A SECOND CHANCE

A SECOND CHANCE

by ASHER FREND

Publisher
Asher Frend
Publication
Jan 19, 2026
Format
EBook
Illustrated
No
Price
$5.99
Dimensions
5.5 x 8.5 in
ISBN
979-8994255919
ASIN
B0GDG6WZF9
Pages
345
Age
13 - 17 years
Category
Coming of AgeSpiritualThrillers

Rights Sold

🌍 World Wide Rights Available

Description

What would you trade to save the ones you love?

For Mikaila, faith is simple. When her best friend Chara is in a horrific car accident, Mikaila makes a promise to God: Chara’s life for her devotion. She is determined to guide her friend back to the light.

But an old friend from her past has other plans. He's charming, intelligent, and seems to understand Mikaila better than anyone. Until charm becomes pressure. Until flattery becomes control. Mikaila finds herself trapped in a game she doesn't understand.

Chara tries to warn Mikaila before the game turns deadly. But in a world of doctored emails and masterful lies, they discover that the most dangerous predator is the one everyone trusts. Faith functions as an internal source of strength and moral grounding for the characters, not as a message-driven element, making the novel accessible to a broad international YA audience. The focus remains on psychological tension, character, and the real-world threat of online grooming.

With its layered female relationships, morally complex antagonist, and strong emotional arc, A Second Chance offers powerful potential for translation and adaptation, resonating across cultures with its message: there are dangers we don’t see until they’re too close, and we all have the courage it takes to run toward the light.

Awards & Endorsements

**** LITERARY TITAN SILVER AWARD WINNER

By the time I reached the last stretch, I was more emotional than I expected.... It feels especially suited to...families who want a story that can open up hard conversations about online boundaries, consent, and what healthy love looks like, with a strong emphasis on faith and hope.

A far cry from the adult-voiced, moralistic teaching tone of many faith-based teen and young adult books, A Second Chance is a surprisingly gritty, suspense-filled, steady-paced adventure. As I entered the complicated, trauma-fraught world of the main characters, Chara and Mikaila, I found honest portraits of struggle. The world Frend creates on paper feels like a safe space for young adults to wrestle with faith, doubt, betrayal, trauma, and belonging in their formative years.

US REVIEW:
"I realized he didn’t like me. He liked the control he had over me."
Dated chapters are portentous and suspenseful, driving the story toward a judgment day that does not disappoint.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Readers' Favorite *****

Frend knows exactly what he is doing here as he starts to draw the story's puzzle pieces into a crescendo. ... It's spectacular to see it all unfold. The ending is bittersweet but extremely satisfying, and overall, this is a book worth reading.

Author(s)

ASHER FREND

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.

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