REVIEW: Just One Year (Just One Day #2) by Gayle Forman

Title: Just One Year
Series: Just One Day #2

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenille

Release Date: October 10, 2013

Pages: 323, Hardcover
Source: Audiobook, Library

Summary from Goodreads:

Just One Day. Just One Year. Just One Read.

Before you find out how their story ends, remember how it began....

When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . .

The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents that happen—and the happiness we can find when the two intersect.

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• THE ENDING. This may come as a surprise because there was a general dissent about the ending from readers but I am happy with it. Unlike the first book, there was no doubt in my mind about what would come next. But I can understand where the other feelings are coming from.
  
  
• Hearing Willem's story. It was nice to learn about his past, his family, his feelings and how Allison played a part in all of that. Some readers expressed that it wasn't realistic how much Allison changed him, but I didn't find myself bothered by that. 


• Gayle Forman. Her books will always hold a special place in my heart. 

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• I did not connect with Willem or his story. It was nice to hear it, but I wasn't invested like I was with Allison's story. As a result, I was a little restless during some of it because I wanted to get to the end to find out what happened. 


• So I know this goes against Gayle Forman's style as of late but I wonder if this book could have benefited from alternating POVs in the same book rather than how it was written. I didn't reread Just One Day before Just One Year and I know I didn't catch all the near misses and didn't appreciate all of the small coincidences as much as I could have because I didn't remember all of the little details in Just One Day. This made me sad.

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When I picked up this book, I expected to love the story and be disappointed by the ending based on what I picked up around the blogosphere, but I think I feel sort of the opposite. I LOVED Just One Day and connected with Allison SO MUCH that it's not surprising that I didn't love this as much. But that's not to say I didn't appreciate hearing Willem's story. I just didn't connect with him in the same way. And I was really anxious to get to the end and find out what happened. I'm sure that played it's part. But no matter what, Gayle's Forman's books will always be among my favorites. They are beautifully written and connect to speak to readers in some way.