Thank you to NetGalley, Holiday House/Peachtree/Pixel+Ink, and Juan Vidal for the opportunity to read A Second Chance of Earth in exchange for an honest review.

A Second Chance on Earth is a Hi-Lo novel written in a poetic verse style. While it makes for a quicker read, the themes and messages within this young adult novel are on a high literary level.

Marcos and His Father's Legacy
Sixteen-year-old Marcos Cadena discovers a well-worn copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude among his late father's belongings after Papi's tragic accidental death. Based on its condition, Marcos figures it was an important literary work to his father, and he too wants to explore this novel that seemed so impactful to the man he most cared about. This book, written by Gabriel García Márquez, symbolizes Marcos' connection to his father and his quest for understanding. Traveling to Cartagena, Colombia, to scatter Papi's ashes, Marcos believes the novel holds insights into his father's life and his own process of grieving. Visiting sites that the author describes or where he lived and wrote are an inspiration to Marcos' journey forward.

Friendship and Redemption in Cartagena
In Cartagena, Marcos encounters eighteen-year-old Camilo, a taxi driver who shares a passion for García Márquez's work and becomes his tour guide. The duo explore the vibrant and contrasting landscapes of the city, from the charming streets of Old Town to Camilo's impoverished neighborhood. However, their friendship is tested when Camilo discloses a troubling secret from his past that could potentially lead to jail time, leading Marcos to contemplate the concept of redemption and whether everyone deserves a second chance.

Final Thoughts
While I have not read One Hundred Years of Solitude, this novel inspires me to do so. It is basically an homage to the author, Gabriel Márquez. It is nice to see a young person so inspired by a literary work and using said work to find his next path in life. While family plays a major role in the novel, as Marcos and his family are in Cartagena to spread his father's ashes, it demonstrates the bonds a family shares and the love one has for their spouse, children, siblings, and parents, and how grieving can be solitary, but also experienced together. It also explores friendship as Marcos finds something in Camilo that he wasn't expecting, and that chance encounter and newfound friendship has the kind of power to change both of their lives.

This novel has many relatable elements for teen readers and experiences they might be going through at well. It feels like a guide in its structure, as if it is attempting to be a novel to support the reader's current circumstances and experiences just as One Hundred Years of Solitude is for Marcos. A truly inspiring and powerful must-read for a young adult audience.

After losing Papi in a motorcycle accident, Marcos and his family travels to Cartagena, Colombia, to scatter Papi's ashes as well as saying goodbye for the last time. As he tries to navigate the world without his hero in Papi's hometown, he befriends a young taxi driver named Camilo who shows him life in Cartagena and how Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Papi's favorite book, helps him like it helps Marcos. Will there be a second chance for him to reach his dream alone, and for people like Camilo who just tries his best to survive?

I like that the poems here are creatively composed. Each of them deliberately encapsulates Marcos' experience and thoughts. Of all aspects, I particularly pay more attention to how Marcos views masculinity from his father, his best friends in Florida, and his new buddy Camilo. I think it's refreshing and important to have such representation in YA books; talking about how it feels to be a boy who looks up to other man figures. The MC is a POC too and it brings nuances as a young Colombian-American to define what it is like to grow up, how to man up, how to protect people we love while being gentle to oneself, how to be open with our feelings.

And I want MORE. I want more of Marcos' relationship with women in his family. I want more of Cartagena so I can bask in lovely description of this vibrant melodic town, with its scent and its taste and its footprints. I want more of Camilo's story, of why he keeps his last secrets and what he sees from their friendship. I want more of parallels between Camilo and Papi, as Marcos learns how to accept and forgive. I was kind of hoping this story will also be available in prose, but that would be impossible since it has already been written in verse. But this format is page-turning and easy to read, so it may be more fitting for teen readers alike. And I think they would see themselves in Marcos too.

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for providing an eARC of this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love novels in verse. I think they are generally under-appreciated. I understand that it isn't a medium for everyone and some readers want more details about everything going on, but a good novel in verse can give you everything you need.

Something I notices about most novels in verse I have read is that they were written from the POV of teenage girls and women, this is the first that I have read from the POV of a teenage boy. Now, this is where I mention that I am not a teenage boy, nor am I a man in general, so if you're looking reviews from those demographics, please dismiss my review. However, I found this to be well-written and emotionally tender.

I lost my own father not terribly long ago and I am still learning new things about him. Exploring loved ones after they are gone through things that they loved and enjoyed is something that really resonated with me. Marcos experiences his father through Gabo and Colombia and in turn learns more about the man he was, but also learns about himself.

Overall, I think that this is a lovely novel. It's easy to read and engaging. There were a few places that I thought it could have been cleaned up or changed a bit to make it have a bit more impact, I didn’t cry and I was expecting to. I'll be excited to see what Juan Vidal comes out with next!

3.5 some mixed feelings on this one. The poetry is great, and filled with sensory images, deft allusions, all the things. I wonder, though, if students would be interested having never read Gabo? I’d say you could use passages as a love song to a place, in this case, Columbia. Sinking into the world zooming past the taxi is definitely worthwhile. Students could write their own poetry of place, or loss, of finding yourself. Also, finally a non toxic male friendship is great to see. There’s enough here to be useful, but not widely applicable.

A Second Chance on Earth is a book in verse about teenager Marcos, whose father has just passed away. Marcos and his family take a trip back to Columbia where his father was raised so they can connect to him and give him a proper send off. Marcos spends the novel connecting to his father in a way he's never felt before, especially with the help of his fathers favorite book, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Marcos also meets Camilo, a kind but troubled teenager who helps show Marcos around the city and shares the same enthusiasm over the book and it's author, who was a local to the area. The friendship between the two teenagers was nice to read about, and I enjoyed how the book weaves in the personal, locational and historical storylines into an easy-to-read verse style story. This book isn't a 'get your tissues' out read, but still had a lot of depth and emotions in regards to grief and connection.