The Second Ending

A Novel

By: Michelle Hoffman

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

A former prodigy who refuses to believe her best years are behind her and a young virtuoso searching for his passion both get an unlikely shot at their dreams in this sparkling debut about second chances, unexpected joys, and the miraculous power of music.

Prudence Childs was once the most famous kindergartner on the planet. After teaching herself to play piano at age three, she performed at the White House, appeared on talk shows, and inspired a generation to take up lessons. But as adolescence closed in, Prudence realized that she was being exploited and pushed into fame by her cruel grandmother, so she ran away. Broke and alone, she took a job writing commercial jingles, which earned her a fortune but left her creatively adrift.

Now forty-eight, with her daughters away at school, Prudence agrees to compete on a wildly popular dueling pianos TV show to reconnect with her inner artist. Unfortunately, her new spotlight captures the attention of her terrible ex-husband, Bobby, who uses the opportunity to blackmail her over a long-buried secret. If she doesn’t win, she won’t just be a musical failure; she’ll also be bankrupt and exposed in front of millions.

Her on-air rival, virtuoso Alexei Petrov, a young internet sensation with a massive audience and a dreamy Russian accent, has problems of his own. His demanding parents made him a technically flawless pianist but left him without friends, hobbies, or any kind of life outside his music.

As they prepare to face off onstage, the retired prodigy and the exhausted wunderkind realize that the competition is their chance to prove to their bad exes, tyrannical family members, and, most important, themselves that it’s never too late to write a new ending.

Critic reviews

“The heartwarming, feel-good debut of the year.”—J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota

“To say I loved it would be an understatement; this was quite unlike anything I’ve read. The one-liners had me laughing nearly every page, and I found it so moving.”—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

“Captivates the heart, right from the opening notes . . . thoroughly enjoyable, top-class entertainment.”—Sarah Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of The Cactus

“Wild, witty, and bright. This is the novel for anyone who has ever wished they could reinvent their lives. I loved every page.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

inspirational and entertaining

Enjoyed immensely. Loved the theme of two pianists with different backgrounds competing against each other.

Fascinating Characters

Strong, flawed and lovable characters, each with an ingenuous story. The “second ending” for each character was perfect.

Great read

Very enjoyable. Great twists and turns and real feelings you can relate to! It also had some good humor in it which made it a really nice book to enjoy for our book club.

Inspiring

Inspiring story of running from and chasing down lost dreams. Told in a way that leaves you cheering for the heros and the villains to the very end.

Outstanding Novel, Beautifully Performed

This book is immersive and generous with the lives of its characters. It is for the reader who wants to know what happens to all the characters-who wants to follow their stories to the end. People who love music, who may be in the midlife years of rediscovery, and anyone who believes good people are not inherently boring will enjoy Second Endings.

The only off-key note to the production was that the narrator sometimes slipped, giving the wrong voices to incorrect characters, and I found that distracting.