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Seconds

By Bryan Lee O'Malley

Hardback, 336 pp, £19.99

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.


Bryan Lee O'Malley


Bryan Lee O'Malley is the creator of the bestselling Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, which was adapted into a major motion picture, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. His other work includes the New York Times-bestselling graphic novel Seconds and the comic book series Snotgirl (with Leslie Hung). He lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to make comics.

Reviews

"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
"Perfectly pitched, paced and pictured."
— The Independent
"O'Malley's morality tale is well observed and full of life."
— The Guardian
"Bryan Lee O'Malley's Seconds is adorable, haunting, funny and beautiful. A perfect recipe for a great graphic novel."
— Scott McCloud