Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Imagine that for just one day, you could be anyone you wanted and do something out of the ordinary, something you've always wanted to do but may seem out of character for the person others view you as. Would you jump at the chance to do it? Would you think about the consequences and repercussions of your choice or let the cards fall as they may?

Allyson is on the tail-end of the "trip of a lifetime", a high school graduation gift. She and her bff Melanie have been part of a three week European tour, which hasn't quite lived up to Allyson's expectations. Allyson and Mel decide to skip the final evening's planned culture event, Hamlet, in order to attend a free outdoor offering of Twelfth Night, performed by a traveling Shakespearean troupe called Guerrilla Will, and are not disappointed. The next morning Allyson & Melanie catch a train to London to enjoy their last weekend in Europe before flying back to the States. In the food car, Allyson runs into Willem, one of the actors from Guerrilla Will. They strike up a conversation. He calls her Lulu, saying she looks like a 1920s silent film actress named Louise Brooks, and they talk about Allyson's European experience. She mentions that she is sad they had to bypass Paris. She was looking forward to Paris. Then Willem makes Allyson an offer. He will take her to Paris for one day, 24 hours.

Allyson knows it would be crazy to say yes. He is a stranger and she has plans with Melanie. But the fact that she doesn't know Willem means that she can be whomever she pleases and part of her really wants to be spontaneous, impulsive, daring, and adventurous. So Allyson takes a chance and says yes.

Just one day, 24 hours, in Paris will change everything: the trip, the summer, the rest of her life. What would you do with the opportunity of "just one day"?

Why I picked up the book: I loved "If I Stay" and "Where She Went" by Gayle Forman plus I hadn't read a good "chick-lit"/romance in awhile.

Why I finished/kept reading: Allyson/Lulu's decision to board the train to Paris with Willem reminded me of what it felt like to choose Honolulu for grad school and leave all the safe choices behind. "I think you do things that scare you, and that makes you braver than those adrenaline junkies who bungee-jump off bridges (p85)". Now I can't wait to read "Just One Year", Willem's side of the story, which is due out this fall.

I'd give the book to: Those readers who tend to be pleasers and over-achievers might see parts of themselves in Allyson. Fans of Forman's other novels as well as fans of Sarah Dessen and Nicholas Sparks. Fans of Shakespeare will probably get more out of those scenes than I did. Readers looking for a book about finding themselves, after high school, and making choices separate from their parents.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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