Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

Zoe has been best friends with Olivia since elementary school, spending long hours dancing ballet in an elite program and hanging out together. But when the ballet program cuts them because they’re not quite good enough, they suddenly find themselves wondering what they’ll do with the extra time. Olivia volunteers at a community center dance program until she’s diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Without her best friend at school, Zoe is suddenly adrift, questioning who she is without Olivia and wondering how God can let a young, vibrant teen get so sick.

I admired Zoe’s devotion to Olivia. She visited the hospital, she called, she even took over her dance class on the weekends and Skype her in when she could. But most of the time, she feels helpless. Her grades slipped because when she’s not spending time with Olivia, she’s thinking about her. Truth is, Zoe was kind of lost before this happened with Olivia. She missed dancing, soccer didn’t cut it, and maybe she just wasn’t ready to trust herself dancing again. She didn’t have something to fill her time like she used to. I can imagine how out of control everything felt for her.

What happens to Olivia is obvious by the halfway point, but Kantor brings in a romance for Zoe, to lukewarm results. I never felt that there was any real chemistry between Zoe and Calvin, and that the story had the potential to stand on its own without him. There are ways to grow up without a boy by your side, and the relationship between Zoe and Olivia has enough to drive that point home. It’s clear that they each provide something that the other needs - patience for Zoe and a blunt voice for Olivia and the moments that showcase that are the most powerful.

Release Date: February 18, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN13: 9780062279200
Source: Bought via National Bookstore

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