On the Divinity of Second Chances

By Kaya McLaren

Book Overview

A broken family finds its way back together in this captivating story from the author of Church of the Dog A charismatic author with a voice and message all her own, Kaya McLaren has become beloved in the book world as much for her upbeat energy as for her rich storytelling. In On the Divinity of Second Chances , she portrays a family on the brink of dissolution-a mother besieged by middle age, a distant father lost in daily life, and their three teenage children struggling in various ways with the family's disintegration even as they conceal a secret that could send their parents further over the edge. With the help of a group of tap-dancing old ladies, a sensual tango teacher, and a lot of luck, this family is about to learn that everyone gets a second chance which, as McLaren beautifully reminds us in this inspiring novel, is sometimes even better than the first.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143115189
• ISBN13: 9780143115182
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Insights on life

Kaya McLaren, with her poignant insights on many things & thoughts of life that we all experience & have, can never over-produce as, i.e. James Patterson that I used to love to read. This is the second book I've read by Kaya; the first was "Church of the Dog" that I intend to read again for I kept the book rather than donate it to our library. This time I'll underline the words of wisdom this author has for her readers. Two great reads. Kaya, keep up your A+ work but don't let the Dragon of Success pull you under to mediocrity.

Amazing book!

I love this book and recommend it for everyone. It is full of inspiration, humor, pathos and a certain kind of insight that rings true. I felt changed by reading it and plan to purchase it as a gift for friends and family.

Give Second Chances a chance!

Delightful read! Insighful and touching. Laugh, cry, reflect. Masterful intertwining of perspectives of various characters. Characters are entertainingly quirky, yet endearingly human. Portrays the triumph of love, in all its many and sometimes surprising guises, throughout the changes and challenges of life. Hard to put down. Give "Chances" a chance; you'll love it as I did! Can't wait to read more of Kaya McLaren.

Kaya Mc Laren kept me on my toes!

This wonderful book by Kaya McLaren really keeps you on your toes !!! Because the different chapters are each written from the perspective of a different character in the story, the reader has to keep changing "shoes" and it creates a very fresh approach to the fictional reality encountered. The story is weaved like a masterful tapestry of human relationships and we are swept off our feet by this magical carpet into a much richer world. I couldn't put the book down until I read the very last page!

A delicious novel celebrating life, love, and second chances

Written from the wildly different perspectives of six members of a family spanning three generations, this is a beautifully told fable of family, individuality, and fate. Where else will you find a novel encompassing rattlesnakes and sunflowers, power drills and bagpipes, childbirth and house construction, painting and tangoing, manslaughter, wild fire, and living in treehouses, a superhero cape wearing massage therapist with spirit guides and a gun-wielding, tap-dancing grandmother? McLaren is brilliant. She masterfully weaves together the individual stories of her vividly drawn characters. At times laugh-out-loud funny, others times tear-jerking, always thought provoking, this is a compulsively readable book with depth and substance. Love comes disguised in many forms throughout our lives, and this lovely book celebrates its many guises ~ parental love, married love, love between siblings, between parents and children, between lovers, between races, between genders; love of the land, love of children, and most of all, love of Life, with all its mysteries and mayhem, mud puddles and magic. Truly wonderful.