I hate first person present tense. Even worse, though, is a story told from the alternating viewpoints of five separate characters, when all five use first person present tense. ALL FIVE. The only exception is the opening passage, which is written from the moon’s (literally, the moon) POV… in third person present tense. Hell, for all I know, we are also treated to the dog and the imaginary friend as narrators in first person present tense, but I only got to page 37 before I closed the book and threw it across the room at the garbage can.

Paperback, which has been sitting unread on my bookshelf for so long that I no longer remember when or why I even bought it. I suspect it was a recommendation from the (now defunct) Books on the Nightstand podcast. ( )

Very post-modern. Narrated by the different members of a family -- parents and their adult children Olive (just broke up from her boyfriend and discovers she's pregnant), Jade (intouch with her spirit guide and her past incarnations), and Forest (has been living in the woods for 15 years after running away from home). They're dealing with their changing lives and each other and what family means. The book is by no means profound, but not terribly cheesy, and very enjoyable. ( )

I love finding new authors by chance! There was just something about the title "On the Divinity of Second Chances" that caught my eye on the libraries NEW shelf. Kaya McLaren has created a dysfunctional family; that on closer look, isn't really all that different from any other family. The characters are flawed but likable and how they find their way back to each other creates a truly happy ending, though not necessarily happily ever after. Who says there aren't Third Chances? ( )

This is a wonderful book, told from the perspective of each family member. Very easy to read, a times funny, poignant and sad. Made me laugh and cry. Excellently written! ( )