The Chance

Hope lives for those willing to take a chance.

Ellie Tucker would be considered rich beyond measure to some. She carried with her the love for both of her parents even despite the odds now challenging their marriage, but most of all she carried the love of her childhood friend Nolan Cook. Now it seemed like everything she had come to love and accept was slowly being ripped apart from her by the choices her parents had made.

When her father confronts her mother late one evening after coming home late from work again, the truth spills out from their bedroom door during an argument, that her mom, Caroline was having an affair and is now pregnant. Her father, Alan, has asked her to leave and move out. He can't raise another man's child under his roof and he no longer loves Caroline after this. Thinking only of her best interests, Alan arranges for him and Ellie to move from Savannah, Georgia to Camp Pendleton in California. He believes the further away from her mother she is, the more he can control what is happening in her life.

On the eve of her move, she spends her final night like most every night previously, hanging out in Gordonston Park, where they claimed their very own personal spot in the park. Their spot was the same every time. The patch of grass, alongside the biggest oak tree in the park - maybe the biggest in the city. The one dripping with Spanish moss, with gnarled old roots big enough to sit on. They had come here to talk about life since the summer before sixth grade. Back then they played hide-and-seek among the trees, with the enormous oak serving as home base. During the school year, when it was warm enough, they'd do their homework here. And on nights like this, they would do what came easiest for them.

They would simply crack open their hears and share whatever came out. Nolan had always confessed to Ellie that he loved her and would marry her someday and now it seemed that someday would never ever come. Not with Ellie living so far away. So they made a plan. Like always they ran past the smaller trees to the biggest one in the park, thirty yards from the gate. Their tree. Nolan set the down the box he had brought and the shovel beside the largest root., the one they used as a bench. "Here's the plan. We'll write each other a letter and put it in the box. Today's June first. We'll bury tour letters here by the tree, and eleven years from now, on June first, we'll meet here and read what we wrote." They agreed to write and call each other and hopefully find a way to see one another before the eleven years, but at least they had hope that one day things might be different then they are now.

In the latest novel by Karen Kingsbury, The Chance, is an inspiring look at what the power of faith, hope and love can offer to those dealing with such a profound sense of loss. The loss of her parents marriage, the loss of her friendship with Nolan, and the loss of ever seeing him again like she had been every single night since the sixth grade. This is the story of the eleven years since that day and seeing what Ellie and Nolan's lives have gone. Did Nolan make it to the NBA after all? Did Ellie ever write her best selling novel? Or did God have far different plans for all of them that they never saw coming? You'll have to pick this one up to find out!

I received The Chance by Karen Kingsbury compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I have never read a Karen Kingsbury novel that didn't impact my life in some way. This one really makes you appreciate what you have and to never take for granted one day. It's too easy to miss the bigger picture happening right in front of you, thinking you will always have a tomorrow. This is more than just a novel about hope but also one of forgiveness. The message is one you won't want to miss. I compare her novels to Nicholas Sparks in the Christian world of publishing and she really makes an impact in the way you see your own personal life. I love her dedications in her novel, each a personal letter to her children and husband to inspire and encourage them in their own lives. You can honestly feel she puts a part of herself in each of her books. I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for her next book, Fifteen Minutes that you get an excerpt to read at the conclusion of this novel. If you've never read a novel by Karen Kingsbury, pick one up and see if it doesn't impact you on a deeper level than you ever thought possible!

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