Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

Release Date: February 18, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
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Critically acclaimed author Melissa Kantor masterfully captures the joy of friendship, the agony of loss, and the unique experience of being a teenager in this poignant new novel about a girl grappling with her best friend's life-threatening illness.

Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn't sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

I received this one a while ago and it took me a really long time to finally read it. SO MANY REGRETS. While I dislike the fact that it’s compared to The Fault in Our Stars (I think nothing can really compare to John Green’s novel), I loved this book. I actually went in thinking I would hate it because of some reviews that I’d read, but thankfully it was the complete opposite. Maybe One Day was full of heart and I couldn’t stop reading once I’d started it.

Truth be told, Zoe’s character pissed me off now and then. Especially at the start of the book.  She seemed to constantly make it all about her when her friend was sick. I mean, come on. Yes, it’s absolutely tragic that your best friend has cancer, and OF COURSE you’re going to freak out and feel sad at the prospect of losing her. But making it about you? Not cool. There was also the whole language thing. I’m not one to shy away from f-bombs. But when it becomes part of your vocabulary and you put it in every sentence then it becomes a problem. It’s not shocking, which is the impact it should have–it’s just annoying. Thankfully, Olivia’s character was so much better. Zoe’s did get better later on but it was a constant pain having to read some of things she does. However, what I did absolutely love was their friendship: the funny moments between them as well as the really sad, gut-wrenching ones. There’s no denying that their friendship was the best part of this book.

❝I stood on the edge of the lawn, the phone still pressed to my ear. Cars pulled in and out of the parking lot, and kids rumbled from the building, taking the stairs two at a time as they raced into the liberty of the afternoon. The sky over my head was almost painful blue, the grass a bright and vivid green. It was a crisp, beautiful, perfect fall day.
All that beauty was completely wrong. The sky should have been black, the grass withered, the students wailing with grief. Olivia is sick! I wanted to howl. What are you people doing? My friend is sick! It was impossible–the sky, the cars, the kids walking around as if it were a day like any other day. Nothing made any sense.❞

–p. 42, ARC*

*text is subject to change in the final version

The author must have really done some research on this book. It was integrated so seamlessly into the book that it just felt natural learning about it through Zoe’s perspective. As Olivia’s cancer goes through various ups and downs the pain that is conveyed was so tangible. Kantor’s writing is fantastic in essence but it was a punch to the stomach with the emotions that it brings up. As a reader you can really see the ups and downs that not only Olivia goes through but also Zoe. While I still didn’t really like her character, going through denial, loss, hope, acceptance, ignorance was quite the rollercoaster.

I found it difficult to start writing this review because this book was all over the place and I couldn’t really piece together how I really felt about it, despite really loving the book once I’d finished it. In one word, Maybe One Day is powerful. Beautifully written, make sure you have tissues on hand when reading this book: Melissa Kantor’s amazing story of friendship will be sure to bring tears.

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Megan from HarperCollins International for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

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