Waiting on Wednesday: Just One Night by Gayle Forman

April 30, 2014 / 11 Comments / Book Memes, Uncategorized, Waiting on Wednesday

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that book bloggers are eagerly anticipating.

 This week’s WoW pick is definitely a novella I never thought would happen…

Just One Night (Just One Day #2.5)
Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Viking Children’s Books

Format: E-novella, 40 pages
Expected publication: May 29th 2014

After spending one life-changing day in Paris with laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter, sheltered American good girl Allyson “Lulu” Healey discovered her new lover had disappeared without a trace. Just One Day followed Allyson’s quest to reunite with Willem; Just One Year chronicled the pair’s year apart from Willem’s perspective. Now, back together at last, this delectable e-novella reveals the couple’s final chapter.


I’m going to be brutally honest here. Just One Year felt like a cheap trick to me. It was absolutely my most anticipated novel of 2013 and it was NOT the continuation of the series, but almost a rehash of Just One Day, which is super-personal to me and probably one of the all-time favorite books EVER. The ending of Just One Year was just…not good. I felt robbed. I was so depressed that I stopped reading and writing for about two months (seriously). I didn’t review it, because I didn’t know how to review it. 
So when I saw yesterday that there would be a novella conclusion, I think my heart stopped for a second. I’ve been completely unsatisfied with that ending for so long… now Gayle Forman is giving us this gift of 40 pages, and I need it NOW (actually, I needed it in October).

I know it’s only 40 pages. And I know it’s only a novella. But look, guys, my brain has been stuck on the end of Just One Year for months…so anything that Gayle can give us that is canon and a proper ending will make me feel better, because I LOVED these characters and these books, and I need an ending for them that gives them the weight and time they deserve. 

Here’s the announcement – it’s pretty fantastic, and Gayle actually explains why she decided to do this (Spoiler alert: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T READ JUST ONE YEAR):



gayleforman:
Closing words on why I wrote JUST ONE NIGHT:Look, I knew some of y’all were gonna get pissy at the end of JUST ONE YEAR. But the way I figured it, that ending was like a beautifully set table, all the nice china and crystal and the platters of food. I laid it out for you. You close the book and gorge.

But you didn’t seem to think so. As one reader told me:”That ending was like you inviting us all over to dinner and having us smell all the stuff cooking in the kitchen but never actually letting us eat the food.”
(Which is just mean.)
(I would never do that.)
(Wait, did I do that?)
I knew what happened. Like really clearly. And in detail. So I experimented again with writing it down. But unlike tacking the ending onto JUST ONE YEAR, which was boring…(think about it: Willem had just gone through this momentous day and there was the kiss and then we’re going to backtrack and talk about how the postcards Allyson blithely tossed in that box had notes from Willem? Oh, I just nodded off thinking about it.)
But as its own thing,  JUST ONE NIGHT became, well, its own thing. It all worked. As I wrote it, I realized that though Allyson and Willem both knew what was what, the other characters—Dee, Wren, Wolfgang, Brooje, Kate, Max, W,  etc.—they didn’t. And, man alive, did all those guys work hard to help Allyson and Willem get their respective shit together.
They deserved to know.
Kinda, I guess, like you all deserve to know.
So, now you’ll know. (Or on May 29th, you’ll know.)
Finally, I’m gonna say this because I can:
Just one month until JUST ONE NIGHT!

All I have to say is THANK YOU to the publishing gods. And can it be May 29th now?

Are you excited to read JUST ONE NIGHT? Did you love JUST ONE DAY and JUST ONE YEAR? Will you be picking up this e-novella for 99 cents to get the conclusion you need? If you haven’t read them, will you start now (please!)? What are you waiting for this week? Let me know in the comments!

Related posts:

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11 responses to “Waiting on Wednesday: Just One Night by Gayle Forman”

  2. Nobody

    I need this in my life now! I was actually okay with the ending to Just One Year and I really loved the book, I find that I actually really enjoy open ended books like Just One Year and Requiem, but I must admit I really want to know what happens next if only to get more Willem and Allyson! Great pick! =)

    Reply
  4. Milka Read.Read.Read.

    I haven't read Just One Year just because I heard from so many that the ending was disappointing. Now that I know that this novella is coming out, I might actually consider reading it.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  10. Erin @ The In-Between Place

    I just finished reading Just One Day, but I've been afraid to start Just One Year since I heard that the ending was horribly unsatisfying. Now that I know there's going to be another novella, I might just have to give it a try! 🙂

    Reply

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