What if you made different choices in your past?

Synopsis

The Good Place meets Sliding Doors, Begin Again is an uplifting novel about life’s what if’s, missed chances and new beginnings.

Despite living firmly in her comfort zone, Frankie McKenzie feels unsettled. She can’t help feeling something’s missing. Is it a home to call her own? Travel? A more rewarding job? A relationship? Before she can work it out, she dies in a freak kebab-related accident after yet another dud of a first date.

But life isn’t over for Frankie. Instead, she is offered a second chance: Frankie can revisit key moments from her past to see if different choices will lead her away from that fateful takeaway and on to the fulfilling life she’s always dreamt of.

Soon, Frankie will see what her life would have been if only she’d caught that one-way flight, accepted the marriage proposal or attended the intimidating job interview. Will she finally find her Mr Right? Or discover she already had?

What would you change if you could begin again?

Praise for Helly Acton:

‘A romcom with a difference’ Sarra Manning

‘Genius, funny and thought-provoking. 5 stars’ Carrie Hope Fletcher

‘Warm, witty and thought-provoking’ Abbie Greaves

‘A fresh, funny, razor-sharp take on society’s views of relationships. It’s feminist, it’s provocative and a total joy to read’ Hannah Tovey

‘Helly’s writing is filled with such humour and warmth, it makes me laugh and think whilst seamlessly tackling complex ideas about modern society. What a triumph!’ Abigail Mann

‘Funny and clever. I loved every single line’ Lucy Vine

My review

Frankie McKenzie feels like she is missing something in her life. What exactly, she cannot say. Before she can figure out what that missing bit is, she dies in a crazy accident involving a kebab…
But for some reason, Frankie gets a second chance, if she wants it. First she must revisit some key moments in her life, that will show her what would have happened if she made a different choice at that moment.
And then she has the final choice of going back to her life, or not… 

This book reminded me of a certain very famous classic, that even the main protagonist mentions. Yet that didn’t take my interest away, as I am always a very curious person. 

Frankie is the kind of character that sees disaster everywhere, especially on her dates, before they even began.
And while there obvious are weird characters in the world, I found it also a bit unfair of her, as not all people are the same, and everyone deserves an honest chance.
So her behaviour on her date with Oli wasn’t one I was very happy to read, as Oli truly seemed like a good chap… 

But of course, as this happens at the start of the book, I was ready to give Frankie the chance to redeem herself.
I have to say, I found it a bit hilarious to read how Frankie dies… who can ever say they died with e kebab involved? (yeah, I know, no one can actually say that, but I just had to make this lame joke 😊). 

Once Frankie dies, the true story starts, as the whole ‘second chance’ thing begins. 

I think it’s safe to say that we all wondered what life we would have if we made a different choice in the past.
So it was very interesting to see how Frankie would relive those pivotal moments of her past and seeing what different outcome her life would have if she took another direction of the one she actually took. 

Without giving too much away, the author shows us that no matter what choice we make, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Even if we would make a different choice at that time, we would have regrets over other bits. There is a reason why we made that specific decision at that moment in our lives. And unlike Frankie’s story, we do not get a do – over, we have to make do with what we have. 

But that doesn’t mean that reflection about our past cannot make us a better person. Because Frankie, now more mature than when she made those decisions, sees also how unfair at moments she was. And the present Frankie is able to see more than the past Frankie, making her realize not only the faults in other but also in herself. And that makes her grow into a even more mature person. 

This book shows us through Frankie’s eyes that there will always be some kind of regret of the choices we made. But that doesn’t mean that the other option would be better suited. The author also shows us that putting people on a pedestal isn’t the right thing to do, and that the only person on that pedestal should be yourself. But we also shouldn’t judge a person by its cover as perhaps that person may have the depth that you need and also be the person you need… 

A book that while makes you laugh, also makes you think about your own choices, however without regrets!