Second Chances tells the story of a 14-year-old boy whose NHL dreams are dashed when he is stricken with polio during the epidemics of the 1950s. I was a child at that time, when there were two scourges in society. The first was polio, a disease that left thousands of children paralyzed and hundreds dead. I was motivated to write the novel because anti-vaxxers spread misinformation about vaccines and deny the terrible consequences of childhood diseases, frightening some parents into not protecting their children. The parallels that arose during the coronavirus pandemic are striking, with conspiracy theorists and desperate politicians disavowing science and promulgating lies about Covid-19, at the cost of many lives. Vaccines put an end to polio epidemics, but the second scourge of systemic racism continues today, and I saw the opportunity to raise the issue of racism in Canada by including a girl of Métis origin whose family life is threatened by discrimination. Second Chances will appeal to kids 12+ who might also like The Golden Age , by Joan London, about two teens whose lives become intertwined when they meet on a polio ward, and April Raintree by Beatrice Mosonier, a heartbreaking story that represents what has happened to many First Nations, Metis and Inuit children in Canada.