Just One Day is set off in a poetic-romantic mood with more thrills added then for good measure then a HEARTBREAK with melancholic mood ensues, followed by different degrees of hopefulness that tug more heartstrings and then there is a cliffhanger to end the tale, which is very smartly executed though. Every phase is so distinctively well-described and I was so taken away by the writing per se. This was a quick and easy read but it doesn’t mean that you don’t want to take it seriously because it is full of light and I had many moments with realisations dawned on me that I didn’t know that even existed before. This book has some profound effect on me which I can't quite put my finger on. One thing for sure here is I had a strong urge to fly off to Paris just to get lost in the mish-mash of streets and embrace the surprises Paris could offer me by letting the fate of "accidents" rule because there is an Allyson in each one of us, at least for once.
Can you remember once upon a time where everything looked so perfectly befitting in your life? You were probably young and blithely feeling happy. But then you also wouldn't ask questions like "Is feeling happy" and "happy" sharing the equivalent degree of pleasantness or are they different states of emotions altogether. Allyson has been/seems to be feeling happy and content all this while but she is not happy in truth, without her realising it.
Just one day starts off with the heroin Allyson questions Hamlet's To-be-or-not-to-be famous soliloquy by contemplating could Hamlet have been wrong and she restructures the question with How-to-be instead of To-be. I was immediately hooked since the beginning of the book and suitably impressed over the course of this novel. Personally, I think it is a book more on self-discovery than romance story, which is written equally as engaging thanks to the author's riveting narrative skills.
This story revolves mainly around Allyson, a high-school graduate while on her Europe tour makes her romance encounter with Willem, a Dutch actor whom she travels with in Paris for one day out of whim. Allyson, in her young naivety, is one we can all easily relate to in our younger selves. As the only child to the over-protective parents with her mother fails to conceive more kids, her future is basically well mapped out ever since she is small, as her parents pin all their hopes on her to be as successful as she can be. She is a child tied to her mother's apron strings and she happily accepts it all without questioning much what she really wants and who she wants to be. It only takes a day to change it all - the day she changes her identity from Allyson, the all-goody-girl to Lulu, the adventure-seeking girl, and hops on a train to Paris with Willem, whom she barely knows but helplessly attracted to. She has the most unforgettable day in her life taking over someone's identity whom she would never be and doing the craziest things like weaving in and out of Parisian streets with Willem, meeting "accidents" and be thrilled.
However, the next day, she wakes up to find Willem already gone and her heart is broken since. Her old life is totally shattered into pieces and she doesn’t bother to piece them back. She doesn't move on well in her college. She lets herself sink in the depths of depression where she practically lives in absolute remorse. This downward spiral is only gravitating towards the vortex of nothingness as she abandons herself to oblivion. Then it takes friendships to bring her out of the ordeal. This is the part where I think the story picks up again and gets all the more engaging. After she confides in her study partner Dee who sets off helping her to look for Willem, she subsequently receives help from her Professor, roomie, co-workers at the restaurant she temps and more friends in Paris in her effort searching for Willem. This is where she realised that "If you ask then you shall receive". I truly liked this part where everyone does their bit to help her to reach Willem. Also, it is the phase that Allyson feels all the more stronger sense of rightness in her when she is getting closer to reaching Willem. At one point, she almost thinks it is no longer important whether to have found Willem or not because she realises deep down she seeks for happiness of freedom rather a person who might've no longer sharing the same sentiments as she does. She is now embracing the little surprises she gets along the way and every time she receives kindness, she lets go more. She is happy now, truly is. She truly understands now why she could be so happy being Lulu once by doing things she wouldn't do in her wildest dreams as Allyson yet being Lulu felt so right. She has already made the breakthrough, got out of the confines she was trapped in and is now exploring life on her own. She has found her answer of how-to-be/how-not-to-be by opting for a change of being different. Witnessing her growth is what making this read so satisfying.
Willem is one character that's also well-portrayed and I adore so much. Though he doesn’t make much appearance in the second half of the book, his presence is felt throughout. I have to admit that Willem does have that magnetism that draws you on first sight. He is humorous, in an intelligent way as evidenced by how he says things that capture Allyson's heart. I wish I could jump into his head and learn how his mind works the intellectual mechanics so well. He is a guy so irresistibly charming and eloquent that you might get a bit tongue-tied talking to him yet his words are always reassuring, making you feel like he is someone you can count on. Being humorous aside, he is enigmatic with charisma that piques your curiosity about him. He just turns you on. I can always picture his face glowing with myriads of expressions when he is amused, sad, angry, excited, nostalgic or broody.
In this book, what really caught me off guard is the ending. Just as I thought Allyson was letting bygones be bygones and ready to go home, she made a complete U-turn to run for Willem. When she willed herself to knock on the door which would reveal Willem, I supposed she was doing this just so she could make peace with herself by getting an amicable closure. (who knew!)
Then the story ended......( pawing my face!)
The next book Just One Year is coming out this October. I can't wait for October to roll around fast!
Double Love by Francine Pascal
