Review: Everyone deserves a second chance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 2, 2011
When I started reading Second Chance, my first thought was "here we go, another cancer book, another life after death novel" Ho-hum I have read it all before. How is this book going to be any different?It's not. There are hundreds of books on the market regarding cancer patients, both who have survived, and those who lost their battle. Of those cancer patients that have survived, there are some who faced a near-death experience, but not all of them "saw" the other side.Then, there are us readers. Those who believe that it is possible for someone to cross over, meet their maker, and then return. Others have nothing of the sort running around inside their brain.Stories like "Second Chance" are really going to ask you whether or not you believe in situations such as these.Before I go any further, I do not want there to be any confusion. We have all seen incidents in the past where fellow writers are seen chit-chatting on social media sites and their personal website and a few days later up pops a book review and someone has to make a comment regarding fellow writers doing such thing.Yes, I know Nicole, the author. No, I do not know her personally. Meaning, I don't hang out with her outside of the internet world. Although, I would. She seems really sweet and we seem to have a lot in common. Would I consider her a friend? Yes. A co-worker sums it up well too and fellow writer. Nicole is not asking me for a review. I made the choice to do it after I purchased my copy. I support my fellow writers and when she announced its launch, I knew I had to read the final product having followed along on the journey to submission. I saw others were passing along reviews and I thought it would be helpful to her if I did one as well.I am not being paid. I am not being forced to be nice or to act like I like something. These thoughts and words are my own.Now that these things are out of the way, I have to admit I am torn over this story.While I loved the story itself, the characters, and the plot, I felt the story lacked a little something more.  I know firsthand how hard it can be to say everything you want to say without overloading an ebook short story, but I wish there was more.  Maybe not so much more length in plot but more depth or volume to the characters and story itself.  I almost felt as if the author was playing it safe, and I know she is a much better writer than she is letting us see.This has nothing to do with the story itself, or even grammar.  I don't want to scare anyone away from purchasing this book.We meet Annabelle, losing her battle with cancer. There are her parents, the loving husband, and their children. I would have loved a bit more detail to the back stories provided and more in-depth detail to the current events. There were times I could sense what Annabelle was feeling, and the pain everyone else was going through, but little else. When I read a story, no matter how short or long, I want it descriptive so I can transfer myself into the world of the words I am reading. I want to touch, smell, and even taste whatever is going in within the pages of the book.(I hope that makes sense.)Having said all of that, I do give Nicole 5 stars because the story is captivating and beautiful. It will pull at your heart (be sure to grab a tissue when you sit down to read), and I can see some people turning their life around after reading it. Life is too short. Don't wait until you are handed your death sentence before you start making changes. Make your changes now.I believe everyone deserves a Second Chance. Having watched so many people around me lose their battle with cancer, I can only wish one of them would have been given a second chance.I am also thinking it would be nice to read about Annabelle and what she does with her second chance in life.I really recommend this book to anyone, not just those who are connected to cancer somehow, but to everyone because there are lessons to be learned from stories like this.