The Chance

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.

My Thoughts:  

This is a novel about second chances, faith and forgiveness. Things we all long for. It is typical Karen Kingsbury, nothing spectacular or life shattering. Having been a navy brat I experienced exactly what Ellie did. Had to move just before my Junior year of high school, left a boyfriend in San Diego, California and moved to Orlando, Florida. I thought I would die. I found that I enjoyed Florida a lot better than California. In Ellie's case she looses her faith, due a hard nosed Marine father who spits out Bible verses like he spits out commands to troops. With no love or compassion. She hates him and everything about God. The love of her daughter, and her sweet prayers begin to change her heart.
Nolan has everything he could ever want as a NBA star, except companionship. His dad died when he was a teen, he can't find Ellie, and he has searched and searched. He constantly prays to God for direction to find Ellie. He hopes she won't forget their date to meet underneath the tree to dig up the box and read their letters.