Book: The Second Half

We commonly hear of children being raised by their grandparents. That is the case in the book The Second Half by Lauraine Snelling. Main characters Ken and Mona have many plans to enjoy life as Ken is about to retire from the local University. They both look forward to that season of life, and then suddenly everything changes. Their son is deployed so they are left caring for two young grandchildren since their mother had previously abandoned them. How will Ken and Mona adjust to having two children in their house again? Will they be able to figure out a new routine with the kids while their plans have to be put on hold?

I enjoyed this book overall. Since I am not to this stage of life yet, I could not totally relate to the characters.  The author did a good job sharing the characters' feelings and emotions about having this sudden change in life.  The emotions they felt seemed to be how real people would feel if they experienced this change.  They love their grandchildren but were totally not expecting to have two of them moving into their home.  Plus they are worried about their son's safety during his deployment. Another aspect of this book I found interesting was depression.  I thought the examples given of how the character Mona felt and dealt with her depression during this season of life were insightful.  I have not faced this personally but found it to be helpful to know how people facing depression must feel daily.

This book is easy to read and a good story.  I'd also like to add that when I received the book in the mail, my 11 year old son read the back and wanted to read it.  He read it quickly and enjoyed it as well.     

This is a standalone novel.  You can visit Lauraine Snelling's website here to find out about this and other books.

This book was provided to me from FaithWords with the Hachette Book Group for my review. Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!
    Bethany