Second Chance Summer

by Morgan Matson

"Taylor Edwards' family might not be the closest-knit--everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled--but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor's dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains. Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven't actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend...and he's much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve. As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they're more aware than ever that they're battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance--with family, with friends, and with love"--

• ISBN10: 1416990682
• ISBN13: 9781416990680
• Publish Date: 7 May 2013 (first published 8 May 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Edition: Reprint ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[Bianca]

The thing is that people only get hurt—really hurt—when they’re trying to play it safe. That’s when people get injured, when they pull back at the last second because they’re scared. They hurt themselves and other people.

[Sam@WLABB]

I spent most of this book in tears. This is a heart wrenching coming of age story. Taylor discovers so much about herself and grows as her family tries to come to grips with this pending loss. I thought Matson painted a very honest picture. There was so much pain, but so much beauty in how they learned to appreciate the little moments that they had left. Everyone was not perfect and did not deal with all crises appropriately, and that's real. My advice, have some tissues handy.

[girlinthepages]

This review was originally posted at Girl in the Pages


If Sarah Dessen is the Queen of the Contemporary Summer YA Novel, the Matson is hard at work becoming her successor. This is the second novel by Matson I've read and her ability to create an immersive summer experience for her characters seems to be her trademark. I read this on the beach while I was at Aulani, and it was the perfect beach read- a light surface story with heavier feelings cloaked beneath the surface.

The plot of Second Chance Summer is two-pronged: Taylor's dad is terminally ill and her family is spending the summer bonding and coming to terms with that fact, and meanwhile, Taylor is attempting to come to terms with and resolve a falling out she had with her two best friends five years ago. I like how the two story lines ran parallel to each other, as it kept me from being tired or overwhelmed by one of them. I also found this story interesting as it documents the decline of her father's condition. Matson does a good job of pulling the reader through all the small hurts of watching a relative's condition deteriorate over time rather than hitting you over the head with tragedy. This style of writing prepared me for the inevitable sorrow at the ending, and like Taylor, I felt I received closure from the book rather than being consumed by sadness. Matson also does a good job at balancing tragedy with normal teenage life and drama, and I don't fault Taylor for being wrapped up in her own drama despite her own family issues, because at seventeen everyone's en-wrapped in the everyday triumphs and tragedies of their own lives. While I was annoyed that it took more than half of the book to discover what had transpired between Taylor, Lucy, and Henry five summers ago that left them all estranged, the drama was believable for twelve year olds (how many of us didn't loose friends in middle school over occurrences that seem so minor now). I felt that the interactions between the three of them as young adults hanging onto the bitterness and shame of their pre-teen years was believable, and I applaud Matson by writing such well-rounded secondary characters. Everyone from Henry to Lucy to Taylor's siblings, Warren and Gelsey, felt incredibly real to me, as did the small lake town they were all sequestered in during the summer. Unfortunately, Taylor was the character I found the least likeable, as she seemed so plain and just a sounding board for all of the characters to develop off of based on their problems with her.

The small moments of this book are what stuck with me, as it has the irresistible summer charm: the bakery that Henry worked at, the movie nights on the beach that Taylor ran at the snack shack, the small, hard moments of watching her father grow sicker. It was charming and moving in a lot of subtle ways, but the book as a whole didn't grab me, and it slowed in some points as I grew tired of Taylor's vague references to what happened that summer so many years ago.

Overall: It was a great beach read and it has some sadder undertones, but I preferred the pace and entertainment of Matson's first book, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour (read my review here). It's worth the read if you're looking for something easy in the summer, but I prefer Sarah Dessen's writing for this sort of narrative. I'm glad I picked it up for such a good price, but I doubt I'll reread it.

[Angie]

Second Chance Summer is a different kind of YA novel, since it doesn’t focus on romance, but on family. It’s about hard times, but not “edgy” controversial issues. It’s about Taylor, a girl who always runs from her problems and the summer that changes her life forever. Taylor’s family has gone to their lake house every summer with the exception of the previous five years. There’s always something that came up, and Taylor was actually glad not to return since some things went down that she’d rather not face even after all this time. But now, there’s no avoiding it. Taylor’s father has stage four pancreatic cancer, and only three months to live. This will be their last summer as a family, but no one is talking about it.

There’s a lot going on in Second Chance Summer, but it all ultimately comes down to communication, love, and not taking anyone or anything for granted. Taylor’s family is pretty normal. They’re not overly affectionate, but they’re also not completely distant from one another. They just don’t talk about anything, but Taylor still feels like the odd one out. Her sister and mother share ballet, while her brother and father share academics. Taylor is kind of on her own, which explains why she has the tendency to just take off when things get rough. But during this summer, she learns to face her problems head on, now that she’s faced with one that cannot be avoided. She also gets a second chance with the people she’s hurt in her past.

Second Chance Summer is on the long side, but for the most part it didn’t feel that way. I read it in less than a day, and never felt bored. In the beginning I was really interested in finding out what had happened five years ago that was so terrible that Taylor had lost her best friend and first boyfriend, and caused her to hide away from the lake house. This is revealed slowly throughout the book as short flash back chapters. But once I got past the big reveal, I did feel like the story dragged a bit. We now know what happened, and all that’s left is for Taylor to face it, fix it, move on, and of course, her father ultimately succumbing to his illness.

The story isn’t all sadness and tough life lessons. Second Chance Summer does have its funny and sweet moments. I did like the romance, which isn’t the focus at all. Taylor and Henry are cute together. My favorite of the happy bits was the dog, Murphy. He was abandoned by the previous renters, so Taylor’s family takes him in, despite her brother being afraid of dogs. It’s actually quite funny and adorable how he overcomes that fear. Taylor’s dad also provides lots of great puns throughout.

In the end, I really enjoyed Second Chance Summer. It’s full of love, but not necessary the romantic kind. Taylor is surrounded by friends and families all through this last summer, which was both nice and sad to read about it. For whatever reason, cancer books just don’t make me cry, but I’m sure this book will draw out tears from many readers.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[nightingalereads]

3.5 stars

[ellieroth]

El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Con solo dos libros publicados, Morgan se ha vuelto una de mis escritoras favoritas. Y al parecer va a ser del tipo malvado en cuanto a tiempo de publicación. Uno al año es muy poco, pero por lo bueno se debe esperar.

Second Chance Summer está narrado en lo que mi escaso, prácticamente nulo, conocimiento literario clasifico como poético. Solo sé que cada uno de sus párrafos me tuvo inmersa y saboreando cada una de sus palabras. Por lo general tomo notas mientras leo, pero me fue imposible detenerme a hacerlo, y fue uno de esos libro que me llevó a desafiar las horas de la mañana, básicamente no dormí por perderme en sus palabras.

Como lectora, se me hizo sumamente fácil conectar con Taylor, tenemos la personalidad bastante parecida: no le gustan las confrontaciones y una de sus más grandes soluciones es huir. Desde el primer capítulo tenemos su personalidad bastante clara, siendo la primera escena una huida bastante accidentada, mostrando rápidamente la relación familiar. Acostumbrados a estar solos en sus asuntos, les cuesta bastante adecuarse a estar todos juntos por demasiado tiempo. Con un final de capítulo Padre-Hija, donde nos muestra la unión entre ellos y nos augura un lloroso final.

Con Morgan Matson tienes una gran fuente de matices de personajes, todos muy diferentes, llenos de un humor sutil, que demuestra la gran calidad de la historia.

¿Qué más decir sobre libro más allá que es una joya? Al terminar el libro, estuve en silencio por un par de minutos y le di gracias a un Dios el cuál no creo, por tener a mi familia sana. Así de bueno es éste libro.

Reseña Completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

After falling in love with Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, I was eager to get started on Morgan Matson's second novel Second Chance Summer, hoping for a read that was just as good - and got one that was better!

I started the book feeling like I wasn't going to like it much. It just seemed to me that not a lot was happening; Taylor and her family go to the holiday home, and due to her having some problems with the people she used to know in the area, she's not doing much. She's bumping into Henry, her ex-boyfriend, everywhere she goes, and it's awkward. She gets a job at the beach snack bar on her Dad's suggestion to discover her ex-best friend, Lucy, works there too and is pretty much completely ignoring her. And little by little, each day, her Dad gets a little bit worse. But it just doesn't seem like anything is going anywhere. It's still addictive reading, because there's something about Matson's writing that keeps you interested in Taylor's life despite everything seeming a little trivial.

But you come to realise that Matson has a brilliant way of making her novels seem that much more real than other novels by putting in aspects of life - like Taylor's job, like spending time with her family on holiday, like awkwardness with friends from the past - into her stories that are normal, everyday things to us readers. That sounds like it's boring, but it's not, it's easily to relate too, and the characters are so interesting, their personalities and who they are, that their everyday lives are interesting too. And it doesn't stay that way all the way through. It worked brilliantly with the end of Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, and it works just as well in Second Chance Summer.

Then things step up. Things get a little complicated when she's constantly seeing Henry and Lucy, and relationships - even strained, not friendly relationships - are formed. It's great to see her slowly try to fix things, with the flash backs to her holidays at the lake house in the past, seeing how those friendships used to be; the sweet innocence of childhood, compared to the more serious issues faced as a teenager, while your whole world is collapsing.

Unfortunately, there's not a huge amount more I can say about this book - it's more the kind of thing you have to experience yourself. The book takes place over the summer, so it covers four months. Because of the three different people in her life that are affecting her the most this summer - her Dad, Lucy and Henry - and the time the book has to cover, you're always wanting Taylor to have more page time with each of the people than you get. Because the moments you do get are so sweet, beautiful, powerful, moving, you're desperate for more of the those moments. But the book is 468 pages long, so it's asking a little too much of Matson to want it to be even longer.

Second Chance Summer is a terribly sad but absolutely wonderful story, and, along with Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, has placed Matson right up among my favourites.

[Amber]

Sobbing.

http://booksofamber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/second-chance-summer-by-morgan-matson.html

--

This is going to be a difficult review to write, and I honestly don't think I can put my feelings across very well when it comes to Second Chance Summer. I loved it so much, and it really touched my heart. I'll try not to get all sappy, because that would just be uncomfortable for you to read!

Firstly, this is a perfect summer read. It's set in Pennsylvania, and while I don't know much about it, it would seem that it has wonderful weather, mountains, scenery and lakes! Morgan Matson does an excellent job of describing the setting, and I felt like I was there on the dock with Taylor and her family.

Taylor was an amazing main character, and I don't often say this about female protagonists, as they often get on my nerves. Her personality shined through the pages, and it was a wonderful personality at that. She wasn't one of those FMCs that whinged and whined. She dealt with everything that was thrown at her, and I have so much respect for her for doing so.

Her relationship with Henry was perfect. I don't know what else to say about it. Their scenes were flawless. Henry was wonderful, and everything that I love in a MMC and love interest.

So, onto the tougher stuff. Taylor's dad has pancreatic cancer, and it's untreatable. He's been given just a few months to live. I was a bit hesitant about requesting and reading this book, because my Nanny died of cancer and it is a subject that almost always affects me when I read about it, or experience it through movies or TV. That said, Morgan Matson dealt with it brilliantly. I couldn't have asked for more.

I sobbed throughout the last forty or so pages. My heart broke for Taylor and her family, and I'm tearing up* a bit just thinking of it now. Not many books have this effect on me, but this one seemed to evoke such feelings in me... I can't explain it.

Obviously, the whole theme of this book is second chances, and I loved the way that this tied in with absolutely everything. Friendships, relationships, life, time with family and everything else and more.

Morgan Matson is such a gifted writer. I now know why everyone guses about Amy & Roger, because her writing style is brilliant, and the way she creates and tells a story is just... She is someone that I now greatly look up to, and someone who, as a novice writer, I would aspire to be like.

I'm not sure if this is a book that I would read again and again, but it's definitely one that I would recommend to every single one of you.

*Tearing up 'a bit' is one hell of an understatement. I just full on burst into tears.