The Arrival of Someday

by Jen Malone

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight .

My heart! Oh, this book gave me the feels. But not all the feels were of a depressing sort, not even close! For a book about a very ill young woman, it manages to be incredibly heartwarming and uplifting. Lia faces an incredibly difficult battle, one that upends her life. She needs a liver. And they're not exactly selling them at Target. 

The story focuses not just on Lia's health though. Obviously, it's a big part of it, and we'll get to that. But her journey is about so much more. It's how her plans have to shift now that her body isn't cooperating. It's how her relationships have to grow and change and evolve. It's readjusting her outlook on life in general, with or without a transplant. It's a lot, basically. 

And luckily, Lia has some great people in her corner. Her best friend is one of my favorite characters, she's so charming and funny, and even though she and Lia have a few tiffs, you can clearly tell that her heart is always in the right place. Lia's family is equally incredible. I found her relationship with her brother (kind of distant, but you know they both absolutely care for and love each other) refreshingly honest. And her parents, wow. They're like, you know, good parents who'd move heaven and earth for their kid. And as Lia faces the unknown, she begins to realize how deep their love- and hers for them- goes.  There's not really romance here either, just a really good friendship with some extra feelings of "maybe". Which I feel was a really good choice for the story. Regardless, her more-than-a-friend-? is a fabulous guy, and he cares for Lia no matter in what capacity. Plus, he cares about the whole family, which earns him points in my book. 

One of the big takeaways from the book is how complex organ donation is. There's a bit of a plot point about making sure kids at school signed up and such, and while the method may have been a wee bit hokey, the message is good enough that I can overlook it. Point is, organ donation is a literal crapshoot. Luck of the draw. Did your blood type match that guy who just got hit by a car? It's your lucky day! And that, at it's crux, is the hardest to accept- if Lia wants an organ, it's going to be someone else's worst day.

And not enough people are organ donors. Hence why Lia remains ill for so long. Obviously, not every cause of death lends itself to organ donation. But if the unthinkable happened, I'd like to know that someone like Lia could benefit, even from the worst possible situation. 

Bottom Line: An incredibly touching and heartfelt book, Jen Malone has written another book I won't soon forget!