Hell-Bent to Read

I'll be straight with you: this book had a lot to live up to. I had just finished Sean's most recent novel, Wise Young Fool, and I was so blown away by it that I didn't even want to pick up another book. If I was smart I would have put some books in between, but oh well. Too late now! Not only that, though, but I have some pretty fucking high standards when it comes to zombie books. I blame Jonathan Maberry and Charlie Higson for this. With that said, though...I really enjoyed The Infects. Was it perfect? By no means. Did it keep me enthralled and flipping the pages? Yes. Would I pick up the sequel if there were to be one? Absolutely. (I'm looking at you, Sean. Please. I'm begging you. I don't beg people for anything. I need to know, dammit!)

FULL REVIEW COMING SOON.

OVERALL

I'm going to be straightforward and say that I saw the movie before I read the book. (I wanted to wait, but I have absolutely no willpower.) This is a rare occurrence, but I actually enjoyed the film a tiny bit more than the book. There was actually nothing wrong with the book, it just lacked that emotional connection that I felt while watching the movie. With that said, though, I wanted to hug each of these characters until their eyes popped out of their heads. That's how much I loved them! I definitely recommend this book to everyone, but especially to people who enjoy books about someone struggling to better themselves, as well as their relationships with friends and family.

PLOT

The amazing thing about this story is that I was constantly interested, despite already knowing the outcome of everything. I knew that I would be happy and heartbroken, so part of me didn't really want to finish the book. I didn't want to deal with ALL THE FEELS.

Interestingly enough, while this plot is about Pat trying to reunite with Nikki, it focuses more on the internal struggle that Pat goes through. In all honesty, half the time I forgot he was even trying to get back with her. I was so engrossed in him trying to better himself, that the Nikki plot seemed pretty unimportant. That seems silly, considering that that is the "main" goal for the story, but oh well.

Like I said earlier, the book lacked a bit of that emotion that I felt while watching the movie. It definitely made my heart swell, but it didn't make me burst out in tears like the film did. (Maybe Jennifer and Bradley did too good of a job? As said in the book, "Too much of a good thing...")

Something else that bothered me, but didn't take too much enjoyment away, was that religion plays a pretty big role in this story. Note: This is a personal thing. Pat is a huge believer in God, so he is frequently talking about how he believes God will reunite him and Nikki when the time is right. Now, him believing in God wasn't my issue. I was more uncomfortable with how much he talked about God, and how God would treat him well as long as he "behaved." This left a bad taste in my mouth. It was borderline preachy, in my opinion. Like I said, this is very much a personal opinion, so others may disagree wholeheartedly.

CHARACTERS

This is definitely a character driven book, and I love me some good characters, so it's no surprise that this was my favorite aspect of the book.

Pat. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, OK, PAT? I had, and still have, so much love for Pat. All he wanted to do was better himself and his relationships with his family and friends. Mind you, he did it (mainly) so he could get back with Nikki, but still. My heart broke whenever he was struggling with an issue.

Tiffany. Oh, I adore Tiffany. The thing is, you don't really know much about her until the end, but even so, you can't help but want to help her with whatever she is going through. She writes a letter to Pat toward the end of the book, and this was the point that almost had me crying.

There were also the very important side characters. You have Pat's mom and dad, Ronnie and Veronica, Pat's brother, and Pat's therapist. There's not much to say about them other than that played an important role in Pat's journey. I honestly don't think that he would have been able to do this all the way without them and their support.

What can I say about this book? Not a whole lot, to be completely honest. The things that I can say, though, probably sound extremely fangirly. I just really loved this book, ok?

I had heard nothing but good things about Gayle Forman's writing, and I have heard spectacular things about this book in particular. Seeing as I have recently come to love the contemporary genre, I decided to give this book a shot. I went into this book expecting it to have what I like to call, the "John Green Syndrome." What is the JGS, you ask? It's when a book is SO hyped up that, even if you absolutely loved the book, it was still a bit of a let down because of all the hype.

Luckily, though, this did not happen with Just One Day. I absolutely adored this book, you guys. The roller coaster of emotions this book sent me on had me laying in bed in a dazed state.

PLOT.

As I said earlier, I have recently come to love this genre. My favorite books of this genre always tend to revolve around the character(s) trying to discover themselves, so that's what first got me excited to read this.

I have always wanted to just travel the world on a whim, with no real planning involved, so that was one of my favorite parts of the plot. The whole adventure through Paris that Allyson takes with Willem is simply...magical, for lack of a better word. They experience a city in a way that most people aren't keen on.

CHARACTERS.

I. LOVED. THESE. CHARACTERS. You guys cannot even begin to understand the amount of love that I have for these characters. They were all so fleshed out to the point that you started to think that you actually knew them. Not only were Allyson and Willem developed, but the bigger side characters were even developed in some way.

Allyson is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. I'm sure that most, if not all, of us can related to the struggle of trying to figure out who we are and/or who we want to be. Her journey to figure that out is obviously not the most common of scenarios, but even with that, Gayle Forman made it so easy for the readers to put themselves in her shoes.

Willem. What can I say about Willem? The most obvious thing is that he is totally swoon-worthy. Who wouldn't want a Willem in their life? Aside from the shallow thoughts, I love what he gave to Allyson. I think that Allyson really needed someone like Willem to really push her. Allyson has always lived a quiet life, and I think Willem was the perfect person to come into her life and make her realize what she was missing.

Also, can I just make a comment about how much I loved Dee. Seriously. He was probably one of my favorite side-characters, and I just wanted to hug him.

WRITING.

Oh, the writing. I had no idea what to expect from Gayle's writing, but it wasn't what I read. She has one of the most beautiful writing styles that I have ever read. My favorite thing about her writing is her ability to describe a place in so much detail, while still keeping the reader entranced. I have read a couple stories where, authors with be detailed in their writing, but it's so detailed that it's boring. I have been to Paris, and her descriptions made me feel like I was actually there.

Overall, this book has become one of my all-time favorites, and Gayle Forman has become one of my all-time favorite authors. I cannot wait to get my hands on Just One Year, and I also can't wait to read her other work.