Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor - Revision history

Sue at 10:28, 6 September 2020

2020-09-06T10:28:14Z

Jill at 21:46, 14 April 2018

2018-04-14T21:46:18Z

Sue at 11:31, 28 January 2015

2015-01-28T11:31:36Z

Sue at 08:59, 25 April 2014

2014-04-25T08:59:46Z

Sue: Created page with " {{infobox |title=Maybe One Day |author=Melissa Kantor |reviewer=Robert James |genre=Teens |rating=4.5 |buy=Yes |borrow=Yes |isbn=978-0007544240 |pages=400 |publisher=HarperC..."

2014-04-25T08:59:26Z

Created page with " {{infobox |title=Maybe One Day |author=Melissa Kantor |reviewer=Robert James |genre=Teens |rating=4.5 |buy=Yes |borrow=Yes |isbn=978-0007544240 |pages=400 |publisher=HarperC..."

New review

{{infobox
|title=Maybe One Day
|author=Melissa Kantor
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Teens
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-0007544240
|pages=400
|publisher=HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
|date=March 2014
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007544243 </amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007544243 </amazonus>
|website=http://melissakantor.com
|video=
|summary=A real tearjerker about two girls with a wonderful friendship struggling to cope when one is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Highly recommended.
}}
Zoe and Olivia are best friends. They do everything together - until Olivia is diagnosed with a terminal illness. As she tries to fight against death, Zoe wants to support her. But how can you adjust to a life where you might have to be without one of the people you love most in the world?

To answer the question that's possibly on people's lips, yes, I cried. (I say possibly because if you're a regular reader of my reviews you probably got to the second line of the summary and knew that I cried!) This is, as you'd expect, a massive tearjerker although there's just enough gentle humour in a few key places to act as a light relief.

Zoe and Olivia are very strong characters; I really liked both - even when Zoe was making bad decisions, I could completely see why she was making them. Also, their friendship is beautifully portrayed and I thought their parents were very well-rounded as well. There's a touch of romance for Zoe here but it never overshadows the main plot of Livvie's illness and the way it inevitably changed the relationship between her and Zoe.

I think perhaps the absolute strongest point of the book, though, is the way that Melissa Kantor captures the reactions of the other students at their school to Olivia's illness. Zoe is so tied up in her friendship with Livvie that she's not particularly interested in any of their classmates and has a low tolerance for many of them, especially the cheerleaders. And from seeing their reactions - from holding a car wash to raise funds to the way they try and support Zoe as Olivia's illness takes its toll - feels painfully true. Yes, there are girls here who are doing things which seem almost laughable (to Zoe as well as to the reader), but they're doing them for the best possible reasons and you have to sympathise with them for not knowing how to cope with someone so young being so seriously ill.

Overall, highly recommended as a really good weepie.

One of the biggest ever tearjerkers for me is [[Before I Die by Jenny Downham]], while [[In Bloom by Matthew Crow]] is a moving but surprising funny look at cancer. Moving away from terminal illnesses, [[Far From You by Tess Sharpe]] made me cry more than anything else ever, and has the relationship between another fantastic pair of girls at its centre.

{{amazontext|amazon=0007544243}}
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-{{infobox
+{{infobox2
 |title=Maybe One Day
 |author=Melissa Kantor
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |publisher=HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
 |date=March 2014
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007544243</amazonuk>
+|aznuk=0007544243
-|amazonus=<amazonus>0007544243</amazonus>
+|aznus=0007544243
 |website=http://melissakantor.com
 |video=

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 |cover=0007544243
 |website=http://melissakantor.com
 |summary=A real tearjerker about two girls with a wonderful friendship struggling to cope when one is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Highly recommended.
 }}
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 Overall, highly recommended as a really good weepie.
-One of the biggest ever tearjerkers for me is [[Before I Die by Jenny Downham]], while [[In Bloom by Matthew Crow]] is a moving but surprising funny look at cancer. Moving away from terminal illnesses, [[Far From You by Tess Sharpe]] made me cry more than anything else ever, and has the relationship between another fantastic pair of girls at its centre.
+One of the biggest ever tearjerkers for me is [[Before I Die by Jenny Downham]], while [[In Bloom by Matthew Crow]] is a moving but surprising funny look at cancer. Moving away from terminal illnesses, [[Far From You by Tess Sharpe]] made me cry more than anything else ever, and has the relationship between another fantastic pair of girls at its centre.  we can also recommend [[Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=0007544243}}