I think this book will turn out to be one of those love it or hate it ones, with not a whole lot of people in the middle. There's some scenes and wording choices that could be taken two completely different ways, such as Zoe's reaction to the oncology ward when she thinks 'Leukemia was cancer. Olivia has cancer'. That could easily be taken as Zoe not knowing what Leukemia is or that she knows but seeing it as opposed to hearing it over the phone just made it that much more real for her.

After an unwanted encounter with a guy at an off-campus party, Hayley turns to Jace for support, and it brings out all the emotions he's tried so hard to keep buried. As they're pulled together, it’s clear that their feelings haven't changed, only deepened, and keeping things platonic becomes impossible. Jace wants to build a future with Hayley, no matter the cost. It won't be easy for them to overcome years of ignoring the truth, but they're determined to try - together. Jess has (mostly) lived her life by her parent’s rules. She’s stayed within the routines and doing what ‘should’ be done. Her life after Joe feels very saturnine and predictable, not engaging with life or emotions (for obvious reasons)… until her mother’s death and the finding of the hidden box of letters and postcards in the attic. This opens up a gateway for Jess to start remembering and opening herself up to opportunities and emotions. But she doesn’t do it alone, she has Belinda and Michael by her side. They’re both fabulous characters and bring so many emotions to the story. For as long as she can remember, Hayley Donovan has had a crush on Jace Hammond, and she always hoped that maybe one day, he’d feel the same.THE ROMANCE: Melissa Kantor's latest novel is not about finding your true love. It's about friendships and futures and hope. It's about finding strength to live even though the thing you loved most is no longer by your side. Yet I still couldn't help but love the romance in Maybe One Day. It may start with a bit of lust but the feeling between the two soon catch up and seriously, Melissa Kantor nailed the romance and what it's like when one of them is experiencing a difficult time to cope with the world around them. And I kinda wish there was more focus on the dancing bit at the start, since it was such a key element in the story. However, I felt that so much more could have been done with Maybe One Day. Zoe's relationship with dance, Olivia's religious parents, and Zoe's attraction to Calvin all could have improved with more development. Perhaps Kantor could have spent more time showing Zoe rekindling her passion for dance, or maybe she could have created more room for conversation between Zoe and Calvin about how they felt regarding Olivia's illness or their emotions for one another in general. The concept of God came into the story a few times, but it felt as if Kantor dropped it in to make us think just a little bit, instead of developing the idea of religion as a solid theme in the book. The writing, while nice and non-distracting, did not convey the emotional depth of the characters well enough for me to genuinely care about them.

Maybe One Day was a hard book to read. I'm still not sure what to say about it. I did cry towards the end a lot. I was expecting it because Kantor did prepare us for the worst. I was waiting for it to happen a lot sooner but I'm glad it didn't.

Follow Us

Maybe One Day was a poignant story it was full with endearing characters and beautiful relationships, but most of all a story full with hope. I know it’s really early on in the year for me to say this but I’m sure that Maybe One Day will remain one of my favourite reads of 2014. I loved the use of a fun road trip to balance out the heaviness of this story. Cousin Michael was the perfect comedic relief. Gosh, he made me laugh. Once Olivia starts treatment, it becomes very clear how Mrs. Greco sees Zoe. She sees her daughter's best friend as "just a visitor" That was heartbreaking. No one wants to think that their best friend's mom doesn't like them. It becomes clear what Mrs. Greco's motive is. She's gone into protective mama bear mode. Her entire existence has turned into keeping her immuno-compromised daughter as healthy and germ free as possible. The girls literally swarmed Jake, and I watched him be engulfed by them. Emma managed to nuzzle in closer than all the rest. Is this fun?" asked Olivia. "Are we having fun yet?" As Mrs. Jones had directed me to, I headed down the hallway and up a well-lit flight of dark wooden stairs.

For as long as she can remember, Hayley Donovan has had a crush on Jace Hammond, and she always hoped that maybe one day, he’d feel the same. She never said anything until one night when she confessed her feelings. Now she’s afraid she’s ruined their friendship forever. After all, Jace has never given her any indication that he feels the same way. But I did what I do best by swallowing down any pesky emotion before it could ever even get near to bubbling over. And then I realized that despite containing a true tragedy of losing a child and then losing herself in the aftermath, the tale of Jess’ discovery of old letters in her recently deceased mother’s attic and a roadtrip to find the love of her life was truly meant to leave the reader with this sort of result . . . .

It's a rather emotional book, but at the same time, its a book that is filled with love. Love shown in many different ways but most certainly of love. Olivia was amazing. I felt for her so much. Everything about her reactions felt realistic. She just seemed like a genuinely good person. There are some things you worry about. And then there are some things you don't worry about. You don't worry about them because they're too awful to contemplate worrying about.