Seconds

By Bryan Lee O'Malley. Published by Penguin Random House under the Ballantine Books imprint.

Hardcover, 336 pages, Colour, 2014.

ABOUT SECONDS

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY USA TODAY AND THE DAILY PLANET

The highly anticipated new standalone full-color graphic novel from Bryan Lee O’Malley, author and artist of the hugely bestselling Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series

Katie’s got it pretty good. She’s a talented young chef, she runs a successful restaurant, and she has big plans to open an even better one. Then, all at once, progress on the new location bogs down, her charming ex-boyfriend pops up, her fling with another chef goes sour, and her best waitress gets badly hurt. And just like that, Katie’s life goes from pretty good to not so much. What she needs is a second chance. Everybody deserves one, after all—but they don’t come easy. Luckily for Katie, a mysterious girl appears in the middle of the night with simple instructions for a do-it-yourself do-over:

1. Write your mistake
2. Ingest one mushroom
3. Go to sleep
4. Wake anew

And just like that, all the bad stuff never happened, and Katie is given another chance to get things right. She’s also got a dresser drawer full of magical mushrooms—and an irresistible urge to make her life not just good, but perfect. Too bad it’s against the rules. But Katie doesn’t care about the rules—and she’s about to discover the unintended consequences of the best intentions.

From the mind and pen behind the acclaimed Scott Pilgrim series comes a madcap new tale of existential angst, everyday obstacles, young love, and ancient spirits that’s sharp-witted and tenderhearted, whimsical and wise.

Praise for Seconds

“The cartoonist, best known for the Scott Pilgrim series, delivers one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had all year with this magical graphic novel. I dare you to not read it all in one sitting.”—Whitney Matheson, USA Today

“Seconds arrives with high expectations, and it meets them all, delivering the style and humor of [Bryan Lee] O’Malley’s past works with greater emphasis on mood, detail, and complex character relationships.”—The A.V. Club

“Richly imagined and vibrantly drawn, Seconds is a funny, surprising, and enchanting read.”—Publishers Weekly

“In Seconds, Bryan Lee O’Malley plays the angst of youth against the fabric of a larger epic. In doing so, he enriches both. A great ride!”—Guillermo del Toro

“Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Seconds is adorable, haunting, funny, and beautiful. A perfect recipe for a great graphic novel.”—Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics