A Second Chance by Asher Frend
Some books teach you something about relationships you thought you already understood. A Second Chance is one of those.
Asher Frend’s YA novel follows Mikaila and Chara, best friends whose bond gets quietly dismantled by someone who knows exactly what he’s doing. Asa doesn’t look like a threat. He looks like a good guy. That’s the whole problem, and Frend handles it with the kind of patience most writers don’t have. No dramatic unmasking. No sudden heel turn. Just a slow, careful erosion that feels uncomfortably real.
What makes this work is Mikaila. She’s competitive, sharp, not someone you’d peg as a target. Frend writes her in first person, and you’re close enough to see the exact moments where her confidence gets redirected. “I realized he didn’t like me. He liked the control he had over me.” You read that line and realize the book has been building to it for a hundred pages.
The dated chapter structure creates its own kind of tension. You’re watching a timeline, and you know something is accumulating even when individual scenes seem fine. Maryland and Connecticut beach towns provide the backdrop, all sun and open sky while something constricts underneath. Frend trusts the reader enough not to underline the contrast.
There’s a faith element woven through the story that feels genuine. It’s part of how these characters navigate their world, not a message bolted onto the plot. The father-daughter relationships running alongside the main story give the title more meaning than you’d expect. Second chances aren’t just about one friendship. They’re about how families learn to hold onto each other while letting go at the same time.
The book has earned the Literary Titan Silver Award, the Christian Books Excellence Award, the Christ Lit Award, and an Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal finalist nod. The US Review of Books recommends it. Those accolades track with what’s on the page.
If you care about stories that treat emotional manipulation honestly, without sensationalizing it or simplifying the recovery, this belongs on your shelf.
Get your copy: A Second Chance on Amazon
What reviewers are saying:
“I realized he didn’t like me. He liked the control he had over me.” — US Review of Books
About Asher Frend
ASHER FREND writes clean young adult fiction with a thread of faith, a sharp edge of suspense, and characters who are trying to do the right thing when it would be easier to walk away. Their stories blend coming-of-age pressure with real emotional stakes, then build toward hope without pretending life is simple. When Asher is not writing, they are usually spending time with their spouse and son and getting out for long walks to clear their head and untangle the next plot problem.