Melissa Kantor

In the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, 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. A person's whole life, she's lucky to have one or two real friends. Friends who are like family . . . for Zoe that someone is Olivia. So when Olivia is diagnosed with leukemia Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her best 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.

Maybe One Day

Two best friends face the hardest future of all – a future without each other. In the tradition of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, critically acclaimed author Melissa Kantor masterfully captures the joy of friendship and the agony of loss.

Very so-so for me. I get that it's supposed to be tragic, I really do. However, the entire book feels very forced and manipulative (in a way that reminds me of John Green) and instead of being moved it all feels very blah to me. Good try, though.

Cindy Lee

Maybe One Day sounded a lot like the Faults in Our Stars (which I haven't read). I generally don't like books about cancer but there was something about Maybe One Day that made me pick it up.

It had a slow and boring beginning, I'll admit. Nothing was going on and it had to be a bit after Olivia got leukemia that things finally got interesting. That should be somewhere around a third of the book. From there, I couldn't stop turning the pages! Zoe's emotions and turmoils sucked me in and I had an ache in my heart the whole time. Her passion (and hate) for dancing was a beautiful thing as well. It expressed her feelings and I feel like Zoe had to grow a lot as a person throughout the book. She had to learn to accept things and cherish what she has before they're gone.

The ending was amazing. I don't really have anything to say about it. I might've teared up a little bit. Some might not like the ending but I thought it was the perfect conclusion to this heart-wrenching novel.

Maybe One Day was an amazing novel. While I don't know how it would compare to the Faults in Our Stars, I would say give this a try and pick this up.

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

Chelsea Hunter

*I received this book free to read and review. Thanks to Goodreads First Reads and HarperTeen.*

This story was so heart-wrenching. This book would cause me to cry, and then something funny would happen, and then seconds later, I would be back to crying again because it was so sad. I loved how this book explored the friendship between Olivia and Zoe, and how there was romance but it was put on the backburner and was not the main focus. This is my second book reading about (view spoiler)[leukemia (hide spoiler)], although the perspective of this book is from the best friend.

One thing that irritated me was the language. I can handle some language, but when it's like every other page, there is an F-word, it just doesn't seem necessary and kept me from fully enjoying the book (this is the reason I gave it a 4 star over a 5 star).

Even though that was the case, I would still recommend this book to be read by people who can handle what the book's plot is about.

I think I've mentioned a time or two before that I'm an emotional reader. Boy, did this book ever make me emotional. I should probably make it some kind of rule to not read books where one of the main characters have cancer, but then I would be missing out on some amazing reads. I might need to develop a new rating system for these books, based on the number of tissues I had to use while reading. This one would be up there. 

This book was beautiful. Heartbreaking, but hopeful. I loved Zoe and Olivia. Their friendship reminded me so much of my own in high school. I think that's why I most strongly connected with the characters in this book. I could see myself in them. Zoe was the main character and the book is told solely from her POV. She's one strong girl. Her best friend has been diagnosed with cancer. Life as she knows it has changed. She willingly puts her wants and needs to the side and focuses on helping those around her, Olivia included. She wants to make others happy. She's supportive of her friends and family and those around her. Olivia was sweet and it devastated me that she was going through the things she was dealing with at such a young age. Through it all, scared as she was, she was a fighter. She stayed positive, but realistic and I adored her for that. 

Olivia's brother Jake and his best friend Calvin played a pretty large role in this book, too. Jake was a great brother. Calvin was adorable; not at all the asshole Zoe thought he was. See, Olivia was the one with a crush on Calvin. Then she got sick. Zoe ended up spending more time with him and seeing him for who he truly was – a great, supportive friend and an all-around good guy – and felt guilty when she began having feelings for him. Her guilt and lying by omission winds up causing her to have a pretty big fight with Olivia, but true friends don't stay mad for long, especially when there are more serious things to be concerned about than a crush. The romance is sweet and realistic and not at all overdone, nor does it overshadow the main focus of the book – Zoe and Olivia's friendship. Zoe and Calvin were wonderful together and wound up being there for each other – and for those around them – as Olivia's treatment proceeded. They may have briefly lost themselves in each other, but it was a way to cope with everything going on in their lives at those moments. 

Maybe One Day was an emotional roller coaster ride. It was a beautiful coming of age story. It was funny. It was sad. It focused on friendship, finding yourself, family and love. The characters were easy to love. They pulled at my heartstrings. The book was real and believable and I never once even considered sitting it down. I can't think of one thing I would change. It was perfect just the way it was. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Bree

This book is one of my all time favorites and always gets the same emotional response from me each time I read. It's the perfect combination of friendship, trail and tragedy and shows a new look into what it's like to be the outsider when someone you love is dealing with cancer.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Wow. Just… wow.

Do you ever finish reading a book and seriously dread writing the review for it? That’s how I felt upon completing Maybe One Day. The idea of having to put my thoughts into words for a book like this seems nearly impossible. Where do I start? How do I accurately explain the powerfulness of this story? How do I put into words the impact this book left on me long after I completed it? Seems almost impossible. Nevertheless, here I am, attempting to do the impossible. Wish me luck….

As conveyed in the description, Maybe One Day centers around friendship. An amazing, awe-invoking kind of friendship that most of us can only dream about. The kind of friends that call each other constantly, never judge each other, and are ALWAYS there for each other through thick and thin. The kind of friendship I’m often very jealous of while reading about. This was the “perfect” friendship, such a strong, powerful one that was faced with life’s toughest struggles. I was so impressed with the way Melissa Kantor made these two friends and their story come to life.

There was a bit of a romance in this story as well, but it was such a small part of the story. And for that, I’m very thankful. I’ve been reading many, many romances lately, and it was so refreshing to read a story that wasn’t about a guy and a girl finding love, but rather a friendship that faced life’s hardest struggles… illness.

Aside from friendship, Maybe One Day also focused on other issues too that really made me think, such as teenage illnesses, God, and the afterlife. Again, Melissa Kantor took sensitive, touchy topics and addressed them with the sensitivity and sincerity that they so required. I still think about this story, and about the messages it had within it.

As you can tell from the description (as well as almost any review out there for this book) this story is sad, so be sure to have the tissues handy. I think the fact that I was listening to the audiobook made it even MORE tear-jerking, as Shannon McManus did an amazing job of portraying beautifully the characters’ raw emotions. It was nearly impossible not to tear up a few times throughout this book. All the feels, I tell you, ALL THE FEELS!

I can’t recommend this story enough. Yes, you’ll be sobbing like a baby, curled up in a ball on the couch, unable to function for periods of time while reading this, but trust me, it’s worth it. Such a strong, powerful story from an author I will be sure to keep my eye on.

(Thanks to HarperTeen for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

bianca

Tasha Ells

tina

Ayden

Kaela Childers

riley dawson

gracie

Zoe thought that being cut from her ballet program was the worst thing that could happen, but when her best friend Olivia is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, Zoe quickly learns that not being able to dance is the least of her problems. A person's whole life, she's lucky to have one or two real friends. Friends who are like family for Zoe that someone is Olivia. So when Olivia is diagnosed with leukemia, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her best friend. Even when she is not 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.

Jo Young

Jessica Guht

Tammy Leon

Rina

In the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, 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. A person's whole life, she's lucky to have one or two real friends. Friends who are like family… For Zoe, that someone is Olivia. So when Olivia is diagnosed with leukemia, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her best 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.

Maybe One Day

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