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Book Two of the “Gifted” series focuses on Jenna Kelley. Her mother is an alcoholic going to rehab, which leaves Jenna unsure of where she is going to go. Her friend’s parents arrange for her to be in their care for the two weeks that Jenna’s mom will be away, which is a relief - until Jenna’s long-lost father shows up to complicate her life.
Better Late Than Never centers primarily on Jenna and Amanda, though Tracey and others in the Gifted class are here, too. Jenna is learning to accept a father she thought she’d never meet, as well as what potential danger there is for people with special abilities. Amanda didn’t really learn much in the last book – at least not that she applied to her life - so it’s no surprise that she body snatches again. This time she ends up as a guy, and she experiences the world in a whole different way.
BLTN is every bit as good as the first book of the series. For an adult reader, it’s a quick read. Parents who are concerned about what their children are reading should have no trouble reading this one fairly quickly. I didn’t personally find anything objectionable to the story. Those who are of more conservative Christian religions might prefer that their child not read this story because the powers the children have could be considered “magic”: one reads minds, one can predict the future, one can become invisible, one hears ghosts, etc. Other than that, there’s nothing that the average child doesn’t see in middle school anyway.
From a parental perspective, I appreciate that in this story the characters begin to develop true friendships with each other and the author shows weakness in ways that are realistic but not maudlin. Also, Amanda’s friends, the other mean girls, are not portrayed as someone to look up to but rather examples of who a person really doesn’t want to be.
I recommend these books to anyone – of any age – who likes a light supernatural element along with really good character development.
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Gifted: Better Late Than Never