"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."
Just One Year is even better than Just One Day. Maybe some of you didn't like Allyson's POV. Maybe, maybe not. I personally felt that Allyson was a great character but she was a bit of a coward who was afraid to get hurt again and open herself up.
Willem, on the other hand, was a bit more legendary. He was so close to finding Allyson, but he gave up. Still, he never forgot about Lulu. That makes my eyes tear up a bit. One day. Paris. Romance. It is pretty much all the ingredients you need to swoon. He never forgot about Lulu, but he was a bit... Deep. And he did a lot of weird things. But there are some parts of the book that just turns out so right that you have to read it.
Even better about Just One Year is that you discover Willem's past.
Gayle Forman uses much parallelism. She draws similarities from Willem's parent's relationship. Using that, she manages to dig deeper inside of Willem and let us see more of the hidden parts. And yes, it is beautiful.
Shakespeare, of course, plays a large role in this series. In the first book, Allyson realizes that all the players are actors and no one is who they truly are. In the very same book, I started to believe that all plays aren't meant to be sitting on paper and read. They are meant to be played. In Just One Year, we see it from the actor's side. I saw that it took many layers for actor, and yes, it does take truth. Willem pulls off his role quite nicely, even though he isn't Sebastian.
The ending, however, was crazy. Why the heck did it end in a cliffhanger? And I do I seriously need to buy that short story? Forget about it. I'm going to borrow someone else's copy. I don't want to pay 99 cents for a 40 page short story. Even if it does conclude this series.
Overall, Just One Year is great. I can't wait for the final conclusion, but it looks like I'm never going to know what it is. Very sad. Oh, well. There are more books to read. But I think I'm definitely rereading Just One Day and Just One Year later in the future. Maybe to compare and contrast If I Stay and Where She Went.
Last word: Willem is awesome.
Rating: Four out of Five
"From the New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay
Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.
A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the “accidents” of fate,Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.
The first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!"
Just One Day is a sweet, sweet story. If If I Stay is half as good as Just One Day, I'll be reading it. From the number of posts and articles on the Internet, it looks good. Maybe I'll be reading it. Maybe I will not. But I truly liked Just One Day. It really helped me understand Shakespeare in a better way. Oh, my goodness. Why am I talking about Shakespeare? I should be focusing on Allyson Healey, the American, and Willem de Ruiter, the Dutchman.
Allyson's life is certainly changed after just one day. After meeting Willem, she is forever changed, and she doesn't just become someone else, she becomes someone who met someone and found a spark of chemistry. Willem teaches her to be alive. Willem teaches her about chance, and all his other little things. Willem, undoubtedly, changed her permanently.
And the most beautiful part is that they did it all in Paris, France. (Well, it is obvious that it is Paris, France, but I hope you don't get it confused with Paris, Yukon, Canada). The thing about Paris is that it is a strange yet also magical place. Or at least in books and movies. You see the heroine fall in love, and the love story is always epic and legendary. You definitely cry your heart you. You definitely think about other Paris stories and think that this one is the greatest of them all (for sure, but I haven't found one that stumped it), and you think that the lessons in this book are amazing. You have to try. You have to take risks. And eventually, you'll find something that stains... Yeah, I had to do that.
Gayle Forman is amazing in this book. This book, Just One Day, is not a story about the end. It is the story about the journey to find the fate. And she gave me a very healthy respect for Shakespeare. It is funny how I'm now convinced that Shakespeare is a clever fox. A few months ago, I wanted to slit my throat at the words, Romeo and Juliet. I swear, if someone tells me that If I Stay is as good as Just One Day, I'll read it and review it. However, that person can't be anyone who is my enemy, the author, the author's friends, and my enemy's friends.
The ending is the best part. But you'll never understand the ending until you read the middle and the beginning. It is beautiful how Gayle Forman sort of inserts some of Shakespeare quotes and make it come alive. Especially the one that said the world is a stage, and all the people are its players. That one really touched me in my soul. Especially if you listen to "Your Song," "Say Something," and "Out of Reach" while reading Just One Day.
Told from Allyson's perspective, Just One Day is an incredible book. Okay. I have to stop. I'm literally singing the praises off my tongue. I just need to stop.
Last Word: Willem de Ruiter's POV better be interesting. The sequel better be as magical as the first book. It is just awesome.
Rating: Five out of Five
"When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.
So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn’t wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can’t cry for someone who has no soul.
The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand.
Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk..."
My Soul To Save's title is so close to My Soul To Take and its prequel. I'm getting them all confused because one title looks really close to another and ah! Yeah, I'm really confused. The author probably can tell the difference, but all I see is this: "My Soul To..." I have no idea what comes right after "to." Either the titles are so similar that I ceased to tell the difference, or I just have terrible memory. If you say it is the latter, we're not friends anymore. Unless you are my best friend. Then you are the lucky exception.
Anyway, Kaylee remains crazy and stubborn. It is surprising how loyal she remains to other people even though she doesn't know them. For all she could know, they could be serial killers. Or innocent girls who sold their souls to the devil.
Or Crowley. Sorry, I'm thinking way too much about Supernatural.
Nash and his brother thankfully are the only two men in Kaylee's life. Other than her father and uncle, of course. Nash is the boyfriend while his brother is the grim reaper lurking around the corners. Well, he isn't really lurking around. But I like to think that, because he does have some creepy moments. On the other hand, Nash remains the devoted boyfriend of Kaylee. Honestly, I'm getting bored with these two lovebirds. I don't get how Nash's brother remains so interested in them. I'm bored.
My Soul To Save travels through other worlds. Well, one world. The Hellion's world is twisted. It is a much twisted version of the "regular world" in this fictional universe. But it is still fascinating. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I imagined... I imagined it more like Supernatural's Hell.
That is it.
I'm thinking way too much about Supernatural.
Overall, My Soul To Save is a interesting sequel to My Soul To Take (is that the title of the prequel? I can't keep them all straight). I think I will read the next book, but I'm slightly busy right now. School is driving me crazy.
As always.
But Rachel Vincent does an excellent job. You go girl!
Rating: Four out of Five (The titles are just too similar)
"She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next."
Another book that mixes the supernatural with the modern books. Oh, the supernatural includes banshees, grim reapers, and who knows what else? There is definitely more out there. I mean, in this particular fictional world.
My Soul To Take is a good book. I find it refreshing. It may be based on legends and myths, but at least, it isn't about vampires, ghost, or God-forbid idiots. I like it very much. There are no idiots. Or idjits. (Another Supernatural pun).
Kaylee (what an interesting name) is a supernatural creature. She isn't human. Which is interesting. Honestly, I think her parents and uncle and aunt are really crazy. (This is an obvious example of very bad parenting). Why wouldn't they tell her who she really is? At least then, she wouldn't be screaming and trying to hold her screams (or siren's music, as Nash calls it) back. And they would had taught her how to control it. Before she ends up in the loony bin. Oh wait, too late for that. Haha. Not really. Not really. Anyway, Kaylee is interesting. She is loyal and unbelievably stubborn. And ignorant. But she does learn things fairly fast. Fast enough that I don't complain about her. I'm not holding a whip, alright!
And then there is Nash. Thankfully, there is no sign of this book/series being a love triangle, but the author can easily change it into one. Nash is an okay character. There isn't a lot of chemistry about him, and some parts of the book seems forced.
The plot is intriguing, but the conflict isn't very interesting. There are a bunch of dead girls? Eh. Sure they might be dealing with a rogue reaper, but there is something about it that doesn't spark interest or mystery. I'm actually more interested in the world building than the problem. Isn't that amusing?
And my opinion on the book, the legend-based facts? I honestly can't tell you much. I never paid particular attention to banshees until now.
Overall, My Soul To Take seems to be a good start for this series. I think there is a great amount of potential here.
Rating: Four out of Five
""That certain groups do much better in America than others—as measured by income, occupational status, test scores, and so on—is difficult to talk about. In large part this is because the topic feels racially charged. The irony is that the facts actually debunk racial stereotypes. There are black and Hispanic subgroups in the United States far outperforming many white and Asian subgroups. Moreover, there’s a demonstrable arc to group success—in immigrant groups, it typically dissipates by the third generation—puncturing the notion of innate group differences and undermining the whole concept of 'model minorities.'"
Mormons have recently risen to astonishing business success. Cubans in Miami climbed from poverty to prosperity in a generation. Nigerians earn doctorates at stunningly high rates. Indian and Chinese Americans have much higher incomes than other Americans; Jews may have the highest of all.
Why do some groups rise? Drawing on groundbreaking original research and startling statistics, The Triple Package uncovers the secret to their success. A superiority complex, insecurity, impulse control—these are the elements of the Triple Package, the rare and potent cultural constellation that drives disproportionate group success. The Triple Package is open to anyone. America itself was once a Triple Package culture. It’s been losing that edge for a long time now. Even as headlines proclaim the death of upward mobility in America, the truth is that the oldfashioned American Dream is very much alive—butsome groups have a cultural edge, which enables them to take advantage of opportunity far more than others.
• Americans are taught that everyone is equal, that no group is superior to another. But remarkably, all of America’s most successful groups believe (even if they don’t say so aloud) that they’re exceptional, chosen, superior in some way. • Americans are taught that self-esteem—feeling good about yourself—is the key to a successful life. But in all of America’s most successful groups, people tend to feel insecure, inadequate, that they have to prove themselves. • America today spreads a message of immediate gratification, living for the moment. But all of America’s most successful groups cultivate heightened discipline and impulse control.
But the Triple Package has a dark underside too. Each of its elements carries distinctive pathologies; when taken to an extreme, they can have truly toxic effects. Should people strive for the Triple Package? Should America? Ultimately, the authors conclude that the Triple Package is a ladder that should be climbed and then kicked away, drawing on its power but breaking free from its constraints.
Provocative and profound, The Triple Package will transform the way we think about success and achievement."
Out of morbid curiosity, I wonder how many people Amy Chua pissed off. I know the number is probably high. There are some people in Times who probably hate her (if your see the implied parts), the Daughters of the "Tiger Mothers", those people on Goodreads who rated this book and all of her other books poorly, and well... Good Ol' Me. Truth be told, I do agree with some of the points she made in this book with an awfully long title. However, I simply wish that Amy Chua (and her husband, the second author, but it feels like it was mostly her who wrote the book) would simply be kind enough to those who are being stereotyped by her book. They try, yes, but they haven't tried hard enough.
Okay, let's talk about this so-called "Triple Package." There is Insecurity, Superiority, and Impulse Control. Already, you can probably see why these authors upset a lot of people. And after reading this book with a super long title, I can see how brilliant J.K. Rowling is. Superiority is pretty much Voldemort, obviously. Insecurity is Voldemort, Harry Potter, and a lot of people including Ron. Impulse Control is there, but I'm not going to point out anything or anyone. I'm just not going to point fingers. Anyway, J.K. Rowling perfectly portrays what happens if we let these characteristics get the best of us. Sadly, the authors do not focus on what happens to the consequences of our actions. They only tell us how to use it, yes, but they don't describe when we use too much.
There is a time to stop before you go too far.
I'm going to tell you something. Unlike Amy Chua's Tiger Mother book, The Triple Package with a long subtitle is boring. The writing is boring. (It is like tear out your eyes boring). The statistics are interesting, but? Together, the writing and the statistics makes this book a contradiction. Let me show you how (but there is no details). The statistics remain plain and generic while the writing goes in and tells you a bunch of specific things. Most of them are probably guesses (educated guesses, if you want to be nice). But if the statistics don't go into the specifics, how can it hold the "truth" (or guesses) in the writing.
Furthermore, the writing and the words may try to be nice to its readers, but in one way or another, it is burning bridges faster than I can light a damn match. What did they say about (Insert some racial or religious group here)? The authors certainly forgot about pride. Human pride. Hubris.
One last word: The reviewer of this book (The Triple Package with a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious title) notes that Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is shorter than the subtitle. But that isn't the last word. That was the joke. Sorry, I'll move on. Ahem. The reviewer of this book (The Triple Package) does not wish to insult anyone, but knows that many insults are within this review. (Contradiction?)
Rating: Two out of Five
