My Second Life

by Faye Bird

A pacy pageturner that asks: Can you be held responsible now for something you did in a previous life?

Fifteen-year-old Ana has a good life--she has friends and a boy she likes and a kind mother--but still, she's haunted by her past; she knows that she lived once before as a girl named Emma, and she still misses her old family. When, by chance in her life now, Ana meets a woman she knew in her previous life, a terrifying memory flashes through her mind of a young girl drowning. Was Emma responsible? And should Ana pay the price? Consumed by guilt, Ana sets out to find out as much as possible about the person she was before and what she had done, only to discover that the family she misses so deeply had dark secrets of its own. To come to terms with her life now, Ana must figure out how to let go of the past.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2014

About the author

Faye writes fiction for young adults. Before becoming a writer she worked as a literary agent representing screenwriters in film and TV. She studied Philosophy and Literature at Warwick University, but has otherwise always lived in London, and still does now. Her second novel, What I Couldn’t Tell You, will be published on 1 May 2016.

http://www.fayebirdauthor.com

Reviews

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

North East Teenage Book Awards Nominee 2014

5 Words: Life, death, moving-on, family, guilt.

I thought that this book was great, it was fantastic.

But it was missing that special something that could have made it absolutely amazing. And that annoyed me a little because the idea, the concept behind this storyline, means that it could have so easily been breathtaking.

Saying that, I did enjoy this an awful lot.

I loved how twisted some of the relationships were and I loved the internal conflict with Ana/Emma, the exploration of identity.

This isn't a light, fluffy, happy read. It's dark and it's a little brooding and it really makes you stop and think. At the same time it also explores family relationships and what it is to be a daughter/mother.

It reminded me a little of Looking for JJ even though it's very VERY different. I think it was something about the style, how the narrator was almost reminiscing about the past but still slightly unsure about everything and absolutely terrified of it.

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

اثر جالبی بود و سوال جالبی رو مطرح می کرد. آنا-رُز 15 ساله همیشه میدونسته که یه زندگی قبلی داشته و با اینکه بیشتر جزئیاتش رو به یاد نداره اما میدونه که در زندگی قبلی اِما تریس بوده که در 22 سالگی فوت کرده. آنا زندگی خوبی داره و همچی خوب پیش میره تا اینکه مادربزرگش رو توی بیمارستان میبینه و هم اتاقی مادربزرگش رو میشناسه، اونم از دورانی که اِما بوده. کم کم جزئیات زندگی قبل یادش میاد و احساس گناه فرا میگیرتش...
نویسنده تلاش خوبی برای نوشتن این متن کرده و ایده خلاقانه ای رو مطرح میکنه که آیا مسئول کارهایی که در زندگی قبلیتون کردین هم هستین یا خیر؟ مسائل مختلف دیگه ای هم مطرح میشه که باعث میشه بعد از تمام شدن کتاب هم خواننده بهش فکر کنه.
نثر ساده و گیرا و سرعت پیشروی مناسبی داره.

[Jessie Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Large parts of this were easily predicted but the author did manage to surprise me with one twist right at the end. It tried to explore some philosophical questions but there was no depth to characters or plot so that attempt largely failed.

RTC on the blog.

[Nicole]

DNF at page 102

I just couldn't get into this one. Everything the main character Ana said and did bothered me - I just couldn't like her or sympathize with her. And the writing in general was a little awkward. While some part of me does want to know what Emma did and what is going to happen to Ana in this life, I can't read another 160ish pages to find out.

[Tissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, could have been 4.

This was a fast paced thriller with a little psychological suspense and a 'murder' mystery that turned out to be neither a murder nor much of a mystery but not in an entirely bad way just less interesting. Still there were some surprises and the unique take on the MCs identity is not one I've read before. It kept me hooked and the conflict she felt between two separate identities was written well but the supernatural element lacked depth/explanation. It was an enjoyable read but it just missed the mark on excellent.

[Lei · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't do it...

DNF at 150

Emma Trees reincarnates as schoolgirl Ana Ross in her second life, but she's still haunted by her past. That she killed someone. When she meets a woman from her life as Emma, connecting her with her past once again, she discovers that what happened that night might not be just like how she remembered.

There was so much potential in My Second Life. Do you see how catchy the blurb was? I wanted to like it. Really. But I couldn't bring myself to. It has a good plot, but it was so boring and so silly. I'm going to be honest, the reason why I'm dropping this is because I feel that if I finish it, I might go on a reading slump. Reading this makes my head hurt.

Emma, or Ana, or whatever keeps talking about how she feels guilty. But nothing about that sounds so authentic. Is it the writing? I don't feel a thing for her. She's just like paper to me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there wasn't a single description of her appearance in the book. I didn't know how to picture her. The people around her weren't pictured as well. Am I supposed to imagine for myself? Because that didn't work out for me.

The dialogue wasn't natural. The excessive use of “I” whenever starting another sentence/paragraph that it almost makes the whole page bothers me. The quick shift in Ana's mood whenever Jamie is around seems so unnatural to me.

It was just a waste of time.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book that was easy to read. The actual concept was so interesting and it made me want to read it all of the time. I finished this book so quickly. The actual book was quite upsetting in the topics but honestly I really enjoyed it. It covered a topic that I’ve never read before and it was done so well.

This book won’t be for everyone but I think that there are loads of people out there who would thoroughly enjoy this book. It has a touch of thriller in it and I think this is what hooked me.

I haven’t given it 5 stars because I think that there is something that is missing. I feel like it needed a bit on the end for extra closure. I don’t know what it is about it but it just needed something a little bit more. Definitely worth the read.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My Second Life is heartbreaking, heartracing, has an amazing lead character and the story is nothing like I have read before. I can't highly recommend this book enough!"

I loved this book. From page 1 I was hooked! My second Life is like nothing I have ever read, it has such a unique storyline! The main protagonist Ana knows that she lived a previous life as beautiful Emma. She can't get rid of her feelings of Emma’s life, of her life , of loving her mum (Emma's) and her mum (Ana's) doesn't really feel like her real mum. It's like Ana is living two life’s side by side. The present as Ana and the past as Emma.

When Ana meets Frances everything changes. She remembers Frances from her previous life as Emma and she realises that she Emma did something terrible in her past life. A girl named Catherine, her friend, died and it might have been all her fault, she might have killed her!

My Second Life was very complex and intriguing. Ana the protagonist was amazing. She is living her life as two people and all these feelings she is feeling are overwhelming and I could feel Ana's pain, heartache and confusion!

The story was really compelling as well, the mystery of Catherine was so well written . I couldn't figure out if Emma did kill Catherine, she was a child what and how could she have possibly killed someone.

Frances, Catherine's mother was a horrible woman I know she never got over the lost of her daughter but she scared me and gave me chills from the cruelty and hate pouring from her.

My Second Life is an amazing debut and is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. It has everything you would want in a great read and will keep you up reading all night. And when it is finished it will leave you questioning, is it possible we have lived previous lives and are they embedded somewhere in our DNA! Only you can answer that.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this as my first book from a book club yesterday, not been able to put it down. It was the perfect length but I don't want to have finished it.

[Camille Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

"What would you do if you could remember your past life? What would you do if your past can shatter your future?"
.
.
This follows the story of 16 year old Ana who remembers her previous life as Emma. She remembers her previous parents and longs for them everyday, causing her to resent her current mother.
She remembers not a lot though, but when she encounters France- a woman from her past who is now old, something gets triggered. She feels something really bad has happened, but she couldn't remember exactly what. But she knows she did something horrible... She murdered someone.
.
.
This book discusses a lot of issues about family, friendship, identity, sense of belonging, consequences, betrayal, death, etc.
It was an intriguing read and I read through it fast wanting to know what "it" was. Unfortunately for me though, the big reveal didn't quite pack the punch I hoped it would. I give it ⭐⭐⭐.
.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75…

Pleasantly surprised that this book wasn’t the crapfest I was expecting it to be. Honestly, as interesting as this book sounded, I really thought this would be a poorly written, woe-is-me reincarnation-themed book with a shit-for-brain protagonist. I had this on my TBR list forever and it was $3 on Amazon. So why not, right? It’s nothing too deep or complicated (it is YA after all), but still managed to get me right in my feels.

Not bad, book. Not bad.

[Amburlea · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!

I have just finished this book and it was amazing. A super powerful edge of your seat read.

Finished with me crying, and I have not cried at a book in a long time!!

[Harker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I was offered the chance to review My Second Life. I believe in reincarnation and the thought that you can be held responsible for something you did in a past life is definitely intriguing. It brings up so many questions: can someone who did good be allowed a pass if they commit a crime? Can someone who did something terrible ever be redeemed? Faye Bird tackles one of these questions with Ana, her main character.

Ana is a fifteen year old girl who has always known that she's lived a life before. From the moment she is born into her life as Ana, she has memories of her life as Emma, the girl she was previously. For the most part these memories manifest as a longing for her first mother, which causes a lot of conflict with her current mother. This was illustrated in the book by the fact that as a reader I never really got the sense that we knew Ana's mother. She was in the book for brief periods of time, but her character was never really developed in my eyes. I think this was a good method because it gave me a similar sense of distance from her like what Ana must have felt.

Things get tricky for Ana when she, by chance, runs into someone from her old life and starts to have memories that are much darker than anything she's ever experienced before. It brings up the question in her mind; what did I do when I was Emma? This question drives Ana to dive into an investigation of her past life and the path that it leads her down is frightening, nerve wracking, and will ultimately lead to a place that will lead both Ana and the reader unsettled.

I won't go into much more plot wise because I don't want to spoil the story, but I will say that you'll think you know what's happening but the truth will surprise you. Faye Bird does a good job of keeping the ending close to her chest. The pacing of her writing is very quick, which I appreciated. This read could be done in a day or two if you're busy, maybe a couple of hours if you've got a spare afternoon.

One of the things that I wish had been more developed in the book was Ana's previous life and how it worked and why she was the only one that seemed to be "gifted" with this second chance. She was incredibly lucky to be reborn at all, but also, how did it happen that she was reborn so close to her original family? Out of the whole world, England again? I'd be curious to see if Faye Bird has another book planned that might examine someone else's experience with rebirth that might explain some of these loose threads.

The romantic aspect of the story between Ana and Jamie was a bit lackluster for me and didn't add anything, though I think it was meant to give Ana a sense of normalcy. Considering her extraordinary circumstances, that sort of plot device was probably a good idea, but similar to Ana's mother, I never really connected with Jamie. I was much more interested in how Ana was feeling, what was going on in her head, how she was dealing with "living" two lives at once.

There were a few slow points in the beginning, but I think that, even given the negatives I've pointed out here, that My Second Life is well worth the read. It's a good concept and makes you think about the question that Ana faces: can you be held responsible for something "you" did in a past life?

[(Something Like) Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ana's life is fairly normal for a 15-year-old. She goes to school, she gets good grades, she has friends, and a crush, but she can also remember her former life, as Emma.

Emma didn't have such a normal life, and she did something, something bad, that still haunts Ana to this very day. So when Ana bumps into someone who Emma knew, her second life suddenly starts merging with her first.

*

The concept of My Second Life is really, very clever, and, having never read a book based around the idea of reincarnation before, I was intrigued to see how it would all work.

The plot itself is fairly simple, and the more emotionally-charged scenes are particularly well-written, but I did feel slightly unsatisfied by the ending. Faye Bird clearly wanted to focus on the emotional impact of something like this happening: how the people in Ana's life and from Emma's life are affected, and that for the most part is interesting and had me gripped, but I was left slightly frustrated over the decision not to explore why this reincarnation had happened. All the characters just seemed to accept that Ana was Emma-reincarnate and there was no real discussion about how this had happened, which came across as rather unrealistic. I understand that wasn't the main point of the story, but it would've still been interesting to know, and, as it was, I felt rather let down that it wasn't explored further.

The characters were interesting, although I did find it difficult to relate to any of them, and mostly just ended up feeling sorry for Ana's mother, who a lot of the time was just left to accept that her daughter was acting uncharacteristically. Frances was a fascinating character, and I must praise how real her reactions felt. Out of all the people from Emma's life who Ana met, Frances' reaction to discovering Ana was Emma-reincarnate felt the most true to her character and, overall, Bird perfectly captured the character of a woman utterly destroyed by her past.

For the most part, this book was intriguing and even though I predicted most of what happened, it was still gripping and I did find myself desperate to read what happens next, but I also felt it didn't quite live up to expectations.

Crossposted with Something Like Lydia

[Evie Scarlet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ana has a pretty normal life, with friends, a loving mother, a crush, and so on. The only thing strange is that she can remember her first life—a life from over 20 years ago, when she was a girl named Emma. She doesn’t remember much about that life. That is, until she runs into an old woman in the hospital—someone she knows from before. As more pieces from her first life start coming back to her, she becomes addicted with finding the truth. Who was she before, as Emma? Where is her family? And why does she have the feeling that something terrible happened 20 years ago, and only she can make things right?

My Second Life has an intriguing premise, which Faye plays out well. She doesn’t let Ana remember everything from her first life and “cheat” her way through her second life, which makes this story less about the supernatural twist and more about her personal life an interactions with others. The book touches on sensitive subjects like death, suicide, and guilt, but leaves readers with a positive feeling and hope that things will work out in the end. Most of the relationships and characters were handled well, especially the character of Frances, who is so obsessed with seeing her own truth that it twists her character and poisons the people around her, as well. She was perfectly malicious and a great false friend/antagonist to Ana. The only problem I had was Ana’s relationship with her second mother, Rachel, who she never really accepts as her real mother since she misses the mother she had in her first life. Considering that so many kids are adopted by families they know they were not born into, I find it hard to accept that Ana would so stubbornly refuse to accept the woman who gave birth and raised her, regardless of a first loving mother she had in a life she hardly remembers. Foster kids recognize two different women both as mothers all the time—I believe it’s completely possible to fully love one mother without it making the love with your other mother seem lesser. To some extend I understand that Ana’s refusal to call Rachel “mum” had to do with her development as a character, but it still felt forced and unrealistic. Other than that complaint, My Second Life was an intriguing mystery and fun to piece together until the end. I’d recommend this book to readers who like a touch of mystery and magic in their literary reads.

[Selan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't very good. I couldn't connect to a single character. Ana, the main character was okay...ish. Basically she died in her last life, and now she's reborn in a Second Life, in a new body, but retains all her memories. Why? Because of some guilt from her past life, apparently, which brought her back...even though it only happened to her and absolutely no one else...right.

Because she's in her second life, she doesn't believe her mother is her real mother. She feels disconnected from her. And so do we, the readers.

She also has a boyfriend, who plays absolutely no purpose in the book whatsoever. He's literally her only friend. He's nowhere to be seen during the important parts, and he comes back when it's all over. He's literally a waste of writing space in my eyes.

I kept reading for some reason, because I was curious about the mystery in the book. It was...kind of worth the wait at the end? There was a twist. Unfortunately, you have to sit through a ton of family drama with her old parents. And there's an evil auntie or something, because why not. The last chapter so was pretty decent actually.

Aside from that, no, I virtually skimmed this book. It needed better-written characters and something more interesting happening.

I thought it would be nice if Ana actually disappeared or something when she found out the truth at the end - you know, like a ghost being laid to rest? Turns out, nope. She just goes on doing exactly the same thing as before. Just discovering her past.

There are good parts near the end, but most of this just wasn't very well done.

[Crystal | decorating.reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

My MAJOR issue with this entire book is that the writing is KILLING me. It was so choppy and frigid. It lacked so much emotion. I felt like I was reading a script or something, just way too much dialogue and not enough description or feeling. I never got fully immersed in this book or story like I want to and NEED to while reading a book.

I could not, for the life of me, connect with Ana or any of the relationships she has. Once again, it was the way she was written. All the things I should have felt sympathy for, I couldn’t. She was really hard to connect with and relate to in anyway.

The relationships she has with Rachel and Jamie were too emotionless for me. Jamie just kind of randomly appears here and there and she goes on about how much she likes him and that’s about that. Also, I found it odd that a 15 yr old girl would think to herself that “he kissed me tenderly”, but maybe that’s just me.

Anyways, Rachel is there a lot but the whole way their relationship is portrayed is so weird to me. And don’t even get me started on how Ana gets mad about David (her dad), but won’t even call Rachel her Mum. That was about the point that I started skimming. It just made no sense to me.

Nothing earth shattering or mind blowing happens at the end. No crazy, big reveal or anything interesting in my opinion. Basically what Ana thinks happened the whole way through the book is what actually happened. The only reason it got 2 stars was because it was a fast read and I didn’t throw it.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this interesting import from the United Kingdom, fifteen-year-old Ana Ross has always known that she had a previous life. Although she doesn't remember all the details, she does know she was once Emma Trees who died at 22. Although she never feels that her mother, Rachel, is truly her mother, her life is good enough since she is loved and sees the possibilities of a relationship with a classmate. But when she visits her grandmother in the hospital after an operation, everything changes. As it turns out, she recognizes her roommate, Frances Wells, from when she was Emma. Slowly, she begins to remember what happened during her previous life and is assailed by guilt. Readers will surely enjoy how the author ties together seemingly-unrelated aspects of the story and explores what actions feelings of responsibility can prompt as well as the different directions guilt can point. As Ana embraces her past, she uncovers secrets about her original family that shock her. While I really liked the idea at the heart of this book and kept turning the pages to see what had actually happened, Ana was a hard character to like as she became increasingly deceitful and seemed attracted to Frances as a moth to a bright light, with the same consequences. There are several issues raised by the book that bear exploring, though, and that will linger even after the book has reached its conclusion.

[Carys · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but at the same time I didn't. I found it all a bit over-dramatic and pretentious, but I was really compelled to keep reading and there were a couple of plot twists that I wasn't expecting at all! I think the characters development could have been made into more of an important feature, but the characters did have enough depth to make them seem real. Although I found the main character to be very annoying and selfish! I feel like my brain is telling me all the reasons it wasn't a very good book, but I've decided to rate it on how much I actually enjoyed the book as a whole, rather than rating it down because it wasn't amazing literature. I thought it was a really original concept that I found very intriguing, and I found the writing style easy to read because it flowed well. Overall, I found it an enjoyable and intriguing book which wasn't particularly perfect but I would still recommend it to people!

(Also, it reminded me a lot of another book I've read, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was)

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ana used to be Emma. She’s always known that. Ana’s mum is called Rachel and no matter how long Rachel asks her to call her mum, Ana just can’t do that. Because she remembers her first mum – when she was Emma. As Ana grows she tells Rachel her name is Emma, but Rachel won’t believe her.

She has spent her whole life (as Ana) missing her mum and dad, but she has learnt to deal with it. She has never told anyone any of this, least of all Rachel, who Ana knows would be hurt. Ana loves Rachel but has never seen her as ‘Mum’.

One day when Ana and Rachel go to visit Grinnie (Rachel’s mum) in hospital, an old lady is wheeled past them in the corridor. Ana instantly recognises her as Frances Wells. But who is she? Why does she recognise her?

She soon discovers that Frances lives not far from her, which brings up even more memories – something terrible happened near Frances’ house. Something to do with the river.

This is an excellent read. The tension builds throughout the novel and I didn't want to put it down.

[Kelly-Ann Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very concerned about readers who gave this book a raving review. The characters are bland and hard to relate to. The writing style is sloppy and does not conform to one standard (and not in an ironic/quirky way). The amount of dry dialogue, for the sake of dialogue, was painful and I found myself rolling my eyes more often than not. My favourite cringe-character was the boyfriend who existed solely to give this book a romance tag; slipping in every now and then because a female character needs a love interest completely foreign to the story line? This was honestly a chore to read and very disappointing; as young adult pieces should inspire a growing thirst for literature in adolescents. The idea was there but the execution seemed to have drowned in the lake along with Catherine.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

One sitting is all it took to read this. It was bizarre, intriguing, strangely addictive and very good for a début novel. I thought Ana/Emma was a very good character and Jamie was lovely. The story unfolds very fast and it is a very easy read as explanations come a bit at a time which is why you don't want to put it down until you finish it. I thought Frances was a very selfish, vindictive and awful person and I was glad for what happens to her at the finish when they all meet. There were a few twists I did guess but quite a few surprises as well. I was pleased that Ana had the chance to live her life over and I will definitely be reading anything else by this author in the future.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting and thoughtful book which I really enjoyed. My second life revolves around a teenage girl called Ana who remembers her previous as Emma. Throughout the course of the book she events from her previous life suddenly come back to her and she gets the awful feeling that she was involved in killing another girl and has to contact people from her previous life to find out more. I was utterly fascinated by this book and needed to know more even more desperately the further I got into it. Highly recommended

[Andrew Leccese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a grat book to read. There were some dry boring parts but those were only for less than a chapter. I liked the idea of shorter chapters some were only a page or less. The ending was interesting and the book as a whole really made you think

[primoguitaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

15th book of 2023

Picked a paperback version of this book up at the library, wasn't sure if I would like it. As a Buddhist, the concept wasn't unfamiliar to me, but the premise seemed interesting.

And it was, interesting. My Second Life explores the journey of a 15-year-old girl, Ana, as she tries to piece together the events of a night that's advertised as extremely significant.

Okay, it was quite dramatically done (overdramatic, imo), and the writing style didn't work for me; it felt too forced, and there's SO MUCH TELLING (I DON'T WANT TO BE TOLD THAT ANA FEELS SOME WAY OR THAT ANOTHER CHARACTER FEELS SOME WAY) bUt there's a lot I liked about the story.

Characters... not my favorite. Consistent with other components of the story, there's a lot of TELLING. We're told that characters are this and this, that they act in a certain way, that they're feeling this emotion or that, but rarely are these important reactions subtly conveyed—shown.
Side characters almost all feel flat. They really do lack the dimension I hoped for considering the genre of the story. I liked how their backstories were woven in and distinct, though. I liked the diversity in the characters' experiences. Most of the characters were nice and relevant enough, but some felt like filler.
Ana is the most interesting out of the cast, obviously. I loved the way her fractured identity is explored, the conflict she feels between her past self Emma and her current self Ana. I loved her flaws and questionable actions that arose from this internal conflict (the prologue really resonated with me and made me sympathize Rachel, haha). I could feel her motivation.

The plot is quite interesting, although I wish it could have been translated better. The main storyline is Ana trying to understand Catherine's death. She does this through visiting Frances.
Now this is where writing really felt short. What Ana thinks happened at a given time is barely explored, if not inconsistently explored. Honestly, the execution of the plot was sooo weak and unnecessary. The plot really could have been wrapped up within a single chapter, which is an issue. So it feels forcefully drawn out. There's little meaningful conflict, too. BUT IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS SUPER INTERESTING. I think the main issue is that there's no driving force, nothing that suggests to Ana that she really did kill Catherine, so it feels pointless that she's chasing for something without an explicit motivator, you know? Still, I liked the ending so much!!! the twist !! so fitting so ig it's fair that this was the way the story was set up!

AND I HATED THE ROMANTIC PLOT SO MUCH. ROMANTIC SUBPLOTS + TELLING INSTEAD OF SHOWING = THE MOST MEANINGLESS, FLAT, INSIGNIFICANT STORYLINE EVER. I could not get invested in Jamie and Ana. It felt like EXTREME filler, with little symbolic significance or even significance to the characters. I mean, I get that an important element of Ana's character development is her moving on from the past and focusing on her current future (this is conveyed quite well actually; I liked her neglecting school etc) but with the romance it felt a little extra too easy.
With that said, I liked the other storylines involving Ana's other relationships with characters.

AND I LOVED THE ENDING !! SO MUCH. IT'S SO FITTING. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THE TWISTS. IF ANYTHING STICKS WITH ME FROM THIS STORY, IT'S THE REVEALS.

I've already ranted a lot about the writing style, but yeah, I really hated Ana's voice. Judging from the writing style and Ana's age, this story is a little more MG than YA, which, fair. So it makes sense that I didn't love the writing.

The setting was cool (most books I read are set in the US, I think, so it was a fresh atmosphere for me). Pacing was great.

Overall, My Second Life was a nice read. The concept and the twists arising from the concept were the highlight for me, while with the romance and writing, personally, I felt that the story felt short. As a whole, though, it was enjoyable and extremely easy to get through, compelling in some ways. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a short and easy read with a fresh concept with some depth. I finished this book easily in a couple of sittings.

started may 25, finished may 26
(reviewed may 27)

[Imane Dellale · Rating 4 out of 5]

(SPOILER ALERT!! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED DON'T READ THIS REVIEW)
I really like this book so much It made sob my eyes out because it was so sad yet so addicting I found myself playing the role of detective who wants to solve an old complicated secret of a family that was torn up because of a small thing that happened back then,years ago. My second life by Faye Bird is about a girl named Ana and she is 15 years old she lives with her mother Rachel and her dad who left her mom after she got pregnant. So one day Ana went with her mother to the hospital to visit Grillie her grandmother but she ends up meeting a women who by seeing her, Ana started calling back some memories from her past life.In fact Ana always knew she had lived once before as Emma because nothing felt so right for her but she didn't do anything about it ;and she just continued living as Ana but not after meeting that woman in the hospital, she even recognized her; she was Frances a woman she knew from her first life. And the way Ana felt when she saw Frances made her wants to know about her first life more, she knew there was something fishy hidden there because of that feeling she had, so she started searching about truths about her life and that Emma inside of her.The secrets that she discovered after a long struggle made her appreciate the life she's actally living now. And that's the main message of this book , to live your life happilly, profite your life time, your youth, do things you wanna do before you die; and it's a mistake to not do because at least you're living a life no matter how hard that life is on you, you need to appreciate it bacause you are still alive and after you die there won't be a second life. Another message that this beautiful book featured is the fact that haters will never win ,hating others won't take you anywhere and forgiveness is such a verry important thing in living peacefully with others. I really enjoyed the messages that were carried between the pages of this book because we literally need them in our world now. The plot was amazing the caracters are well described , Ana was such a brave girl she doesn't cry so easily and she actually can take it in in serious situations and that was a verry strong part of her.Her mother Rachel was so nice and such a carry person , Grillie was cool, I wish I could have a grandmother like her though. Now moving on to Frances who was annoying in my personnal opinion I just hated her ,she was always hating Ana for things she didn't even do and she was pleased by hurting her wich made me wanna punch her in the face , and also she just doesn't want to accept reality and kept blaming others to take the responsibility off of her shoulders wich made her feels like she doesn't grow up and move on as a caracter through out the book unlike Richard (Emma's dad) who I also found annoying in the begining because he was helpless and not brave as a man would actually be , but by the end of the book I could bear him bacause he was at least sorry about what he had caused to the whole family unlike Frances who wasn't the bit least sorry. Amanda was so king and nice and I really liked her caracter She was brave and responsible and that's what I liked about her the most. But still I have a bit of issues with this book ; not really issues but just some questions that I wished were answered in the ending of this book.Like why Ana have to leave her real parents after that she found them? Why she would leave them and never see them again?And how she will live after what she has been through?How she'll live knowing that the parents she is with aren't her real parents?And the real parents actually exists and ,she knows them how they look like, and where they live ? I just wished the ending answered these questions.But overall I really liked this book so much and I toatally recommend it, it is an eye opening on the art of appreciating what we're living and the life we were given. Faye Bird did such a good job in this book wish is her first novel ,so let's give her a huge SHOUT OUT for this amazing work!!!I'm really looking forward for more of her books.

[Shaylo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have several issues with this books. in fact I'm raging with anger as I'm typing this. I think it's because of the accumulated rage I have due to how horrible the adults were in the previous books I read. I was supposed to ditch this book because 10 pages in since I can't deal with the writing. The choppy sentences made it seem like I'm reading a children's book instead of a teens. But of course, I told myself to just get on with it. It's only a 200+ read.

Now here's the issue:

1. The writing. Of course.
2. I feel very disconnected with the Ana/Emma. She's 15/16 but I feel like I'm reading the narration of a 10-12 year old. Again, may be due to the writing.

Now on the next part: CHEATING. LIKE WHAT IS IT WITH ADULTS/PARENTS CHEATING?????????????? WHY???????

3. FRANCES IS A FCKING HOE AND A RAGGEDY HATEFUL HUSBAND STEALING THICK FACED MOTHERFUCKING BITCH. She's just pure evil and wicked and sick to the bones. I have no words as to how much I hate her. I hate her so much. I'm so glad she dies.
4. THE DAD IS A PIECE OF SHIT WHO DON'T SEEM TO FEEL REMORSE AND REGRET OF WHAT HE DID. ok maybe he does feel regret, but NOT ENOUGH I WOULD SAY. CUZ A CHEATER IS ALWAYS TRASH IN MY DICTIONARY. the audacity for him to act all sad and soppy. Fuck him! The fact that he fucked that hoe while his kids (yes CATHERINE INCLUDED, I still can't believe he had an anak haram like bskfbslsbddl IM SO ANGRY) are out at night. And the hoe get to close the curtains on them like wow, irresponsible parents much?????????????
5. Ana/Emma's mothers are the true victims here. The mum of course, being cheated on. Then losing her Emma to depression. and having to deal with that hoe. And Rachel, not being able to truly have Ana entirely as her own. (Ana was a bitch for this tbh and she knows it)
6. I don't understand why the mum is still stuck with the dad. Like hello????!! Leave his rusty cheating ass. Leave him to rot and die alongside that musty hoe. Fuck them!

I'm so angry. I'm grateful Im done and id never have to read this book again.

Fuck cheating and especially cheating parents/spouses. Fuck em!

[Kell Natalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

actually, 0.5 star for this book. 0 if it's even possible

WORST
.
BOOK
.
EVER
.
this book was absolutely depressing, not only because they gave me that depressing vibe, but the characters, the plot, all of it just made me feel depressed. the only reason i didn't dnf was because im on 15 days quarantine and i didn't bring many books to read, so im stuck with this piece of sh*t🤦🏻‍♀️

the first chapter i read it, i immediately hated the female character (Emma, Ana, whoever she was). and i almost made a new record, i almost dnf on the first 5 chapters thx to her. she was such a crybaby, a liar, and most of the time being very stupid, ungrateful. to put it simply, a quite annoying character im sure i'd slap her if she were real, with a hotpoker, and threw her out of building, into a jaw of a t-rex or sth.

she said she remembered her first live but it seemed that she hadn't learned anything. and she was so mean towards rachel, her second mom. i mean, she carried her for 9 month and love her but it sounded like she didn't appreciate that at all, she just wanted her first mommy, not rachel 🙄🙄

i already knew she lived in The Avenue before that it was surprising when i read that she didn't even know it. was she too slow to make the connections? i though she talked about how familiar the street was to her bcs she knew she used to live there 🙄she said she remembered her first life but she didn't even remember most of the important detail, it didn't make sense.

it was also really really predictable, especially the part when the girl she murdered turned out to be her sister. when it was revealed, i can only rolled my eyes and say 'DUH'

overall, it was a very short and quick read, and even though i didn't see that ending coming exactly like that, it felt very flat and anticlimactic.

i know this review sounded really harsh and rude but honestly, that's how i really felt, and i challenge you, dear reader, to read this book without getting mad. but i suggest you not to waste your time and just read other book.

[Cshlib_underground · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My Second Life" by Faye Bird is about a 15 year old girl, Ana, who was born with the ability to remember her previous life. She has always had vivid memories of her parents from her "first life". These types of memories prevent her from having a normal relationship with her current mother. As the book progresses, certain events trigger stronger, more disturbing, memories. These new memories suggest that she murdered her childhood friend in her past life. The rest of the story is about the main character trying to find out what events lead to the death of her old friend and if she was really responsible for her passing.

- Natalie, Grade 9

My favorite part of the story was when Ana successfully convinced the first person she encounters from her previous life that she was Emma in her past life. This was my favorite part because after this scene, the storyline escalated into a murder mystery, which was just as consuming to the readers as it was to the main character. My least favorite part of the book was the very beginning, because the storyline moved slowly and was not extremely interesting. However, this part of the book served as a set up and provided background information for the rest of the plot. Therefore, even though this part of the book was slightly boring, it gave the readers a stronger connection to the main character, which made reading later chapters even more entertaining and emotional. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to a friend or family member.

[Jennifer Ging · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m yet to find a YA fiction book that is truly ‘stand out’ in 2021 and this was no exception. I agree with what others have said about the strange, stilted prose with short sentences largely favoured over any lengthier descriptions. There were some really odd moments which were questionably included- at one point the entirely bland lead character is taking a moment to disappointingly reflect on a weak looking hot chocolate that didn’t ‘taste of chocolate’. This is then followed by a sentence where she joyfully savours its ‘sweetness’. What?! Then the character is desperate to go to the Library only to decide, once there, to walk straight out of it. How was that advancing the storyline?
There’s also a romantic subplot that is not remotely developed and which I found to be very clumsily written.
Again, others have pointed out that the lead characters are never developed enough to care about which I agree with. This could have been a fascinating read given its interesting premise but it is entirely poorly executed in my opinion.