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The Chance: Book summary and reviews of The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

The Chance

A Novel

by Karen Kingsbury

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury X
The Chance by Karen Kingsbury
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  • Published Mar 2013
    352 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction

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Book Summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes a heartwarming story about childhood friends, broken lives, and a long ago promise that just might offer the hope of love for today. The Chance delves deeply into a theme that resonates with us all: It's never too late for those willing to take a chance.

Years ago, the day before Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath the Spanish moss of an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other, and sealed them in a rusty old metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later and read them. But now, as that date arrives, much has changed. Ellie, bereft of the faith she grew up with, is a single mom living in a tired apartment trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches television to catch a glimpse of her old friend —Nolan, now an NBA star, whose terrible personal tragedies fueled his faith and athletic drive in equal measure. But Nolan also suffers from a transcendent loneliness that nothing has ever eased.

In their separate lives, as Ellie and Nolan move toward the possibility of a reunion at the oak tree, Kingsbury weaves a tale of heart-wrenching loss, the power of faith, and the wounds that only love can heal.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"In The Chance, Kingsbury (The Bridge, 2012) delivers another excellent novel filled with heart, adventure, and second chances.... Kingsbury is one of the most dependable names in inspirational fiction, and The Chance may be her best yet. She infuses such real emotion into her characters, readers will find themselves in tears multiple times throughout the novel. A beautiful balance of human fragility and the power of God's grace makes this is a must-read." - Booklist

"Another weeper from Christian-fiction diva Kingsbury, this time featuring a prayerful NBA star and his long-lost first love." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about The Chance was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Molinda C. (Suffolk, VA)

Predictable
In the first 10 pages you absolutely know how the book is going to end. No plot spoiler here. The thing that kept me reading was that the story that was told is one I am always interested in reading. I like knowing that people...even fictional people...can overcome their bad decisions and petty ways and come out the other side. If you prefer Christian novels and predictability then you will enjoy this book.

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More Information

#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Karen Kingsbury is America's favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than 20 million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen books have topped bestseller charts and many of her novels are under development as major motion pictures. Karen lives in Tennessee with her husband Don and their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their actress daughter Kelsey is married to Christian recording artist Kyle Kupecky. Visit her at www.karenkingsbury.com.

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