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. The romance wasn't needed in this book. I disliked Calvin, and Zoe certainly deserved better. This type of book written by this author didn't need that, but it didn't bother me too much that it was there. We also have a bit of romance thrown into the story. The love interest is Calvin, Olivia's crush and her brother's best friend. I did not like this aspect of the book. Zoe went from hating Calvin, to thinking he was a douche, to thinking he was hot, to falling for him. Talk about bipolar. I did think they had some chemistry (a bit), but mostly I didn't feel any development between them. It was just like, one moment, the "love" was suddenly there! I would've wanted more scenes of them together before kind of making out and stuff (drunk) at a party. I wish that the friendship was explored more. It. Was. Meant. To. Be. The. Main. Point. Of. The. Book. I felt like there was too much focus on some other elements of the story, and more could have been done to build on the friendship of the two girls.

While I didn’t feel emotionally manipulated – or if I did it was in a good way - by this as it truly was obviously meant to be a feel good story that simply had a bit of melancholy thrown in as well, meeting the various characters and hearing their stories about Joe . . . . Maybe One Day has one of those best friend relationships that I'm always jealous of. The best friend you do everything with, the one you call about anything and everything, the one you share dreams with, the one who you visit so often that their house is your second home.. I want one of those friendships! I was so incredibly envious of Olivia and Zoe. Usually I don't get this obsessed over friendships (I save that for the romances!) but man, this one totally pulled me in! I wanted it for myself!This is a work of fiction. Whenever possible, I tried to include accurate medical information, but when the narrative required it, I chose the story over the realities of cancer treatment. You are doing her a big favor," Olivia assured me. "As soon as she sees what you can do with these girls, she's going to realize that." That’s exactly my relationship with Maybe One Day. On one hand, I was so thrilled to have a strong female friendship portrayed in my young adult literature. And on the other, some rough transitions, offhand comments from the main character (football players learning to rape?), and overlooked characters and situations continued to nag me and therefore, affected how I felt about the entire book. This is a very sad but happy book at the same time. Zoe's voice makes everything seem like it's okay and her and Olivia's friendship will always be there. The bond that they have was so unbreakable and so beautiful and I'm absolutely jealous. Olivia and Zoe had one of the most powerful friendships that I've ever read about. Together, their voices made the bookish world a better place.

The audiobook was wonderful and the narration by Laura Kirman was truly a treat. She gave such an emotional performance, making me tear up one moment and then burst out laughing the next. I did have problems at times understanding the different accents, but she really did such a fantastic job. On the day Jess says goodbye to her Mum at her funeral she doesn't realise that her life is about to change as she goes on an adventure with her cousin Michael to discover what really happened in the past. Joining Michael and Jess is a fabulous character called Belinda who as they navigate around Ireland and the UK they trace Joe and discover the life he had - that he had built up a future thinking that Jess didn't want him. Maybe One Day made me cry and not just a little bit, a lot. I sniffled most of the way through it and at the end when I put this book down I sat on my sofa and I had a good old cry. Even now as I am writing this review a week after reading this book I have tears in my eyes. Adding to Eminem’s collection of songs expressing his anger against ex-wife Kim Mathers, “Superman” contains a lot of harsh truths about the kinds of women that Eminem interacts with, partially due to his fame; however, Eminem may be trying to detail a sort of enlightenment in this song that, even though it has come as the result of suffering, he values. On one level it is a group of three unlikely people going on potentially a wild goose chase of a road trip. On another level its a story that take in assorted tough topics including grief, and mental health. We also get to see how one man can have an impact on so many people's lives in different ways.When Grace, her little daughter dies, Jess ends up in hospital having suffered a breakdown. Over time Jess resumes her life only to discover a box of secrets in the attic which had been hidden away for years which she discovers following her Mum's death Now I feel like she's just waiting for me to fail so she can fire me." Irritated by what I'd just said, I slapped the wall. "Listen to me. How can she fire me. I don't even work here."

But that ending, it's just right, I couldn't have thought of a more apt way to round up this book, and this massive story of lost love. I dialed her number. "That's information I could have used a little earlier," I hissed. " And she's not 'okay,' and nice of you to tell me she doesn't even want me teaching the class. I thought I was doing her some big favor." I did shed a few tears while reading this one, but as I said at the beginning, it was exactly the book I needed to read at the time I read it. This book was a 5 star read for me and part of the reason for that is the timing of when I read the book. Sometimes our life experiences influence our opinions of books and I think that's perfectly natural. Is this book going to be a perfect read for everyone? Probably not, but I do believe most readers will enjoy the story at the very least.As my friend Jenni's DNF review already pointed out, the cancer stuff is totally off base. Zoe doesn't know what leukemia is, but does understand the meaning of both cardiology and oncology. As she heads to the hospital to visit Olivia, she does a grand jete on her way, because she's so sad she has time for ballet. She wishes that Olivia's brother Jake, who she actually likes, were the one dying of cancer instead. The storyline in this was really good. The whole thing flowed so nicely, and was just so real. The emotions and the way things happened just felt so realistic and believable. I would recommend this read and its characters - it will have you almost reaching for a handkerchief and hoping for an ending that Jess deserves. That loyalty is tested when Zoe finds herself dancing and kissing the boy who Olivia has been crushing on. Zoe takes it a step further by not telling Olivia about it until later, a lot later.I am really, really glad that the inkling of romance was just that, an inkling. I think any more romance would have taken away from the beautiful story of friendship that Melissa Kantor had so carefully crafted. 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.

I loved, LOVED that both girls had family units that were fully immeshed in the book. That's a new YA trend that I am loving. In the past, the families of YA characters have been difficult to spot in a book. I really liked Olivia's brother Jake.He was an amazing brother to Olivia and friend to Zoe. Sometimes the friendship between brother and sister's best friend seems forced,but not in this case. Where to start? First, while I really enjoyed this, it is not your typical Debbie Johnson novel which really threw me because I kept expecting the novel to be something it isn't. CW: death of parent, death of child, car accident, PTSD, complicated grief, mental illness and hospitalization, homophobia, child abuse, toxic family/foster family relationships

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Then we have the MC. Oy, this girl had no idea what leukemia was, only that people could die of it and then upon arriving at the hospital saw the word oncology and immediately knew it was cancer. What high school aged person doesn't know leukemia is cancer? Hell, I would know the word leukemia way before the word oncology. Oh and what about the moment that she walked into the hospital room where her friend was getting her super fast chemo treatment and noticed the view out the window first and foremost. Then she proceeded to see Olivia's brother and have a fantasy in her head about how he was actually the one with cancer and she was just mistaken. She felt bad about this thought for a second and then RATIONALIZED IT AND FELT OK ABOUT IT. And don't forget about how she danced onto a curb minutes after finding out her friend had cancer... but I guess at that point she didn't know it was cancer because she's an idiot. What I think was great about this book was that it wasn’t told from the point of view of the character with cancer but her best friend. You got to see up close the emotions she went though, how she was not only dealing with school and hormones but the illness of someone she loved. It was at times a painful read but also a beautiful one.