I almost didn't read Maybe One Day, and oh my god that would have been a massive mistake! I think my problem was that I like romance books, and this is not a romance; it's about friendship. Those kinds of books usually don't get me as excited as romances. Then I just woke up one day a few weeks later and was like, "Wait a minute.. this book sounds good!" So I downloaded it and read it. THANK GOODNESS FOR WEIRDLY IMPULSIVE THOUGHTS!!!
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!
As I'm sure you can imagine, Maybe One Day is a definite tear-jerker. That's something you should expect from the synopsis alone, and it definitely pulls though. Towards the end it was a little awkward for me because I was reading in Starbucks but I felt like I wanted to start bawling so I kept trying to blink back tears, to the point where I was blinking so much that I could barely read! *BLINK BLINK BLINK* I will not cry I will not cry I will not cry *BLINK BLINK BLINK*
There are some things you worry about. And then there are some things you don't worry about. You don't worry about them because they're too awful to contemplate worrying about.
Even though a lot of Maybe One Day is just living day to day without tons of drama/excitement/twists/turns, I was never bored. In the context of the story, I really enjoyed the day-to-day set up of it. I think it worked really well for an illness, because that's definitely something you have to keep dealing with, and it keeps affecting you.
There is a tiny bit of a romance in Maybe One Day (as noted in the synopsis) but it's definitely not a focus. It's a side plot, and I'm really glad for that, because the friendship is what dominates this story and that's how it should be!
This book left me with so much to think about. There are a lot of messages about death, afterlife, God, dreams, and futures (or lack thereof). I think it touched on a really strong and emotional topic but without being cheesy or lame (especially about the afterlife parts). Seeing a teenager having to think about those things literally crushed my soul! Maybe One Day will leave you a broken, sobbing mess.
"We're not going to be dancers, but one day our lives are going to be amazing, Zoe. Totally amazing."
I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I love a good cry book. Maybe One Day is an excellent cry book, but it's also so much more than that! It will emotionally own you and I promise it will haunt your thoughts for weeks to come!
"Life is Long."
"Not always," I reminded her.