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savvyliterate's review
5.0
(CW: Anxiety)
Second Chances is my introduction to Eva Moore’s work, and I made the mistake of reading the sample pages before work, because I instantly wanted to sink myself into Olivia and Theo's story. It features two beautifully flawed and complicated characters, powerful female friendships, and lush descriptions of cooking and farm life so vivid that I was reminded of reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Farmer Boy” for the first time.
It is the second book in the series, but you can easily read it without knowing what happened in the first because the linking connection is the friendship these four women have, and it is explained in the opening pages. I LOVE Olivia immensely, and I strongly identify with her need to control the environment about her. Her doubts and anxieties as she pushes to make her dreams come true are extremely relatable. I love that even though she achieves her dream, it isn’t an easy one, and she’s not just magically handed the universe on a plate.
I also LOVE prickly, reticent, is-a-self-acknowledged-asshole-throughout-a-good-chunk-of-the-book Theo. We see into his head so throughly that even though he opens his mouth and jams his mud-caked boot down his throat constantly, you know he’s a good person and is trying his best. The scenes where he loses his temper are maddening, but they're supposed to be so, and the narrative doesn't let Theo off for his behavior. Theo is self aware of this as well, and he does try and kicks himself when he fails. He does recognize his own faults and know it is on himself to fix them, not Olivia.
The one thing I wish we had seen more of was Theo going through the process of writing a blog entry, something we get a glimpse of at the end. I would have loved to see Theo visibly crafting one of the entries we get to read at the beginning of the chapter, especially given some of the hardships he goes through in the book and suspect he used that outlet to deal a bit with his emotions regarding Olivia.
One of my favorite passages in the book is seeing this sort of writing therapy being done from Olivia’s perspective toward the beginning: where she channels her anxiety into the creation of to-do lists and actionable items. One of the driving plots of the book is Olivia learning to let go of control at times, but the therapeutic nature of the act of writing down her lists was healing for me as well.
Moore does the best take on an anxiety attack that I have seen in a book to date. The triggers causing it, the emotions that Olivia is feeling, and the after care given to her by her friends are all spot on. I just wanted to reach through my Kindle and hug Liv so hard. But instead, I can thank my friends for being there for me in the way Stella and Dani were there for Olivia. It is these passages, plus these beautifully complicated emotions and descriptions of Olivia’s new life, that makes this book a keeper for me.
Second Chances is my introduction to Eva Moore’s work, and I made the mistake of reading the sample pages before work, because I instantly wanted to sink myself into Olivia and Theo's story. It features two beautifully flawed and complicated characters, powerful female friendships, and lush descriptions of cooking and farm life so vivid that I was reminded of reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Farmer Boy” for the first time.
It is the second book in the series, but you can easily read it without knowing what happened in the first because the linking connection is the friendship these four women have, and it is explained in the opening pages. I LOVE Olivia immensely, and I strongly identify with her need to control the environment about her. Her doubts and anxieties as she pushes to make her dreams come true are extremely relatable. I love that even though she achieves her dream, it isn’t an easy one, and she’s not just magically handed the universe on a plate.
I also LOVE prickly, reticent, is-a-self-acknowledged-asshole-throughout-a-good-chunk-of-the-book Theo. We see into his head so throughly that even though he opens his mouth and jams his mud-caked boot down his throat constantly, you know he’s a good person and is trying his best. The scenes where he loses his temper are maddening, but they're supposed to be so, and the narrative doesn't let Theo off for his behavior. Theo is self aware of this as well, and he does try and kicks himself when he fails. He does recognize his own faults and know it is on himself to fix them, not Olivia.
The one thing I wish we had seen more of was Theo going through the process of writing a blog entry, something we get a glimpse of at the end. I would have loved to see Theo visibly crafting one of the entries we get to read at the beginning of the chapter, especially given some of the hardships he goes through in the book and suspect he used that outlet to deal a bit with his emotions regarding Olivia.
One of my favorite passages in the book is seeing this sort of writing therapy being done from Olivia’s perspective toward the beginning: where she channels her anxiety into the creation of to-do lists and actionable items. One of the driving plots of the book is Olivia learning to let go of control at times, but the therapeutic nature of the act of writing down her lists was healing for me as well.
Moore does the best take on an anxiety attack that I have seen in a book to date. The triggers causing it, the emotions that Olivia is feeling, and the after care given to her by her friends are all spot on. I just wanted to reach through my Kindle and hug Liv so hard. But instead, I can thank my friends for being there for me in the way Stella and Dani were there for Olivia. It is these passages, plus these beautifully complicated emotions and descriptions of Olivia’s new life, that makes this book a keeper for me.
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