-discovery where a man learns to stop running away, and instead learns to embrace life and take from it what he deserves. Willem's journey was absolutely beautiful. There are lots of reasons that he behaves as he did for the events of Just One Day, and seeing him recognize his motivations, face his demons, and overcome the stings of his past made this book so satisfying as a reader.Willem's journeys to find Allyson were so crazy. He was RIGHT THERE so many times. I kept wanting to insert myself into the story so that I could yell out and let him know how close he was to seeing her or getting the information he needed. SO CLOSE. I am so glad that I chose to re-read Just One Day right before I read this story. The events were fresh and I could see how parallel actions were going on in Allyson's and Willem's life at the same time. I really want to re-read the two books again, this time jumping back and forth between the books so I can see how this is happening in real time. Brilliant writing. Absolutely brilliant!You should be warned that you aren't going to find a lot of interaction between Willem and Allyson in this book. If you are looking for a lot of sweetness between the two you will be disappointed. But if you read it as Willem's journey just as Allyson had her journey in the first book, I think you'll find a book that you will enjoy. I know that I did.While Allyson and Willem spend a good portion of Just One Day together, in this book Allyson is gone for almost the entire book. I'm so glad that I already knew that she would find him again because of the events of Just One Day. If I didn't know that I would have been freaking out for so much of this book, wanting to scream at Willem to stay strong and not give up on her yet. She finds him. Finally. And then it is over. Just like in the first book. My only complaint is that I did not want the story to end. I so, so want an epilogue. What happens to these two in the future? Where are they in five years? Ten years? Fifty years? Their story is EPIC, and I want to know more. But I'm being selfish. Truthfully, the ending was perfect, not because it was an ending, but because it was a beginning. And I loved it. So. So. Much. It was a perfect ending to a perfect set of books.And ... Yay for bringing Shakespeare to life! Love that!If you haven't read Just One Day, read that book first. I don't think that it is necessary to know the actions of that book in order to enjoy the story of this one, but it makes the book so much more satisfying when you understand exactly what Willem lost when he left that squat building in Paris and left Allyson behind. After reading this book I am convinced that their story would have had a horrible ending if he had stayed. He needed this year to process things, to understand exactly who he is and what he is capable of. Allyson needed that year as well. Now instead of being a story of a summer fling that went nowhere, this story is now an epic one, just like the love story of Willem's parents. I love everything about it. Five huge stars! This story has already become one of my all-time favorites. Read it!

I first met Willem and Lulu (Allyson) approximately two years ago. I was having an awful flare up with my chronic illness: I couldn’t stay awake; I had intense pain and all I couldn’t leave the house. One thing I could do was read. One book that helped me feel a little bit better was Just One Day by Gayle Forman. I swear, reading the story was what falling in love feels like. It was just gorgeous.Two years later, I read the sequel Just One Year. Whereas Just One Day was told from Lulu’s perspective, in Just One Year we see how Willem felt after their one day together. When I read Just One Day, you could feel just how desperately that Lulu needed to know what had happened, why had Willem just left her? You felt the raw emotion drip off the page so intensely that it was heartbreaking. We have all been there, when someone rocks your world but then having the realisation that the little world in which you are both living is so very fragile; the slightest gust of wind can make everything fall apart. So it was somewhat relieving to known that Willem felt the same way. His search for Lulu also led to a search for self discovery and helped him mend a few emotional bridges.I love a good love a good love story and one thing is for certain is that Gayle Forman knows how to write a good love story. You ache and yearn for these characters to find each other and complete one another. This is the kind of love story that makes you melt and gives you hope.Read this series, read it now!Just One Year by Gayle Forman is available now.Follow Gayle Forman (@gayleforman) via Twitter.

Willem is without doubt my favourite of Gayle Forman's characters. He is strong but fragile, real but also a dreamer, it was a delight to get to know him properly in this book. I think I enjoyed him so much because I am very like him. I have lost someone close to me and felt very lost ever since - never admitting that though. Looking for the kind of love that heals an already broken heart.Just one year is incredible really. There are so many times when Willem and Allyson could have met up, could have found each other but fates and decisions intervened. In the end the pay off is greater though. I honestly spent the whole book praying Willem didn't fall in love with another girl, when in reality it was never about that, he was learning to love himself.Beautiful book and I will treasure this story. It gives me hope that one day I will meet the person who helps to heal my heart.

A great story, amazingly charismatic lead character, and interesting contexts and environments in which to play out Willem’s growing awareness. Tender and sparingly drawn insight into mother/son relationship. Brings real feel good factor to balance out the sorrow and longing. Great read.

Thoroughly enjoyable second book to the trilogy. A n uplifting story of love and self transformation. Gayle Foreman is an excellent writer!

I couldn't stop reading from beginning to end, starting straight after 'just one day' I just wanted to know more about Willem and Allyson's story. A bit long winded in places but well written, beautifully constructed and a remarkable story. Can't wait to read on! Another success from Gayle Forman