Gifted Book 2: Better Late Than Never by Marilyn Kaye

Release Date: Available Now from Kingfisher!!

Synopsis:

Goth girl Jenna Kelley has the ultimate tool to stage a teenage rebellion: she can read people’s minds without even trying. When her alcoholic mother is hospitalized, a stranger shows up who says he’s her long-lost dad and promises a better future. Too good to be true? Her gifted classmates think so, but Jenna is so determined to have a real parent around and a somewhat normal life that she might have lost her ability to listen.

This is the second book in the Gifted series and I think I liked it even more than the first one. I learned more about the characters and it showcased Jenna, the snarky goth girl, who is definitely my favorite of the nine kids in the "gifted" class.

Jenna's life is not the stuff of dreams; it's more the stuff of After School Specials. When her Mom gets shipped off to rehab, Jenna moves in with Tracey's family for awhile. Then mysteriously her dad appears and wants back into her life. Kaye wonderfully captures all of Jenna's secret hopes about having a happy family.

Interspersed with Jenna's story is more about Amanda who is trying anything and everything, including supernatural means, to get her hands on her dream guy Ken. When her stunts go a little too far, Amanda gets closer to Ken than she ever imagined and learns that the man of her dreams may be even more unattainable than she thought.

I'm really liking this series a lot and I'm looking forward to the third book, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, in which Emily takes a starring role. It's not out until October 13th though, so I have a little wait ahead of me. I'm definitely hooked on Gifted and I'm anxious to read some more.

There's an awesome Gifted website which can be found here. It has lots of cool stuff including Marilyn Kaye reading the first chapters of the first three books.