First Kiss Friday with Melissa Kantor + MAYBE ONE DAY (signed!) giveaway

For today’s First Kiss Friday, I have Melissa Kantor, author of a ton of books (check out her bio below! Holy wow!), including her newest MAYBE ONE DAY. I love books about friendship and books with that perfect balance of sweet and dark, so I can’t wait to read this one! Plus, MAYBE ONE DAY and 17 FIRST KISSES have the same editor (Jen Klonsky! Woot!). I’m so excited about this book, I’m giving away a signed (Yes, signed!) copy below.

And now, here’s Melissa ☺

_______________________________

Let me set the scene:



It's summer camp. A warm, breezy night. Clear, star-speckled sky. The boy I've been crushed out on for two summers has finally,finally asked me out, and now he's walking me back to my bunk after evening activity. We take a detour across an open field, supposedly (wink, wink) so he can show me how to locate the North Star (you find the Big Dipper, then draw a line straight up from the bowl of the ladle--but I digress). We find and admire it. Finally, he puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me towards him. My heart is pounding. 



This. Is. It. 



But he hesitates. "Hey," he says quietly. "Have you ever kissed anyone before?" 


Truthfully, I answer, "No" before asking, "Have you?"


"Yes," he answers. 


And then, before he can press his lips to mine, I quickly say, "Oh! I forgot. I have too." 



Oh. I forgot. I have too. 



I actually said those words. 



Like, When you asked if I had ever had another boy's lips on mine I said no because I am soooo sexually experienced that I simply cannot keep track of all my romantic encounters. It's not that I've never kissed anyone before. It's that I've kissed so many boys I sometimes get confused about having kissed any. You understand how that can happen to a person. Right? 



Oh. I forgot. I have too. 



Now that I am an adult, I sometimes say or do things that I am embarrassed about. Maybe I don't remember somebody's name even though we've been introduced multiple times. Maybe I claim to have read a book I only read a few pages of. Maybe I mispronounce a foreign word. 



But you know something? When that happens, I shouldn't bother to be embarrassed. What I should do is simply repeat the following six words to myself:



Oh. I forgot. I have too.



Because honestly, who could be embarrassed about anything after that?

Melissa Kantor is the author of MAYBE ONE DAY; Confessions of a Not It Girl, an ALA Booklist Best Romance Novel for Youth; If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince?, a YALSA Teens Top Ten Pick; The Breakup Bible, an ALA Best Books for Young Adults nominee; Girlfriend Material, a Junior Library Guild selection; and The Darlings Are Forever and The Darlings in Love, a Junior Library Guild selection. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.

The Giveaway!!

Did you love that kiss story as much as I did? Do you want to win a signed copy of MAYBE ONE DAY (Hint: You do!)? Then, enter! (Note: giveaway ends April 29th at 11pm. Available to US entries only.)

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.


Add MAYBE ONE DAY on Goodreads.