oh hey, what an absolute gut punch of a book (in the best way possible!)

i've been reading Robbie's books for a few years now, and this one feels like the perfect culmination of his past works. it has the optimism of Sky, the determination of Blaine, and the hard truths of If I See You Again Tomorrow.

this book, along with River's emotions, is very raw. it manages to be full of grief and pain, but ties it all together with joy and love. River (and Mavis) are experiencing some serious pain, and they face it head on (in their own ways, and even when they think they're avoiding it). they have to go through those things to finally feel okay on the other side.

but what i love most is how the book doesn't shy away from some of the less talked about parts of grief; how the person and specifics can fade, but the feelings stay.

i'm a huge plot nerd, so the story structure worked really well for me. i loved all the flashbacks to Dylan's last day. and the Affinity trials were perfectly balanced with being cool and also unsettling.

really cute and dark at points tragic romance/getting to know people and yourself thing. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

I really enjoyed this one. It's fairly similar to the author's other book if I see you again tomorrow but in a totally different way even though that makes no sense. It's kind of a sci-fi YA contemporary that doesn't have a romance at the heart of it and is going to tug at your heartstrings. Where the other was about a time loop this one is about advanced science brain stuff that isn't technically sci-fi but does give futuristic vibes.

So this book is about this kid whose best friend died in a car accident a year ago and since then he has really been struggling to grieve and express his grief and any sort of manageable way. He has lost his other friends and isn't functioning very well socially. When an opportunity comes for him to be part of a social experiment he ends up doing it for various reasons. The social experiment has almost no parameter set that are defined for the participants and all they really know is that it's for kids who struggle socially. It turns into this sci-fi brain mapping thing that I cannot describe without spoiling it so I'm leaving it there but I really ended up liking it.

This is a book that you kind of have to just power through because you're going to end up questioning some of the relationships that are happening and wondering if they're really well thought out but everything comes together in the end and it all makes sense in a way that just works.

I absolutely loved this book. The tension was perfect. The unfolding of the plot was well paced. The plot twist was a little predictable but it still offered a well thought out discussion on grief and mourning. The friendships between River and the others was heartfelt yet still had the necessary conflict. The situation with Dylan seems plausible and tears the community apart. I had some reasonable questions about the scientific approach of the research study, which would never occur IRL, but I can forgive it a little for the purposes of fiction. I honestly read it in like 2 days because there was so many unanswered questions as you read. Dylan’s and River relationship was beautifully crafts and there were times I just stopped to think. Highly recommended.

Robbie couch is an instant read for me, from book one until now. The subject matter is hard to read at times…what do you do when your favorite person dies unexpectedly, and becomes the poster child for what not to do? Dehumanizing them and turning them into a message of woe. Robbie has a way of making you feel safe with his writing even when the subject matter is hard

I am constantly impressed by Robbie Couch. I've enjoyed all of his books so far, but his latest, Another First Chance, takes things to a new level. While there are some romantic elements, it's mainly a story about friendship and grief.

I really liked everything about this novel, including the dual perspectives. It was interesting to see what Dylan's day was like and what led up to his untimely death. I also really liked River and cared a lot about him. I totally get how he felt about people constantly asking him if he was okay and telling him it was okay not to be okay. Just let him grieve in his own way! The premise of the novel was great and I never knew what was going to happen from one moment to the next. So I was constantly surprised. I also got my "What?!?" moment, which I appreciate when I read books or watch shows. I don't want to say anything more as to not spoil the story.

I definitely recommend this novel for readers ages young adult and up. There's a lot to enjoy as an adult too. It's well-told and kept me turning the pages. And if you haven't read Robbie's other novels, get on that! They're all very much different from one another, which is fun.

I don't cast YA novels, but I kept picturing Ritu Arya as Nora because I just saw her in The Umbrella Academy and I felt like she'd fit this part too.

Thank you, NetGalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review! 🥰🫶
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This book takes place in a duel timeline with the present - River grieving from the death of his best friend 1 year after and the past - Dylan on the day of his death. It's heartbreaking to, throughout the novel, see the lead-up to Dylan’s death and what happened on his last day. River enters into a psychological study looking at how friendships are developed. Also in the study is River's ex-best friend and Dylan's former girlfriend, Mavis. As the trials go on more questions come up than answers and the students participating group together and find out the truth behind the Affinity Trials. It's super interesting as you read trying to figure out the true meaning of the trials versus finding out towards the end of the book. It was very surprising to me and I think it reflects greatly on the theme of grieving found within this book.
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There's not much more I can say without spoiling it, but I really enjoyed this book and I think with each new Robbie Couch book it just keeps getting more emotional. And I don't hate it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great book. I adored my reading experience and loved this book so much.

Thank you, NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

River's best friend died a year ago and now he has to pass the billboard that reduces Dylan to a cautionary tale against texting and driving. When he's caught vandalizing the billboard, he's forced to join the Affinity Trials, a study observing teens that struggle socially. Having to be with his ex best friend and Dylan's former girlfriend, Mavis, doesn't help. But befriending Nash, a quarterback and having feelings blossoming, seems to help. Also, what are the researchers actually studying, while monitoring his every move? When he starts to suspect something that will change everyhing, he will have to decide what to do in order to get another chance at love.

I do love Robbie Couch's writing. I think it's intense, with well rounded characters and with always profound and intriguing stories and this book didn't disappoint. With sensitivity and care, the author deals with loss, love and the struggles in moving on, keep facing the world, being able to open oneself up and he does this with amazing skill. I love the way River has to deal with his pain and loss and slowly to accept he can love again, he can accept what happened and keep going.
This book is really sweet and well written.

Robbie Couch continues to craft such captivating stories!

Once I started this one, it was impossible to put down. It was compelling and well-written, and had lots of interesting twists and turns, while still maintaining a level of relatability and softness.

ANOTHER FIRST CHANCE is a tender story of grief, friendship, and the mysteries of science. It’s a dual-POV, parallel timeline story of best friends River and Dylan, and their lives before and after Dylan dies in a car accident. We explore River’s grief, and how that grief, and the relationships in his life, change when he enters The Affinity Trials, a science-based but mysterious experiment for students who struggle socially.

As River navigates strange relationships with other participants and a ghostly sighting of his deceased best friend, he seeks to undercover the truth behind the science experiment and understand his relationships—both with Dylan and with others.

This book really managed to be the perfect mix of intrigue, heart-wrenching sadness, hope, friendship, and humor, and I thoroughly enjoyed Robbie’s storytelling, just as I have with his other books! A great read.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. ANOTHER FIRST CHANCE is out now!

You know, I cried while reading "If I See You Again Tomorrow", so I don't know why I expected any differently from "Another First Chance" but man, I haven't felt this wrecked by a book in a long time. It was beautifully written -- not that Couch ever disappoints -- but thanks to his passionate writing and well-developed characters, I was able to connect to this novel completely. Even if I expected to be sad based on the summary alone, nothing could have prepared me for the heart-wrenching experience that I had upon finishing this book.

If you're looking to cry, you should pick up this book!

River Lang has been mourning the death of his best friend Dylan his entire senior year. He's reminded of Dylan's death from texting and driving every time he drives past the PSA billboard they put up as a reminder to the other teens. After vandalizing the billboard and being caught, River joins the Affinity Trials, a research study held at his school to investigate teens who have been struggling in their social lives. When River joins, he is forced to confront the night that Dylan died, especially because Dylan's former girlfriend Mavis is another participant in the trials. As the trials proceed, River begins to investigate the purpose of the trial and attempts to discover if he can move on from such a tremendous loss.

Another First Chance was a fun, moving story. This is my second book from Robbie Couch, and while it does not have the excellent hook of the time loop that If I See You Again Tommorow had, I enjoyed the characters and their development over the book. Couch explores the challenges in grieving and moving on from severe losses, and how that grief can separate and connect people. The characters felt believable and the various trial participants were distinct and created a great environment to live in with the book. The less realistic elements were handled well and somewhat surprised me with how far they went, building to a very sweet and emotional climax that I really appreciated.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for a copy of Another First Chance in exchange for an honest review.

Oh. My. God. This book has destroyed me. In the best way possible.
From the description of this book, I knew that it could easily set the reader up for just about anything to happen, but never in a million years would I have guessed it.
Crouch just has such an effortless writing style that constantly kept me invested and wanting to know what was next. I especially loved the constant use of weaving in all of the space analogies and terminology. It was so effortless and natural.
All of the characters had something more to them that made them feel like actual believable people I could be reading about and I adored each of them (I even have soft spot for Nora).
I genuinely think I have never cried harder reading a book. But I was just so emotionally attached to these characters. Their joy was my joy. Their heartbreak was my heartbreak. I have never felt such a way for characters from a novel. River and Dylan will always have a soft place in my heart and in my universe.
5/5 stars!

There have been a couple book that I haven't had time to get to from this author, so this is my second book by Robbie Couch. I loved The Sky Blues, but this is even better. I don't know how authors just keep getting better when I already loved their first pieces of work, but it amazes me every time and I'm so thankful that they keep providing me more and more books. Please go read this.

Per my usual metric, if tears are shed because of a book, five stars are immediately rewarded. This one got me. It's simple, it's heartbreaking, it's a perfect summer read. Couch does such a good job providing you with the hearts and minds of River and Dylan. You really feel the emotional rollercoaster of what it could be like if you lose one best friend, and then lose another one for reasons you understand even less. The use of space analogies by the characters fits perfectly with what Couch builds so perfectly to: the titular "first chance." How that is to be interpreted is ultimately up to the reader, even as the acknowledgements page rolls.

To say anything else would be too leading, and we certainly wouldn't want to skew any experiment with that kind of behavior. Needless to say: read this book. It'll make you laugh and cry. Five stars.

What an interesting book! I LOVED this author's previous book, If I See You Again Tomorrow, which ended up on my favorites list last year. I love how in that book, as well as this one, the author is able to pair such deep and complicated emotions of romantic relationships, friendships, and grief alongside such an intriguing sci-fi plot. The very end of this book got a littttttle over-the-top for my personal taste, so I'm landing at 4 stars, but I'm pretty sure I'll pick up and love every book this author puts out in the future. I'd recommend this book to fans of slightly speculative sci fi books that leave you with a lot of questions until the very end, and also fans of LGBTQ characters and relationships :)

A devastating but beautiful look at love and grief. The dual POV worked wonderfully--River's storyline, his anger at his loss, and his growth as he allowed himself to truly grieve, and Dylan's flashbacks, as he tried to become the man everyone wanted, and paid a terrible price. Couch's writing is moving and raw, and I loved every moment.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I’ve enjoyed Robbie Couch’s previous YA novels and have had this one on my TBR shelf since it was announced. The premise of this one is intriguing. River’s best friend passed away in a car accident and River hasn’t been the same since. Dylan has become a cautionary tale, complete with PSA billboards, in death. River is upset that Dylan’s humanity is being played down in all of this and he defaces a billboard around the anniversary of his friend’s passing. Then he gets blackmailed to join a research group at his school called the “Affinity Trials.” In the process he meets a guy named Nash, that he is immediately drawn to because he has some similarities with Dylan. I enjoyed the plot that touched upon River’s grief and trying to reconcile a broken friendship with Dylan’s ex-girlfriend and his own complicated feelings for his friend. The “Affinity Trials” themselves were my least favorite part of the book and I found their purpose convoluted. Still I love how the characters were drawn and the obviously emotions that played out in the story. I would recommend this to others who have enjoyed the author’s previous books because this was right in line with those.

This is my first book by Couch and it was a great starting point. The themes of grief and coping with loss were well written and I liked the speculative twist on reality.

This is mostly told in the present from River's point of view, but interspersed are pieces from Dylan's final day. I liked getting to fill in the blanks about what actually happened and got a nice conclusion to the trauma.

The pacing is great and what was really going on with the experiment was an interesting spin. I'll definitely be checking out other works from this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the copy.

thank you to netgalley and simon & schuster for a copy of this arc in exchange for my honest review

what in the black mirror did i just read?!

another first chance follows river lang, whose best friend - dylan cooper - died a year ago in a car crash while texting and driving. haunted by the idea that his dead best friend is remembered only as a tragedy, he vandalizes the billboard put up in dylan's memory. he is then blackmailed into joining the affinity trials, a shady sounding research study aimed at students who are "struggling socially." during this time, weirder and weirder shit keeps happening, so river and the other participants attempt to get to the bottom of what the trials are *really* about.

this is a story about grief, love, loss, and friendship. the author's ability to make me feel the loss of dylan so deeply was both profoundly impressive and depressing (for me). at points i almost felt like i was in river's head, feeling the impact of dylan's loss on him. i was intrigued by the idea of the affinity trials when i first read the synopsis, and was not disappointed in how royally fucked up and weird shit gets. it made me start to question my own reality (jk, mostly).

i enjoyed the queer aspects of this book, and was quick to notice the subtly placed enby side character. the focus on friendship was a huge winner for me, and could definitely see this story benefitting both teens and young adults (and honestly, older adults too) process a difficult moment in their lives.