Who doesn’t want a second chance?  A second chance for love, family, friendship and for faith in God.  That’s what we find in Karen Kingsbury’s The Chance.

Synopsis (via Goodreads):

Years ago, the day before Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath the Spanish moss of an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other, and sealed them in a rusty old metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later and read them. But now, as that date arrives, much has changed.

Ellie, bereft of the faith she grew up with, is a single mom living in a tired apartment trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches television to catch a glimpse of her old friend —Nolan, now an NBA star, whose terrible personal tragedies fueled his faith and athletic drive in equal measure. But Nolan also suffers from a transcendent loneliness that nothing has ever eased.

We follow the story of Ellie and Nolan through the two themselves, but also through the perspective of Ellie’s mother and father.  We see how the characters’ journey in faith and their personal relationships with God change throughout the story – from growing stronger in faith, to losing it, to realizing what true faith really is. This story is definitely a tear-jerker of both sad tears and tears of joy.

After reading The Bridge, I was definitely excited to read another book by Karen Kingsbury.  I love her style of writing and how she can make the faith her characters, or lack of, believable and relatable.  I noticed that both books I’ve read by her so far are about second chances at love, not just with a person, but also with God.  These stories are encouraging in knowing that this type of redemption is really possible, as long as you believe it is.

So not only do I recommend The Chance, but I also recommend checking out any book by Karen Kingsbury (despite only reading two by her).  I know I will be reading more by her and she’s definitely making her way up as one of my favorite authors.