Novel Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2012

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the Flying Start author of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, a powerful novel about hope in the face of heartbreak.

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.

The Cover:

While I personally don't love this cover, and I think maybe it's the color and the font of the title, I do think it works. I think the image portrays the summer feel, kind of showing the balance between summer fun but also the underlying sadness. I think it's fitting.

Quotes:

•  "'Your childhood friends are the ones that you should hang on to. They know you in a way that nobody else does.’” (Paperback, pg. 72)
• "But one thing that I was learning about what happened when you stuck around—it usually seemed that other people were willing to stick by you as well.” (Pg. 467)

Review:

While I did not love this one as much as Since You’ve Been Gone, I did still really enjoy it. And it did also make me cry a little.

Taylor is spending the summer with her family at their summer home, where they haven’t visited in five years. Only the last time they were there, Taylor ruined things between her best friend and her potential boyfriend. And now they’re back because her father is sick.

I really liked the friendship and romance in this book. I liked the friendship between Taylor and Lucy, and how they slowly started to make it right between them. The same with Taylor and Henry, who were super cute together. I also liked Taylor’s family, and how they weren’t all that close at the beginning, but by the end they were there for each other.

Taylor did annoy me a little, with her tendency to run away. The angst of it has left me a little annoyed, but it wasn’t that bad. And I liked where she was at the end.

It was the scenes, and the feelings, between her and her father that made me cry. I can’t relate completely to that, but just the thought of it is horrible, especially with all the build-up. And then when it finally happened… Ugh, it was horribly sad and incredibly well written.

This was another excellent book, and I did really enjoy it. I look forward to her next one.