Second chances run deep in these titles to add to your reading list

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

For AUDIENCE: Adults

Cassandra is having an awful day. Her boyfriend just broke up with her, she’s been fired from her job, and to top it off, her local café is sold out of her favorite muffin. The predictable order of her life has suddenly been thrown all out the window, and stranger still, the next day, Cassie wakes up to her boyfriend breaking up with her again. It doesn’t take her long to figure out that she is reliving the same day over and over again, and that she can go back even further in time to rewrite her past to prevent her terrible future.

Cassie serves as a fun but flawed protagonist throughout the book, as we discover and come to understand her life and use her powers for big things like reconnecting with her boyfriend and small things like stopping her boss from using her favorite mug. If you like character-driven stories or love time loops as a plot device, you’ll want to check out this book.

The Second Chance Convenience Store

For Adults

Life has never been faster-paced than it is today. Technology is advancing, progress is quick, and work is competitive; in keeping up with the new norm, it’s easy to feel left behind by the world... But what if it didn’t have to be this way? If we all had a second chance at living our lives, what would it look like?

Dokgo, an unhoused man struggling with memory loss, alcoholism, and PTSD, could not imagine it. Though when he protected Mrs. Yeom Yeong-Sook from a robbery at her convenience store, she imagines it for him. She offered him a night-shift position, and neither knew it, but this would change their community forever. Befriending writers, businessmen, runaway teenagers, and more, Dokgo progressively overcomes his trauma and helps his neighbors confront theirs. As their lives connect, Dokgo and his community start one big second act together.

“The Second Chance Convenience Store” gives an authentic look at daily Korean life, culture, and business. This gentle novel will remind you that in our lonely modern world, you are still empowered to live well with grace, compassion, and hope.