"The wine has been drunk, the pasta demolished, three quarters of the tiramisu polished off..." A group of friends sits around a half-cleared dinner table. Now in their late thirties, most haven't seen one another for years.
Paul, a handsome freelance journalist, is happily married to a gorgeous fashion entrepreneur, but they're struggling--unsuccessfully so far--to have children. Saffron lives in Los Angeles; she's had many roles but is hoping for that one big break as she navigates a secret love affair with one of the most famous men in the world. Olivia, always the wallflower of the group, runs an animal shelter in London and finds herself single after her long-time lover walked out.
And the hostess, Holly, is married to the perfect man, has two perfect children, and lives in the perfect house... or does she?
When their friend Tom is killed in a terrorist attack, the group gathers to mourn, and as they do they rediscover the power of friendship, the politics of change, and the true meaning of a mid-life crisis. How long can Paul and Anna continue, emotionally and financially, the IVF treatments? Will Saffron's true love leave his wife for her? Will Olivia's blind date lead to anything? Can Holly make her marriage work--or has someone come back into her life who will change everything?
Page-turning, mesmerizing, and deliciously appealing, Second Chance will strike a chord with anyone who is still trying to figure life out.
Title: Second Chance
Author: Jane Green
Published: June 19, 2007
Publisher: Plume (Penguin Group)
Pages: 384
Genre: Women's Fiction
When I was younger I used to drive my mom crazy because I would talk about the characters in my books like they were real people. She’d ask me if "Claudia" was someone I had met in school
and I would just look at her like she was insane because of course she was my latest favorite person in The Babysitters Club series. I mention this odd little personal story about me because I realized I was doing the same thing this morning when I was talking to my husband about the characters in Second Chance. They seemed almost real to me, like cleverly disguised people that the author actually knows. I have to say it, I loved this book!At first when I started it, I thought I would hate it because I’ve had both bad and good experiences with
British novels and I was almost positive that this would turn out to be a bad one but since one of my fabulous online book groups (The Chick Lit Café- now deleted) was reading it I thought I would give it a shot anyways. I’m so glad I did! It touches on the serious issues like divorce, death, infidelity, infertility alcoholism, and it even touches on abortion but it’s also about love and hope. I really enjoyed this book and although I had never read anything by Jane Green before I won’t think twice about picking up another one of her books.First Paragraph: The wine had been drunk, the pasta demolished, three-quarters of the tiramisu polished off. Were you to peer through the window you might think you were looking at a group of old friends laughing, catching up, having a wonderful time, never seeing the gossamer-thin threads of grief that are woven between them, that have brought them together again after all this time.
Find Jane Green Online
Links:
~Songs Mentioned in the Book:
Irene Cara-Fame
Police-Every Breath You Take
Linda Ronstadt-Goodbye My Friend
~Songs Mentioned in the Book:
Irene Cara-Fame
Police-Every Breath You Take
Linda Ronstadt-Goodbye My Friend
Source: Library loan, hardcover
The Other Woman and Bookends are other good ones by her
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