Author: Gayle Forman
Synopsis: Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.
Review
I had a bit of a roller coaster experience with this book. For the first 150 pages or so I was really not loving this book. I don't what it was the plot and the characters just didn't sit right with me. But then in part two of the book I absolutely fell in love with the story Forman had created and the messages of the book were just so poignant and relatable for me that I could not put it down until I'd finished.
“I think you're the sort of person who finds money on the ground and waves it in the air and asks if anyone has lost it. I think you cry in movies that aren't even sad because you have a soft heart, though you don't let it show. I think you do things that scare you, and that makes you braver than those adrenaline junkies who bungee-jump off bridges.”
From the onset of this novel I related to Allyson so sincerely. Her actions, morals and attitudes were exactly how I would be in her situation. Really for the beginning part of this book Allyson was the only thing getting me through. I loved reading her character development throughout the book. Lulu was really interesting to read about I felt the switch in Allyson's character was quite surreal and at times I wasn't invested in the day because of how sudden she changed her personality. However the fact that over the course of the year Allyson grew to become Lulu was an element of the story I loved, it told me that we have the ability to be more confident and outgoing if we just open ourselves up to opportunities.
“I think everything is happening all the time, but if you don't put yourself in the path of it, you miss it.”
As I mentioned earlier I was really disappointed with the first part of this book. Before I picked this book up I thought the 'one day' was going to be the highlight and the year that followed would be dull and a bit of a let down . I could not have been more wrong. The one day was such a disappointment. For me it wasn't exciting enough. I understand that Willem and Lulu wanted to experience the 'real Paris' but their day was so anti-climactic.
I think another reason I didn't enjoy the first part of the book was Willem. I did not like him at all. He was quite disingenuous and we were almost encouraged not to trust him from the first moment of meeting him. There were so many suspicious moments during one day of being with him like the part on the train and the bit when Celine was undressing him in the bar. For me I didn't trust him enough to enjoy the romance between him and Lulu and I felt it was so rushed and forced that I didn't attach to his character at all. To make things worse at the end of the book we still don't get to be attached to Willem because we discover he is now in a relationship with someone else and the book ends there.
Normally it's characters that make me fall in love with a story but this time it was the plot. The story and the struggles Allyson faced were so realistic and believable for me. Moving from home to college and growing apart from friends as well as struggling with family and finding a job were all things I am familiar with and it made the book so much more moving as we see Allyson grow as a person and become better.
I loved Dee's character so much he was so lovely to Allyson and I loved reading them both develop as people and friends. The chapters with both of them in were so entertaining and fun to read and it was nice seeing Allyson have someone to talk to and be close with rather than feeling isolated and alone as she had previously. Similarly I enjoyed the chapters in the diner when Allyson got a job to pay for her trip to Paris on her search to find Willem.
The messages of the book and the themes were so moving and poignant for me. This was one of the first coming of age novels that truly spoke to me on a deeper level. I loved how Forman depicted the theme of finding yourself and I honestly left this story thinking more about how to better myself.
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