Book Review: Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley!

Seconds: A Graphic Novel by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published: July 15th 2014 by Ballantine Books
Purchase: Amazon 
Description from Goodreads:
The highly anticipated new standalone full-color graphic novel from Bryan Lee O’Malley, author and artist of the hugely bestselling Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series

Katie’s got it pretty good. She’s a talented young chef, she runs a successful restaurant, and she has big plans to open an even better one. Then, all at once, progress on the new location bogs down, her charming ex-boyfriend pops up, her fling with another chef goes sour, and her best waitress gets badly hurt. And just like that, Katie’s life goes from pretty good to not so much. What she needs is a second chance. Everybody deserves one, after all—but they don’t come easy. Luckily for Katie, a mysterious girl appears in the middle of the night with simple instructions for a do-it-yourself do-over:

1. Write your mistake
2. Ingest one mushroom
3. Go to sleep
4. Wake anew

And just like that, all the bad stuff never happened, and Katie is given another chance to get things right. She’s also got a dresser drawer full of magical mushrooms—and an irresistible urge to make her life not just good, but perfect. Too bad it’s against the rules. But Katie doesn’t care about the rules—and she’s about to discover the unintended consequences of the best intentions.

From the mind and pen behind the acclaimed Scott Pilgrim series comes a madcap new tale of existential angst, everyday obstacles, young love, and ancient spirits that’s sharp-witted and tenderhearted, whimsical and wise.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My Review:
I've had Seconds sitting on my shelf since it was released. I did try picking it up once before, and for some reason, I originally had trouble getting into it. But I decided to pick it up again last night, and I'm so glad that I did.
Seconds is a story about second chances, growing up, and mistakes.
If you're looking for a book that perfectly captures what it feels like to be a twenty-something year old in the world, Seconds is the perfect book. Yes, there are magic mushrooms in the story, but it is actually grounded in reality and is quite dark at times.
I've only read O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series before reading Seconds, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this one. While the Scott Pilgrim series is wonderful, Seconds is nothing like it and that happens to be a good thing - a very good thing.
Even if you don't enjoy graphic novels, I would highly, highly, highly suggest picking up Seconds. It's a fantastic story that is definitely worth your time.
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