Maybe One Day

by Melissa Kantor

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062279217
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/20/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	1,155,309
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Melissa Kantor is the author of Maybe One Day; Confessions of a Not It Girl, an ALA Booklist Best Romance Novel for Youth; If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?, a YALSA Teens Top Ten Pick; The Breakup Bible, an ALA Best Books for Young Adults nominee; Girlfriend Material, a Junior Library Guild selection; and The Darlings Are Forever and The Darlings in Love, a Junior Library Guild selection. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2013
When Zoe and her best friend Olivia are cut from the elite New York City ballet school that has been their life for five years, Zoe is certain that “this is the worst thing that will happen to us in our entire lives.” Her prediction proves wrong when Olivia gets leukemia during their junior year. Kantor (the Darlings books) affectingly depicts Zoe’s feelings and struggles, as well as those of Olivia’s family and friends, as they try to support her through her chemotherapy and its effects while carrying on with their own lives, to whatever degree possible. For Zoe, this includes half-hearted attempts to fill the hole that dance has left and her guilt at her growing attraction to Olivia’s crush. Eschewing melodrama and sentimentality, Kantor is on solid ground with every aspect of the novel: the community that surrounds these close friends, the strength of their own bond, the daily ups and downs of fighting cancer (“Olivia’s illness is a marathon, not a sprint,” Zoe’s father tells her), and the emotional roller coaster experienced by everybody in Olivia’s sphere. Ages 13–up. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A beautiful, heartbreaking story about friendship, loss, and what it means to truly live. I loved it.

Lauren Barnholdt

03/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—In the fall of junior year, Olivia and Zoe are dealing with typical issues: school, family, and trying to figure out how to channel the energy and passion that had previously gone to pre-professional ballet studies. The teens are perfect complements to each other ("salt and pepper" due to their opposite personalities and hair colors) and have been inseparable since they met as children in a local New Jersey ballet class. As a team, they now face the ultimate challenge-Olivia's surprising and aggressive leukemia. As she struggles with her illness and the devastating treatments, Zoe also strives to figure out how to be "normal" without her other half. Kantor expertly creates a balanced novel that conveys heartfelt emotion without veering toward the maudlin. When Olivia's illness reaches its sad conclusion in the spring of junior year, readers' inevitable tears will be organic and unforced. The dialogue is fresh and authentic, and Zoe is a layered narrator in Kantor's hands-she is at once angry, sad, optimistic, and confused. Her best friend is less complex and more beatific, but given that she is depicted through the eyes of her biggest fan, it makes sense and doesn't detract from the power of the story. While there is a sweet and appropriately complicated subplot about first love in this novel, the real love story is between Olivia and Zoe-their deep friendship of mutual understanding is one to be cherished. While this novel will certainly appeal to teens seeking a good cry along the lines of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012) or Jenny Downham's Before I Die (Random, 2007), Maybe One Day will also resonate with those looking for a faithful portrayal of female friendship.—Susannah Goldstein, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

School Library Journal

2013-11-20
A classic, youthful lament--"Why is this happening to me…? It's so unfair"--avoids the maudlin and banal in the very capable hands of Kantor (The Darlings in Love, 2012, etc.). For rising juniors and lifelong friends Zoe and Olivia, the first shake-up--no more elite ballet company for them--was bad enough. But when leukemia strikes, a recalibration of the "worst thing that will ever happen" scale is required. Mirroring the harsh reality of modern-day cancer, hopes for Olivia rise and fall right along with blood counts, and a complete cure feels like it's always just one procedure or experimental drug away. For Zoe, normal life goes on, with fundraising car washes, ditzy cheerleaders and a potential boyfriend distracting and complicating her days. How can she fall for Olivia's crush? Should she tell her? Hit the party or the hospital? This high school drama goes well below the surface; faith is explored, and well-developed family members, friends and teachers play strong roles. These teens are not navigating life alone but are part of a supportive community. Readers just in it for the plot risk missing the poignant moments where Kantor's strong, graceful writing captures the innocence and sophistication of youth and the hopes and the fears of the girls and their families. Teens, heartache and acute illness: The tears will flow. (Fiction. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

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