NEW RELEASE
Skipping a Beat - Sarah Pekkanen (2011)
Julia and Michael were high school sweethearts from a small town in West Virginia. Immediately after high school, they moved east and scraped by as they worked their way through college. Fast forward a few years and Michael is the owner of a company valued at $70 million. Their lives are now filled with missed anniversaries and broken promises. Then one fateful day Michael collapses from cardiac arrest at a board meeting. In the four minutes and eight seconds it takes to jump start his heart, he becomes a changed man with different priorities. Julia has to decide if the damage done to their marriage is too great to ever forgive. Even when I wasn't reading this book, I found myself constantly thinking about the characters. The novel explores marriage and forgiveness beautifully. The ending was so shocking, yet completely satisfying. This novel has moved to the top of my favourites list. (AO)
Sarah Pekkanen follows up her impressive debut The Opposite of Me with her 2011 release Skipping a Beat. This asks what would you do if your husband had a second chance at life but wanted to rewrite the rules of your relationship? The summary says: "From the outside, Julia and Michael seem to have it all. Both products of difficult childhoods in rural West Virginia - where they were simply Julie and Mike - they become high school sweethearts. Now in their 30s, they're living a rarified life in a multi-million-dollar Washington, D.C. home. Julia is a sought-after party planner and Michael has just sold his beverage company for $70 million. Then Michael collapses. Four minutes and eight seconds after his cardiac arrest, a portable defibrillator jumpstarts his heart. But in those lost minutes he becomes a different man. Money is meaningless to him - and he wants to give it all away. Julia, who sees her life reflected in scenes from the world's great operas, has three weeks to make a choice: Walk away from the man she once adored - but who became a stranger to her even before this pronouncement - or give in to her husband's pleas for a second chance and a promise of a poorer but happier life?" Skipping the Beat is out in February.