Beth Morrey (The Love Story of Miss Carmichael) brings readers a lovely, heartwarming novel of new beginnings in Delphine Jones Takes a Chance. Delphine Jones has been stuck in a rut for more than a decade. She had been a wunderkind, celebrated by teachers and classmates alike for her intelligence. But at age 16, Delphine got pregnant, gave up on her dreams, dropped out of school and spent years working dead-end jobs.
Now 28 years old, Delphine feels trapped: she's the primary caregiver for her depressed father, who has been barely coherent since the death of her mother, and for her smart, precocious daughter, Emily. She finds herself thinking wistfully of those golden teenage years and her high school boyfriend, Adam, but is fearful of change--until the day a customer insults her. Delphine quits in a rage. Terrified by her lack of prospects, she eventually finds a better job, thanks to some not-so-subtle nudging from Emily, and returns to school to try to pick up where she left off.
Readers will root for Delphine to thrive as she encounters new people: the kind Eritrean owners of the café where she finds a job; an elderly and lonely French woman whom she befriends; and two wildly different men, who draw Delphine in as they form a band. Delphine's blossoming joy is sweet in this poignant story of second chances, which is also a glimpse into an incredible mother-daughter bond. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Flagstaff, Ariz.