A story of identity and promise, accidents and being stained by those around you. Just One Day by Gayle Forman is one of those books that leaves you feeling happy but also considering a lot about yourself.
I picked up this book as one I had been meaning to read for a while, but I was worried it would be too young adult, too sappy and silly with the romance. Wow was I wrong. I loved Gayle Forman’s other books, and I should have trusted that. This book did start out flat for me. Allyson was a whiny, boring, slightly annoying character. It took a while for me to care. But the arc she moves through from beginning to end was leaps and bounds. I love that the book is more new adult than young adult, it’s nice to see a transition from a teenager to an adult in a way that is really real.
Allyson deals with depression, she deals with finding herself but also finding how to be a normal functioning human in this world. The relationships she has with old friends and new friends, her parents, all of the people around her, have an effect on her and give her something new to think about. The book is not so much about the one day as about the journey after that. The road to finding herself. Which I absolutely love, as it wasn’t about the boy. It was empowering and I truly enjoyed it (along with her traveling adventures, which were amazing in their own right).