Melissa Kantor
Critically acclaimed author Melissa Kantor masterfully captures the joy of friendship, the agony of loss, and the unique experience of being a teenager in this poignant new novel about a girl grappling with her best friend's life-threatening illness.
Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.
Even when she isn't sure what to say.
Even when Olivia misses months of school.
Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.
The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.
In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.
Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.
Even when she isn't sure what to say.
Even when Olivia misses months of school.
Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.
The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.
In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.
***
This novel was masterfully done. And you know what the best thing about it is? It's not your usual YA book that deals with love or romance. This time, you'll be reading a story that focuses on friendship, growing up, and all things in between.
When Zoe finds out that her BFF, Olivia, is diagnosed with Leukemia, her world crashes. What is she to do without her best friend? How can she manage to deal with life, and deal with how to be around her best friend when she has no idea what to say or what to do? It's tough being a teen, dealing with things that teens have to deal with, and to actually deal with the idea that your best friend, the person you've spent most of your life with and the person whom you trust more than anyone else, is dying.
I have to say that what I liked most about this book is how honest it was. How it makes you realize that being a teen and having to deal with mature stuff like this will make you grow up fast. How experiences like this may make or break you, and what you can choose to do.
Sure, Zoe may have made mistakes, but being in a confusing and conflicted position that she is in, it's also hard to judge. You'll feel for her and you'll also feel for Olivia and how her sickness makes things complicated, or how, rather, her sickness becomes a symbol of how you should act towards your friends and how it should not define a person.
This book was certainly hard to put down. Sure, there is a love angle, and some relationships get to be explored, but more than that, it will remind you of your childhood bestfriend, or your BFF. It will remind you of the great friends you have in life, and of the people you should treasure and trust. And most importantly, it will help you understand the beauty of life, and that even though it may sometimes be hard, when you have great friends around, and when you know how to appreciate what you have, life will be simple; that even though there may be trials and hardships, in the end, what matters is how you choose to deal with them--and how you choose to be yourself through it all.
Teens, and even teens at heart (yay me) should read this. It is a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the importance of friendship, too.
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