Just One Day/Gayle Forman Read Along – Week 3

Jenna Does Books is our lovely host for this leg of the Gayle Forman Read Along! She’s been a fantastic host for us so far with some really great questions! Onto week three!

September 18th (Chapters 1-9): Questions week 1
September 25th (Chapters 10-19): Answers week 1, questions week 2
October 2nd (Chapters 20-29): Answers week 2, questions week 3
October 9th (Chapters 30-39): Answers week 3, questions week 4
October 16th: Answers week 4, Recap, Winner Announcement

QUESTIONS: WEEK 3

  1. What is your opinion? Do you think signing up for the Shakespeare class is progress for Allyson, or regression – since it may not necessarily help her to move on from “that one day”?
    Hmmmm, very good question. I think in a way, it was sort of regression. She’s still holding onto that moment and not letting it go at all. She won’t even make progress by actually participating in the play. BUT. I think she learned a lot about herself and that day by going through the Shakespeare class and seeing parallels (carefully placed by Gayle Forman)!
  2. Ah, Dee… Share your input on this unique character. How is he similar/dissimilar from Willem?
    Oh, Dee. I absolutely love him. Usually I don’t like characters who are “characters”, but that was the whole point. Dee was always playing the part that people assumed of him so he really felt like a real person just showing people what they wanted to see. I love how he formed a friendship with Allyson and how once they got down to the CORE of their friendship, we get to see the real Dee.
  3. Why do you think it was easier for Allyson to make friends with Dee than it was for her to make friends with her roommates?
    Allyson wasn’t looking for a friend when she met Dee. She didn’t try to force herself into a situation. And Dee wasn’t invasive about her life. He didn’t ask questions and he never tried to pry anything out of her. I think her roommates would have been just as understanding, but there was that sense of forced friendship that Allyson wasn’t ready to let in yet. She felt obligated to be friends with them and even though they were different kinds of people, she wasn’t ready to try or be pushed into another obligation.
  4. What do you think it was about Allyson’s class performance of Rosalind from As You Like It that caused Dee to approach Allyson and forgive her?
    I think Dee could see how much of Allyson was really in that performance. He knows Shakespeare and he could see ALL of the emotion behind it. Dee knew something was up with her and through her performance, all of the pieces sort of fell into place.
  5. By beginning her search for Willem, in what ways did you see Allyson growing as an individual? What life-lessons was she acquiring?
    She was FINALLY starting to stand up for herself and stand up to her parents… To make her own decisions… To not feel pressure from others to sway her one way or the other. She also made the decision to finally find Willem and either be with him or move on — Whatever it ended up being. She faced the possibly frightening future and allowed herself to go all in, whether that meant it ended well or not. I think either way their story ended in Just One Day (even though I already know now) that Allyson would have been okay if she found him or if she didn’t. She had already grown a lot just to make that decision in the first place!

HOLY. COW. We are starting the read along for JUST ONE YEAR next week!!! I’ll be posting the questions for week one of the read along on Friday 10/18 and then we start reading! Let me know if you’ll be joining in the comments below! I can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks!

JUST ONE YEAR:
October 18th: Questions week 1
October 23rd: Answers week 1, week 2 questions
October 30th: Answers week 2, week 3 questions
November 6th: Answers week 3, week 4 questions
November 13th: Answers week 4, wrap-up

Hi, I'm Brittany!
Hi, I'm Brittany!

I'm an avid reader, candle-maker, and audiobook lover! Here you'll find book reviews, fun blog posts, and my other loves of photography & craft beer!

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5 thoughts on “Just One Day/Gayle Forman Read Along – Week 3

  1. Amanda

    It was at this point in JOD that I started to kinda go “Okay, Allyson, get over it. You’re not doing yourself any favors by joining a Shakespeare class.” But that scene where she connects so intensely with the scene in class gave me CHILLS!

    Reply
  2. Amanda

    It was at this point in JOD that I started to kinda go “Okay, Allyson, get over it. You’re not doing yourself any favors by joining a Shakespeare class.” But that scene where she connects so intensely with the scene in class gave me CHILLS!

    Reply
  3. Vyki @ On The Shelf

    I was one who saw the class as progress. Yeah, she totally clung on to that one day for a long time, but she really didn’t even want to do the class at first. I do agree that she learned a lot about herself while in it, too. And yes, Dee, I love him so much! He is such a good person and a good friend to Allyson 🙂 I have enjoyed this book so much, so I will definitely be joining you for Just One Year!

    Reply

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