The Other Side of Tomorrow by Micalea Smeltzer

Life can change in an instant…

For Willa Hansen, this statement couldn’t be truer. One minute she was a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old, and the next her life was turned upside down with only a few words. Three years later, she’s receiving a kidney transplant and can start living again, only now she’s not sure she knows how.

Life can end in a moment…

Jasper Werth knows this all too well, seeing as a drunk driver killed his little brother. He’s always been a carefree guy, never taking life too seriously, but losing his brother is a major blow, and he finds himself lost until Willa walks into his life.

Life can mend the most broken parts of our souls…

Willa and Jasper couldn’t be more opposite, but as fate brings them together they’ll learn maybe they’re not so different after all.

Sometimes what you need comes in a package you least expect.

4.5 stars
Review by Jen Skewes

This book was so much more than I expected it to be and that is a really good thing.  I instantly became a huge fan of Micalea's after reading her first book a while back.  I have loved every book since then.  She writes with so much emotion and creates the most amazing characters that will completely capture your heart.  The Other side of Tomorrow did include all of those things but there was something about this book that was just so special.  Maybe it was the strength of the two main characters or how real this story is.  I loved it. 

Willa is a 17 year old girl who is probably stronger than many adults.  At the age of fourteen she learned that her kidneys were failing her.  Going through years of dialysis hoping for the transplant she desperately needs. Throughout that time the amount of strength this young girl showed just blew me away.  From her diagnosis, to the words her doctor told her, to knowing how close she was to death and yet she fought through it and came out the other side feeling more alive. When she finally gets what she needs, she plans to live her life that is exactly what she wants to do.  She wants to feel alive again, live her life like a 17 year old girl should.  When she meets Jasper, together the two of them learn to move forward and live. 

Jasper just lost his younger brother and is in a world of hurt.  Meeting Willa has changed so much for him.  She gets him when he’s with her, he can open up to her in ways he can’t to everyone else around him.  Willa makes him want to live and learn to be happy again. 

The Other Side of Tomorrow is about love, loss and finding strength within ones’s self.  Yes it was a complete roller coaster ride of emotions and every part of this book just felt so real.  I felt their pain, their hurt, their loss. And also felt their happiness.  These two were destined to be together and you could feel it from the moment they met, even if it was only a short encounter.  Fate brought them together and once it did the story and love that blossomed was so beautiful to watch.  

I said this book was special and maybe it’s not just about the characters or the story.  I think it’s because you can feel that Micalea poured her heart and soul into this book. You could feel how much this story meant to her.  It was a beautiful story and will completely touch your heart in so many ways.  And know ng rhere is a piece of Micalea in Willa just made this book even more special.  Thank you for sharing Willa and Jasper’s story. I loved every minute of it.