Maybe One Day

December 2, 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.

March 1, 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

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2013
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)

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February 1, 2014
Grades 8-11 The worst thing ever happens to forever friends Olivia and Zoe when they are cut from their prestigious ballet troupe. Livvie joins other activities, but Zoe is adrift without the one thing that mattered to her. Then Livvie is diagnosed with leukemia, and Zoe's life is fractured once again. She spends as much time as possible with Livvie, while needing to keep up at school and navigating the growing connection between herself and Calvin, Livvie's crush. Kantor ably steers the reader through the intensity of Zoe's brief life-changing experience, weaving in realistic high-school dynamics and Zoe's search for anything to take her mind off her sadness. What she finds is solace by subbing for Livvie at the beginning ballet classes at a community center and kissing Calvin any chance she gets. Though this contemporary cancer story laced with everyday and extraordinary experiences will undoubtedly draw comparisons to that other cancer book, Livvie's cancer story and Zoe's emotionally complex web of friendship, fear, loss, love, pain, have their own appeal, and are well worth reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
When best friends Zoe and Olivia are kicked out of their elite New York City ballet academy, Zoe thinks, "This is the worst thing that will happen to us in our entire lives." It is, until Livvie is diagnosed leukemia. Kantor doesn't sugarcoat the messy ups and downs of either Livvie's illness or the girls' friendship, instead portraying both with honesty and compassion.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 1, 2014
When best friends Zoe and Olivia are kicked out of their elite New York City ballet academy, Zoe thinks, "This is the worst thing that will happen to us in our entire lives." A year later as they begin their junior year, Zoe is still struggling to accept the end of her lifelong dream. But when Livvie is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, Zoe realizes that her failed dance career isn't the worst thing that could happen. Together the friends navigate Livvie's illness, though the journey is far from smooth: seeking to escape her grief, Zoe gets drunk and makes out with Livvie's crush, Calvin; Livvie talks a resistant Zoe into taking over the rec center ballet class she teaches, with disastrous results; conventional and then experimental treatments fail. Kantor doesn't sugarcoat the messy ups and downs of either Livvie's leukemia or the girls' friendship, instead portraying both with honesty and compassion. Zoe's first-person narration is relatable and evocative, particularly in describing her conflicted feelings about ballet. By novel's end Zoe's nuanced development (supported by her enduring friendship with Livvie, a blooming romance with Calvin, and a rediscovered joy in dancing) allows her to define herself without her dream -- and even without her best friend. Recommend this to fans of Davida Willis Hurwin's A Time for Dancing (rev. 1/96). katie bircher

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)