The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner might appear to be a warm and fuzzy romantic comedy about a Brooklyn pastry chef who gets a life do-over after she loses her job, her boyfriend, and her self-esteem all at once. However, as this briskly paced story unreels, readers will be pleasantly surprised when the plot swells with deeper, more thought-provoking implications.
Thirty-year-old Sadie Thatcher is emotionally strung-out. Unable to control her "big mouth," she loses her job at an exclusive restaurant and prompts the breakup of her three-year relationship with her beau, Alex. Suddenly single, homeless, and forced to take a job as a barista, Sadie ends up living in the spare bedroom of her brother's nerdy loner best friend since grade school. Months later, on New Year's Eve, Sadie is devastated to learn that Alex is celebrating on a "tropical island with a pretty blond woman who looks fantastic in a bikini." But when a loyal friend--and former coworker--coaxes depressed Sadie into attending a New Year's party, things take a wild turn. A fortune teller with a crystal ball reluctantly grants Sadie one wish. With nothing to lose, Sadie impulsively wishes for a "second chance," the opportunity for a do-over on the past year of her rotten, miserable life.
On New Year's Day, Sadie awakens to find that her wish has come true. Will the replay year transpire the same as before? Or will the second-chance choices that Sadie makes lead to a sweeter, more fulfilling life? Wiesner (It All Comes Back to You; His Secret Daughter) delivers a delightful seriocomic that dynamically explores the what-ifs of life. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines