Second Nature

Jacquelyn Mitchard's newly released novel, Second Nature, is one I knew I would read, even though I knew absolutely nothing about it. Although some of her books I have not liked as well as others, I do always enjoy Mitchard's writing.

In addition to Second Nature being well written and enjoying the story, there were some other good surprises along the way.

Sicily Coyne was in a deadly fire at her church when she was thirteen. Her firefighter father died in the blaze and Sicily underwent twenty five surgeries which left her somewhat better off than she had been, but still badly scarred and disfigured. Sicily's face was the primary location of these burns, and her once lovely looks were a thing of the past. Until a woman named Eliza Capadorra calls Sicily and suggests that perhaps she should look into a face transplant. At first Sicily is uninterested. She is planning on getting married soon to her childhood friend, but when a secret is revealed about their relationship and the wedding called off, Sicily changes her mind.

As soon as I heard Eliza Capadorra's name a little light went off in my head. The Capadorra family is the center of Mitchard's The Deep End of the Ocean, where Ben Capadorra is kidnapped - taken from his mother in a hotel lobby and living near the family for nine years before he is returned. Eliza Capadorra is now Ben's wife. Once she is introduced the rest of the Capadorras soon follow, and Beth, Ben's mother, is hired to take pictures of Sicily's transformation. Sicily meets Vincent the oldest brother who lives in California and makes movies and promptly falls in love with him.

Although Mitchard's book is really about Sicily, I loved looking in on the Capadorras and seeing how their lives moved forward. The face transplant was an interesting story - one that Mitchard must have done a great deal of research to write. I enjoyed Sicily and Vincent's relationship - as much of a struggle as it was - and continued to root for them.

Second Nature is another winner by Mitchard. I'm already curious about future books and whether readers will get to see Sicily again.