Just One Year - Gayle Forman

“Love is not something you protect. It’s something you risk.” 

Summary: This is the companion novel to Just One Day. Told from Willem's POV, we find out what happened the year following his and Allyson's one day together.

I'm just going to start by saying that I really really did not like this book! When I finished the book, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars only because the ending saved it but now that I'm writing this review, I've knocked it down to 2 out of 5 stars. I skimmed a huge chunk of the book (the stuff that took place in India was just so boring in my opinion) and it's just really hard for me to read books that have a guy POV. I love Willem's thoughts because some of them are just so WOW but I couldn't really relate! I love love love Allyson and I could really relate to her and her story. Unlike other people, I was actually happy with the ending! I cried in the last few chapters and even though I knew how the book was going to end, I still found myself freaking out and worried that the ending was going to change! I'm really glad to be finished with this book and am excited to try Gayle's other books soon!

Rating: 5/10

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Just One Year Read Along - Week 4

Ok I am FINALLY done with Just One Year! Yay! While I didn't particularly love the book, I definitely loved this final section of chapters for Week 4 of this read along! Here are my answers to this weeks questions!

1. How do you feel about the travel aspect and sense of worldliness in Willem’s life versus Allyson’s own travels and personal adventures? How do you think travel affects their lives differently?

What does travel mean to you?

----------->I love that Willem's life is full of traveling (even if he was using it as an excuse to run)! And I love that Allyson traveled and I hope she does more of it! I think traveling is so important and that everyone needs to do it! Yes, it's fun to travel around the States but in order for someone to fully learn about themselves and about life, they need to go outside of the US, outside of their comfort zone! I can't wait for the day when I get to go to Europe! I really think it's going to change me because right now, without travel, I feel like something is missing. In Willem's case, he had to travel to realize that what was missing was back home all along whereas I think it would be opposite with me.

2. Another big symbol in the book was Allyson’s watch. We know it meant something specific for Allyson. What do you think it meant for Willem?

----------->I honestly still don't know if I know! This applies to the double happiness symbol as well! What I absolutely love about these books is how thought provoking they are and how they force me to think! I feel like I'm going to be working out my thoughts for days to come and I don't know if I'll ever get them all figured out!

3. Both Willem and Allyson grew because of what they found in each other. Is there a person in your life who has helped you grow? Who helped you bring out the person you wanted to be?

----------->There's two people that are a really really long story so I won't share it but I still hope to find someone else that will help push me even more when I need it. In a way though, I already know who I've always wanted to be and I think it's up to me to get there - I don't think anyone should really help you except you.

4. Who caught the Adam Wilde reference!?

----------->I did and I haven't even read If I Stay yet! :)

5. How did you feel about the ending? There have been quite a few reactions! What did you think?
----------->I personally really liked the ending! I was surprised because I've heard others say they hated it but overall it's ok with me! Yes, I would've loved more closure but I'm just happy with the outcome :)

Thank you to Brittany from The Book Addict's Guide for hosting this leg of the Gayle Forman Read Along! :)

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Just One Year Read Along - Week 3

Maybe I just wasn't in the right mind set to be reading this week's chapters because I found Just One Year to be soooo boring! I really can't wait to finish it at this point. The book has been taking place in India and I have a hard time being interested when I have no interest in India or ever going there. I'm more of a Europe girl. Plus, I'm just learning more and more that I'm right when I say I can't do books from guys' POV's. Here are my answers (half of which probably don't even make sense):

1. How did you feel about Willem’s time in India? Besides his mother, what do you think he found 

from his time there?

-------->Like I said above, I didn't really enjoy reading this section so I have to go back through the book and look now...Ok so there's this mantra that his mom told him that means new beginnings and I think Willem learned that he can have new beginnings even if it's hard leaving something behind. Like with his mom, I think they have a new beginning now and will have a better relationship.

2. Prateek told Willem, “To dream is the ultimate dare.” What do you think he means by that? 

-------->I love this quote and I think it's very true. It's risky having dreams and you may not get everything you dream but that's part of the dare (and the risk). I think it's part of living to dream and take risks.

3. Do you have hopes for Willem and his mother? Do you think they’ve mended their relationship? 

-------->I do have hopes for him and his mom and for a brief instant I started thinking that maybe the girl with Willem at the end of Just One Day is going to be his mom but I've already pushed that thought away. I don't think it's correct :) And I also liked how Willem finally told his mom about Allyson :)

4. We finally find out how Bram died. How do you think that affected Willem’s theory of fate and accidents? 

-------->With Bram, I think it made Willem realize that fate is cruel because Bram's sickness was a one in a million thing and maybe Willem has been letting accidents happen and whatnot so that he doesn't get attached and maybe he's playing fate a bit to see if anything will get taken from him. And Allyson did get taken from him.

5. Why do you think that just one day with Allyson awoke so many feelings in Willem?

-------->I think it awoke so many feelings because it obviously was like his parents relationship. I think he didn't realize fully realize what he had until she was gone and now that's one accident he shouldn't have let get away. You have to take these good things coming to you when you have them.

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Just One Year Read Along - Week 2

I'm not sure I'm digging this book. I love reading Willem's thoughts but this book doesn't have that it factor that Just One Day had. I think it's probably because this is from a guys POV and I usually don't like those. But here are my answers to the week two questions!

1. First off, how much did Willem’s time in Mexico KILL YOU? Have you ever had close run-in situations or actual run-in situations with someone you knew far away from home?

----------->I can't believe they were together at the same time and never saw each other! And even though I couldn't believe it, my only thought that was on repeat was that Willem tried harder then Allyson did - but Willem did have more information to go off of then Allyson. I have never had a situation like this happen to me before!

2. Kate told Willem, “Nothing happens without intention” and she also said, “This theory of yours — life is ruled by accident — isn’t that just one huge excuse for passivity?” Do you think she’s on to something there?

----------->I felt a definite reaction to everything that Kate was saying. I was like "Wow! She might be right!" Willem could very well just be using travel as an excuse to run away from everything but in a way, I think traveling and accidents is a part of him. He might not know who he is and he may feel lost but I still think it's HIM.

3. Marjolein said that Willem is like his mother after packing up his bags. He says that he’s not. Which do you think is more accurate knowing what we now know about his mom?

----------->I could not for the life of me remember who Marjolein is so I had to do some research on Google and realized it's because she was featured in the Week 1 section. I just re-read it but still don't necessarily see where Marjolein says this. But if I understand correctly, then I think they are both similar because they both run and want to stay from whatever hurts them. That's how I take it.

4. What do you think of Willem’s relationship with his mother? He feels like they’re not speaking the same language. Do you think that either one of them specifically are at fault?

----------->I think they could both be at fault. She left her son and ran away but he also ran away because he was pushed away. They definitely need to reconnect! I would love to see him have someone in his life that he can count on.

5. We learned a lot about Willem’s history in this section of chapters and we see how rapidly Willem’s life has changed in just the past few years. Even though he’s pretty much an adult at this point, why do you think the absence of his parents hit him so hard?

----------->I don't think it matters whether you're young or old. Your parents/family are what shape you and he has been shaped into someone who won't let someone in and would prefer to just up and leave girls or friends or whoever. He can't commit because his parents didn't commit.

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Just One Year Read Along - Week 1

I'm a procrastinator of course so I waited until this morning to read all twelve chapters of the week one assignment for Just One Year. So far, Just One Day is a million times better then this one but reading from Willem's POV is interesting. I can't relate to him like I could with Allyson but at the same time I can. If you follow me on Twitter then you probably saw all of the quotes I tweeted. I'm obsessed with his thoughts! Now for my answers to this weeks questions :)

1. We know from JUST ONE DAY how Allyson and Willem initially got permanently separated, but in JUST ONE YEAR, we get to see Willem’s story of this situation. Did this change how you initially felt in JUST ONE DAY? Did your opinions of Willem from JUST ONE DAY start changing by seeing his side of the story?
---------->I honestly feel like it's a cop out of some sorts to have him have gotten beaten up. I feel like it's too easy which seems like a crazy thought. I love the whole idea of just leaving her though because that's what he does and leaving her heartbroken. I like the tragedy and sadness of it. I like seeing his POV and seeing that he has the same thoughts as he did with Allyson. I think he's a really smart, beautiful human being and I feel like my opinions of him haven't changed. I still think he's a smart, beautiful human being.

2. A common theme in both JUST ONE DAY and JUST ONE YEAR is double happiness. Besides the Chinese symbols, what sort of significance do you think it holds for our two main characters? Do you think there’s a deeper meaning?
---------->I was thinking about this and it's really hard to decipher! The thought that I came up with is basically...double happiness - you need to have happiness within yourself/be happy but you also need to have someone who compliments you and makes you content with life and wants to you to be happy.

3. Along with Willem’s POV, we also get to get to see a bit more into Celine’s character. Did you feel any different about her reactions towards Willem? Towards Allyson?
---------->I just don't like Celine. I do however feel she is semi important to the story because of her relationship with Willem and it's interesting seeing how she's the opposite of Allyson. But at the same time, I don't really give much thought to her. I just try to get past her sections of the book really fast.

4. Willem’s life has been surrounded by and filled with “accidents”, even going back to the story of how his parents met. Do you think this affected his view on life? How he feels about meeting Allyson?
---------->I love his outlook and how accidents have always been in his life. I feel like he's lucky to have this type of outlook because it brings some uniqueness to him. I guess in relation to Allyson, it's holding him back because he's not the type of guy that's going to just go look for some girl. If they're meant to be together, they'll find their way back to each other.

5. All of the chances and accidents we see in this series brings up the idea of chance versus action & intention. Do you think Fate exists?

---------->Ok so, I feel like fate and destiny are two different things. I feel like fate is perfect for these books and for situations like this. I have a tattoo that says "We Create Our Own Destiny." I really believe in this because I feel like I have done nothing but create my life and my destiny. Ultimately I think I know where I want to end up in life but I am choosing how I get there. It's very important that I be in charge of my life. Not fate. But I love the idea of fate when it comes to love!

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Just One Year Read Along!

I am soooo excited to participate in the Just One Year Read Along! I just did the Just One Day read along and am glad that this one is happening right now because I really need to know who the mystery girl in Just One Day is! This round of the Gayle Forman Read Along is being hosted by Brittany from The Book Addict's Guide! Here is the schedule:

October 18th: Questions week 1 (Ch 1-12) Now!

October 23rd: Answers week 1 (Ch 1 – 12), week 2 questions (Ch 13 – 21)

October 30th: Answers week 2 (Ch 13 – 21), week 3 questions (Ch 21 – 32)

November 6th: Answers week 3 (Ch 21 – 32), week 4 questions (Ch 33 – end)

November 13th: Answers week 4 (Ch 33 – end), wrap-up & giveaway winner announced!

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