Just One Day - Gayle Forman

Today I am reviewing Just One Day by Gayle Forman. To preface this, I will say that this is a bit of a "girl book." It is a romance, and so if that is not your thing, you probably won't like it. Then again, when I read the description I wasn't sure I would like it, but I did enjoy reading it. If you liked her previous books, If I Stay, and Where She Went, then you will definitely like this. Now, on to the review.

As usual, let's start with the characters. For the most part, I really liked the characters. In fact, I would say that characters are Gayle Forman's strong point. All the main characters were very well done. They were all very human, faulted, judging, and mysterious when needed. The farther you got out from the center of the story, the less developed the characters were, but that is to be expected. I was impressed enough with the main characters that I did not mind that some were not quite as good.

Now, on to the plot. It was pretty good, though not as good as the characters. It was pretty strong, but the break between the beginning half and the last half of the book was a little odd, and could have used a bit more to tie it together. The plot is what will lose some people, since the romance is a little strange at times, and is really the whole story. There really are not any good subplots, and the change of pace half way through doesn't exactly help that.

And, now for the writing. While I enjoy Gayle Forman books, it is not really for the spectacular writing, though it is certainly not bad. Actually, I think it is quite good, except for the fact that it is in the present tense. I know that that is popular now, but I find it very distracting and annoying. I am slowly getting used to it, but in my opinion, it decreases that value of any book. The Hunger Games was one of the first books I remember reading that was in the present tense, and it was so incredibly distracting that it really made me enjoy the book less.

So, there you have it. My review of Just One Day. Have you read this book? What do you think about it? Let me know in the comments, and I will add it to the post.

Also, the next book I will be reviewing is The Grapes of Wrath. Have you read that? If you give me your comments, or questions about it, I will post/answer them in the review.