Hundreds of actors were auditioned, but only two remained. This novel tells the story of the boy who wasn't chosen. It's 1999. Martin Hill is ten years old, crazy about Arsenal and has a minor crush on a girl named Betty. Then he makes it to the final two in the casting for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In the end, the other boy is picked for the role of a lifetime. A devastated Martin tries to move on with his life. But how can he escape his failure, especially when it's the most famous film series in the world? Foenkinos's smash-hit Second Best is a playful, poignant story about fate, loss and forging one's own path in an age of never-ending comparison.

"A brilliant concept for a novel" - Sunday Times

"A witty and heartfelt portrait of what happens when luck does not go your way . . . [Foenkinos's] sensitive and empathetic handling of the theme of the also-ran is as instructive as it is entertaining" - Irish Times

"A gem of an idea . . . a playful blend of fact and fiction" - Telegraph

"Foenkinos's surreal yet relatable novel, a French bestseller, considers life in our age of anxiety, when other people's picture-perfect lives make our own seem drab in comparison" - Washington Post

"It doesn't get more captivating than this" - Elle