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Second Chance Summer

by Morgan Matson (Goodreads Author)

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 4,671 ratings · 677 reviews

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 justfine.ThenTaylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all...more

Hardcover, 468 pages

Published May 8th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

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Lists with This Book

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My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

2012 YA Contemporaries

12th out of 239 books — 1,796 voters

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2012 YA Contemporary Challenge!

8th out of 254 books — 996 voters

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Community Reviews

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Aug 02, 2011 Lora marked it as maybe

Shelves: lib-to-read

I couldn't be any more happy right now if I were that dog. It has a synopsis and a title and a release date! ~~Now all we need is a cover.~~

like 22 likes · see review

Jun 18, 2012 Jenna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, oh-the-feelings, summer-romance, family-drama

OF COURSE I FINISH THIS ON FATHER'S DAY
GAH

Edit: I am not afraid to admit that I cry a lot. It's a habit that I haven't been able to shake from when I was the baby of the family and I never got my way. Now, it's mostly at movies and at books that just stab you in the heart and twist. I cry, but it will only be tears streaming down my face and a little sniffle. I can count on one hand how many times a book has made me absolutely BAWL.

Second Chance Summer is one of those books.

Second Chance Summer...more

like 11 likes · see review

May 12, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, contemporary-ya, ya, autobuy

4.5 ish stars (definitely above average--I don't think the description does this book a lot of favors, as it kind of makes it sound like a kissing book, but it's really a book about family and love and friendship)

Not sure how to rate this one. It was incredibly good.And even though I knew from the beginning how it would end (read the book description), it still made me cry. Morgan Matson develops settings as well as Sarah Ockler does. The problem is that Amy & Roger (Matson's debut) is one...more

like 15 likes · see review

Aug 01, 2011 Arlene marked it as to-read

Shelves: autographed

Have no clue what it is but I'll read anything by this author.

EDITED August 1, 2011.

Looks like we have a decription of the story now and a solid publication date. Woo hoo!

Taylor's family might not be the closest-knit – everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled – but for the most part, they get along fine. Then they get news that changes everything: Her father has pancreatic cancer, and it's stage four – meaning that there is basically nothing to be done. Her parents decide that the family...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Good Golly Miss Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: loan-to-l-l

Beware: This one is a total tearjerker! With all the makings for an easygoing summer read, Second Chance Summer manages to be all that and more when the death of a family member is thrown in the mix. Surprisingly, this made the novel all the more believable and actually pushed it over the edge to a five star novel for me.

I was one of the few who didn't really see the amazing winning quality of Morgan Matson's debut novel but I'm glad to say Second Chance Summer is much more to my reading tastes....more

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Jan 24, 2013 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemp-or-realistic, read-2013, young-adult, meh

Something about Second Chance Summer felt familiar to me as I read, but it wasn’t until I was about two thirds of the way through that I realised what it was: it felt somewhat Dessen-esque.

Both thematically and stylistically, Matson’s writing reminds me of Sarah Dessen’s, albeit slightly less verbose. Matson’s novel centres around her protagonist, Taylor, coming to terms with some devastating news for her family, accompanied by a subplot around rekindling childhood friendship and romance. It’s a...more Something about Second Chance Summer felt familiar to me as I read, but it wasn’t until I was about two thirds of the way through that I realised what it was: it felt somewhat Dessen-esque.

Both thematically and stylistically, Matson’s writing reminds me of Sarah Dessen’s, albeit slightly less verbose. Matson’s novel centres around her protagonist, Taylor, coming to terms with some devastating news for her family, accompanied by a subplot around rekindling childhood friendship and romance. It’s a more subdued novel than perhaps the blurb and cover imply, and readers expecting a “fluffy” summer read may be taken aback by the heavier emotional content.

This is a difficult book for me to review because I find I don’t have a lot to say about it. I liked it, I enjoyed it while I read it, but I can’t say it left a lasting impression on me or that I felt particularly connected to the characters. While I thought the climax of the novel was moving and well-handled (despite my early misgivings about how Matson might handle certain emotional aspects of the story), on the whole I feel largely indifferent toward to it. It was a “nice” book when I wanted difficult, or stunning, or ugly; I wanted to feel something stronger and more profound than I actually did.

Taylor and her family are altered by their summer, and understandably so. The lack of closeness that is telegraphed at the beginning of the novel is challenged by emotional and physical circumstances. Essentially, in a time of great stress they learn to draw strength and comfort from each other, to reassess their relationships and what’s really important. It’s a simultaneously heart-warming and heart-wrenching premise, but for the same reasons, not one I fully believed. Something about this story felt too tidy for me, the resolutions too uncomplicated. Call me a cynic, but I simply don’t believe that Matson’s closure for her characters was totally realistic. Life, I think, is messier than that.

Yes, I’m picking on a book because I don’t think it was flawed enough.

On the other hand, Matson writes some endearing character interactions and her handling of Taylor’s attempt to reconnect with her childhood friends is believable. I’m pleased that Matson chose to have Taylor rebuild these relationships through facing the past and making amends, rather than using the emotional pull of her family’s situation. That would have felt disingenuous and lazy, and Matson navigated a potentially tricky area by keeping the focus firmly on Taylor’s development as a character.

That said, the use of flashbacks to previous summers as a technique for fleshing out the friendship storyline started to feel tedious. We’re given plenty of insight into the relationship between Taylor, Lucy and Henry, but I felt that this gradual reveal slowed the story down. I had to resist the urge to skim the cute vignettes of first love as they began to stretch out what is already a fairly lengthy novel.

Matson’s writing is very readable - she has a keen grasp Taylor's mental and emotional state, and injects this into her voice. It's believable and effortless. She also tempers the story with moments of humour and warmth (though, I think, with varying degrees of success). (view spoiler)

So while I'm not sure I'm the right audience for this book, I can see the appeal, and I would recommend it to those looking for a well-written contemporary with a balance of depth and comfort.

Or who like their sad books with a side of romance..(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 Sahana D rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: couldnt-finish

When broken down, this book seems to have a lot of the things i usually love and look for in YA fiction novels (looove revisiting childhood crushes). I just dont think the author did anything with them - ya feel me?

take: the "quirky" family
the main character had a genius 19 year old brother with photographic memory. he was obsessed with the origins of things and is lacking basic social skills. That's all there was to him. those are perhaps faucets of his personality and idiosyncrasies but not hi...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Nibra Sitzpinkler rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've always had a soft spot for father and child stories, and this book was no exemption. It's not everything stellar, but it has a story to tell.

I've never experienced, God hope I never would experience, the Big-C hitting my family. I've seen it happen on other people, or at least hear stories about it. It always felt unimaginable, like what if it was my family on the receiving end? What if?

This book is not, at all, a story of grief. It has elements of coming-of-age and healing. If there is any...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Shanyn (Chick Loves Lit) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: wow, preordered, src

I waited for Second Chance Summer for two years. Right after I finished Amy & Roger's Epic Detour (still one of my favorite books) I looked for Morgan Matson's newest. Anticipation? I was full of it. When I got home from work on May 8 and retrieved the book from my porch, the first thing I did was hug it. Then I posted a picture of it on Twitter and marveled at the beautiful cover.

Full Review: http://chickloveslit.com/2012/06/revi...

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Jun 26, 2012 Jen (Almost Grown-up) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012contemp

Posted to Almost Grown-up:

WARNING: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson is NSFW. That is… Not Safe For Work. And it’s not due to the usual reasons that things are deemed NSFW. Nope, no gratuitous sex in THIS incredible book. Second Chance Summer is of the ugly-crying NSFW variety. But we will get to that. I promise.

Earlier chapters of Second Chance Summer may not be sob-inducing, but they pulled at my heart an equal amount.

And there are a variety of reasons for that.

First of all, there’s Morgan...more Posted to Almost Grown-up:

WARNING: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson is NSFW. That is… Not Safe For Work. And it’s not due to the usual reasons that things are deemed NSFW. Nope, no gratuitous sex in THIS incredible book. Second Chance Summer is of the ugly-crying NSFW variety. But we will get to that. I promise.

Earlier chapters of Second Chance Summer may not be sob-inducing, but they pulled at my heart an equal amount.

And there are a variety of reasons for that.

First of all, there’s Morgan Matson’s masterful handling of a terminal illness. Taylor’s dad seems fine as the summer starts, but his diagnosis hangs over them even in happy moments. A dark cloud on a sunny day, so to speak.

But those happy moments are there. Matson develops a cast of characters around Taylor who are quirky and wonderful. Her family is loving, but isn’t some cliche of the all-American family. They don’t seem like caricatures of an idea; they are all so human and real.

Taylor reunites with her former best friend, Lucy amidst a great deal of awkwardness (they haven’t spoken in years after something Taylor did to both Lucy and Taylor’s ex-boyfriend), but when they get back to the friendship point? I wanted to squish them in a hug. Even when they were fighting, for that matter, I still respected them. Lucy wasn’t nice to Taylor, by any means, but she doesn’t fall into that trap of being “mean girl.”

Then… oh, guys, then there is Henry. Taylor’s ex-boyfriend. Her first love. The boy who brings swoon to the page in Second Chance Summer. The way he and Taylor come back together is so realistic and just… do they actually make boys like this in real life? Because I would like one.

We get into NSFW territory (again, from ugly-crying) as Taylor’s father begins his decline. I started off the cry-fest by wiping the few tears that trickled out of my eyes. But soon after that, I gave up wiping them because they kept on coming; there was practically a WATERFALL on my face. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that there was a point when I was crying so hard that I couldn’t breathe.

Overall rating: 5/5. I literally have no criticism of Morgan Matson’s Second Chance Summer. This is a fabulous book and left me with… just… so many feelings.(less)

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Aug 10, 2012 Kristilyn (Reading In Winter & Winter Distractions) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed, favourites, read-in-2012

I had been hearing so many amazing things about Morgan Matson’s novel, Second Chance Summer — the follow up to her amazing novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour — that I immediately put myself on the hold list when I saw my local library was getting it. Admittedly, I wasn’t going to read this one immediately because the hardback was such a beautiful book that I wanted a copy of it for my shelf, but I needed something that was really going to keep my interest so I dove in.

I was not expecting to c...more I had been hearing so many amazing things about Morgan Matson’s novel, Second Chance Summer — the follow up to her amazing novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour — that I immediately put myself on the hold list when I saw my local library was getting it. Admittedly, I wasn’t going to read this one immediately because the hardback was such a beautiful book that I wanted a copy of it for my shelf, but I needed something that was really going to keep my interest so I dove in.

I was not expecting to completely fall in love with this book! As it starts off, Taylor’s family isn’t very close, but her dad has been diagnosed with cancer with a time frame, so they go to the lake for the summer. I loved seeing the family get closer and closer as the summer goes by, as well as seeing how the family reacts to the changes in the father’s, Robin’s, demeanour as he succumbs to his disease.

But the book isn’t all sad — it’s not just a book about losing a family member, but also a book about getting second chances. It’s been five years since Taylor’s family has even been to the lake and there were many loose ends after the last summer. We meet wonderful characters — Henry, Lucy, Elliot, as well as Murphy, the dog. I loved seeing all of the relationships as they evolved throughout the book — they were all touching, all heartbreaking, and all so believable.

The only book that made me feel so many emotions was John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. The only difference between that one and Second Chance Summer is that there’s definitely a lot more humour in Green’s book — BUT, even though there’s not a lot of wisecracking going on, there is so much of everything else. I honestly loved this book and would read it again and again.

Despite the sadness that takes place, this is the perfect summer read. It made me want to sit on a dock, with my feet in the water, the sun on my face, the sand on my skin. It was all just so beautiful. Have lots of tissue when you read this one because I had about three major instances where I bawled like a baby!

This book is a masterpiece. It was put together so perfectly and I finished it with a feeling of love and sadness. Morgan Matson has gone to the top of my list and I cannot wait until her next book is released.

Read more reviews on my blog, Reading In Winter:

(less)

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Apr 06, 2013 Valencia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: emotionally-awesome-books, fav-authors, favorites, light-reads, books-that-made-me-cry, absolute-favs, loved-it-so-much

“A thousand moments that I had just taken for granted- mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more.”

Ok, guys, I am in an emotional mess right now. Just WOW. This book is absolutely amazing , from it's plot, the characters, the scene and setting, and the absolute perfect way it was written, it was full of emotions and ohmygod, just perfect!
After I read Amy and Roger's Epic Detour I fell in love with the Author's style of writing and the way she made everything so real, li...more “A thousand moments that I had just taken for granted- mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more.”

Ok, guys, I am in an emotional mess right now. Just WOW. This book is absolutely amazing , from it's plot, the characters, the scene and setting, and the absolute perfect way it was written, it was full of emotions and ohmygod, just perfect!
After I read Amy and Roger's Epic Detour I fell in love with the Author's style of writing and the way she made everything so real, like it was happening right in front of your eyes. So, after searching for other books by her, I found this one, Second Chance Summer and thought, OMG, I have got to read this!
So, I read it and wow, it went way past my expectations, this book has everything a good novel needs, and now it has now gone into my favourites list :)
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson is about a teenage girl - Taylor Edwards who is in a family of five. She has one younger sister and one older brother. On Taylor's birthday, they find out that her Dad has Pancreatic Cancer and only has a certain amount of time left to live, and so her Dad wishes his last summer together as a family at their old lake house in Lake Phoenix where they used to spend every summer together but stopped coming whe Taylor was 12. When they reach Lake Phoenix, Taylor has to face her first boyfriend and her former best friend, after she ran away five years ago.... this book is about love, finding who you really are, courage, and the importance of a family.
I literally had to go through a half a tissue box, before I could calm myself down! Morgan Matson, really is an amazing author because not many authors can make you cry like that - the sobbing kind, because the way Morgan Matson wrote the story, it made me really understand what the characters were going through, it made me feel like I was actually Taylor, going through everything she had!
So everyone reading this, GO AND READ THE BOOK!! It will be absolutely worth reading, I promise because this book is perfect!!(less)

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Dec 27, 2012 Alexa Yupangco rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Alexa by: Kristilyn (Reading In Winter & Winter Distractions)

Shelves: 2012-all-stars, book-wishlist

First Thoughts: This book made me feel all the things. I cried like a baby! So beautifully written.

(Originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)

This book is absolute perfection, at least in my eyes. It features everything I could ever want in a YA novel - a beautiful setting, a tight-knit family unit, a sweet boy-next-door and a story that touched my heart. While I was a fan of Morgan Matson's debut novel Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, I can happily report that it's been topped by the incredible work...more First Thoughts: This book made me feel all the things. I cried like a baby! So beautifully written.

(Originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)

This book is absolute perfection, at least in my eyes. It features everything I could ever want in a YA novel - a beautiful setting, a tight-knit family unit, a sweet boy-next-door and a story that touched my heart. While I was a fan of Morgan Matson's debut novel Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, I can happily report that it's been topped by the incredible work that is Second Chance Summer.

One of the remarkable capabilities that this author possesses is the ability to write a whole cast of characters that I can fall in love with and care deeply about. Taylor (a name I love, by the way), her family, Henry, Lucy and all the residents of the town added such a charming aspect to the story, and they totally won me over just by being who they were. There were aspects of each character that I could identify with, and I think that was an important factor in making me love them all.

Her setting in this novel - what a place it is! It sounds like a spot I'd love to own a vacation house in myself. With a neighborhood that's safe and accessible, all the amenities anyone could want during a relaxing summer and a sense of security and small-town intimacy, I fell in love. It had me wishing I could go on vacation myself, especially since I've never really been on a vacation in a community like the one in this book.

And oh, the romance did many complicated things to my heart. But the end result was that it made me happy.. as in swoony, smiling like an idiot happy. The relationship between Taylor and Henry is fraught with complications and history, but I loved that. I loved that it started when they were younger. I love that they had to work to put all of these things in their past behind them and take a step forward. And I love that we were reminded of something important about relationships - that choosing to take a chance on one is always going to be a risk, even when you think you know the other person well. It also helps that I practically swooned over all their moments together, since a lot of things that Henry said and did were so, so lovely.

However, only half of what makes this novel special lies in the romance. The other half falls into the relationships Taylor with her family, which were so authentic and made me miss my own family while I was reading. The way Taylor interacts with each member of her family - her older brother, her younger sister, her mother and her father - is different and unique to them, and I like how the author was able to showcase that. I love reading YA with an incredible family dynamic, and Second Chance Summer is certainly one of those novels.

Reading about Taylor's relationship with her father, both her memories and her current experiences with him as his condition worsened, felt like such a gift. The bond between them warmed my heart, and I enjoyed their moments together. This intimate view into their relationship, of course, constitutes most of the reason of why I bawled my eyes out as I got towards the last third of the book. So yes, be warned: this book will most likely make you cry until your eyes have swollen.

Second Chance Summer is a beautifully written story, featuring a look into Taylor's life and her relationships with her family, her friends and the boy. It's a tale that will tug at your heartstrings, while simultaneously making you smile and swoon. Reading this book is definitely worth the time you'll spend with it.(less)

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Jun 04, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: simon-schuster

Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

After falling in love with Amy and Roger's Epic Detour last year, I've been anxiously awaiting Second Chance Summer and am over the moon that it managed to exceed my expectations. I'm in awe at how connected I was to the characters and felt every single emotion they were feeling. I cried too many tears while reading this book, during moments that probably didn't even warrant them, and was blown away by the depth Matson created with her layered stor...more Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

After falling in love with Amy and Roger's Epic Detour last year, I've been anxiously awaiting Second Chance Summer and am over the moon that it managed to exceed my expectations. I'm in awe at how connected I was to the characters and felt every single emotion they were feeling. I cried too many tears while reading this book, during moments that probably didn't even warrant them, and was blown away by the depth Matson created with her layered stories and complicated characters. This is one of my favourite books this year, so I sincerely hope you enjoy it just as much!

Taylor Edwards and her family decide to spend the summer at their lake house together for the very last time. Her father has terminal pancreatic cancer and is predicted to have only 3 more months left to live. The once healthy and fit owner of a law firm is now slowly deteriorating before their eyes, but refuses to let them see his weakness, even though it's a futile effort. Taylor and her father have a very close relationship, a bond that you know will tear your heart out once its gone. Her siblings both have their own stories to tell in Lake Phoenix, from making new friends to falling in love, and the connection Matson forms between us all is immensely strong. She gets us so involved with the story that its impossible not to crash when the storm hits and every single one of them is affected.

The second main storyline in Second Chance Summer is Taylor's damaged relationships with her first love, Henry Crosby, and old best friend, Lucy Marino. They happen to meet up again this summer but the two are hostile, hurt and unforgiving of something Taylor did five years ago. What could it be? This question plagues us for the majority of the novel, slowly answering itself through suspenseful flashbacks and snippets of conversations, during which Taylor makes the effort to mend things between them. I loved the many steps forward and backwards we took to get from Point A to B, seeing relationships slowly change and heal, despite the immense toll it put on my heart. This is an emotional book that really rises above others through its characters and story; the depth I was talking about before. I can't even put into words how breathtaking these relationships were!

My heart stills thuds madly as I think back to the hurt, love and frustration this book made me feel. Matson truly brings us to the highest of highs and lowest of lows, all in the span of this one book. We experience every romance, every heartbreak, every friendship and every betrayal. I keep saying it but these characters have so much depth, which adds to the story's power infinitely. We truly care about what happens to them and are basically living within their bodies, feeling everything they are. It's crazy. Matson, what are you doing to me?!

There are numerous story lines in this book that demand to be paid attention to but Matson manages to balance them all PERFECTLY. I smiled and cried a lot while reading this, so have some emergency supplies on hand. I will never forget the final few chapters of this book - heartbreakingly beautiful and, hands down, one of the best endings ever. If you don't shed some tears, I'm calling you heartless! Matson never fails to get our hearts jumping out of our chests with these realistic characters of hers. Second Chance Summer is pretty much flawless and one of the best contemporaries I've ever read, so please put it at the top of your TBR pile immediately!(less)

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May 04, 2013 Baileejo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing. This book is absolutely amazing! It was really easy to relate to the main character, Taylor Edwards, as she goes through some family issues. She had a bad habit of running away when things got tough and as she realized this, she's going around to some of her ex-friends and trying to fix things. It felt like she was someone I really knew.
I thought it was going to be sad but as I read I caught myself laughing outloud through out the whole book, thanks to Taylor's dad's sense of humor.
Th...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Kati Beadle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction

Dear Mrs. Geyer,
I really liked this book. It was a great book about overcoming hardships, new and old romance, and getting a second chance at your mistakes. It's about a girl whose father developed cancer and only has until the end of summer to live. He wants to spend his last few months of life at his old lake cabin that the family use to go to five years ago. Before they stopped coming Taylor, the main character, had a romance with Henry, her ex-boyfriend, when they were twelve. It wasn't an...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Clara-raine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: All teenage girls

Second Chance Summer
by Morgan Matson

Taylor Edwards is a girl who is used to running from her problems rather than facing them. When her father is diagnosed with a life changing illness and is told that he only has three months to live, she and her family move to a rustic lake house in the sunny Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, where Taylor is hoping to spend one last summer with her family while it is still whole.
While there Taylor faces the problems she has run from in the past and learns throu...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Jacqueline The Everyday Shopaholic marked it as top-tbr

From the Author of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour!!!

Squeee!!

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 T...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the book "Second Chance Summer", the author's purpose in writing this novel was to tell about a story about friendship and how things can be tough but work out in the end.
The theme of this book is friendship. The friendship between family as they discover hard times, and the friendship between old friends. Another theme that this book contains is courage. The courage is shown when hard times are given to them, they won't give up on trying new things. The author was trying to state indirectly...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Caro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tear-jerker, punny, contemporary, ya

I love to have a bit of a weep in books- it's a mark of good writing. But, honestly? Second Chance Summer had me tearing up over and over- more than any other book I've ever read.

This book is longer than the normal YA summer, but at no point in time did it feel protracted. I was fully invested in the story from page one. Matson beautifully paces the melancholy of the current summer with delicate revelations of the past; my heart hurt for Taylor and her family, and then hurt more for all her reg...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Sanjana rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best books I've read in a long long time!!!
I bought this book today and finished it in one sitting. I dint have a lot of expectations from this book as the author’s previous (debut)book was not all that great ( at least according to me....I know a lot of people loved it), but this one blew my mind away.

Taylor is a normal girl from a normal family with a normal life. Her life is turned upside down when her Dad gests diagnosed with cancer. The story is about how the impending do...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, 2012-favorites, chick-lit, cutesy, good-fluff, realistic-fiction, summer, trauma-emotional

Unashamedly predictable.

One thing I did realize, though, as I smirked at yet another romance in yet another summer with yet another sad tint (see The Summer I Turned Pretty), was that corniness and bad puns was not an excuse to brush something off. Surprisingly, I learned a thing or two from Second Chance Summer.

1) Don't run away from things when it gets hard. Life is about making bad things better, not about letting things go from bad to worse.

2) As if you couldn't piece it together from the ti...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Christin (Portrait of a Book) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100in2012, book-portrait-review, contemporary-fiction, src2012, young-adult

I haven't read Morgan Matson's first book, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, but after reading Second Chance Summer I know that I need to move that book up on my to-read list. Second Chance Summer is, in a word, beautiful.

For the past several years, Taylor has spent her summers away from home, and she thought this one would be no exception. But when her dad gets the news that he has stage four pancreatic cancer, his one request is that the family spend their last summer together at their lakehouse in...more I haven't read Morgan Matson's first book, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, but after reading Second Chance Summer I know that I need to move that book up on my to-read list. Second Chance Summer is, in a word, beautiful.

For the past several years, Taylor has spent her summers away from home, and she thought this one would be no exception. But when her dad gets the news that he has stage four pancreatic cancer, his one request is that the family spend their last summer together at their lakehouse in the Pocono Mountains. Reluctantly Taylor and her siblings make the trip along with her parents, but Taylor dreads this summer even more than her siblings. While Gelsey will only miss ballet classes and Warren can study anywhere, Taylor has a lot of history at the lake, history that she would rather not relive. However, the past always has a way of catching up with you, especially in a small town. Taylor has to confront her old friends, which also means confronting her own faults. At the same time, she realizes she is only now beginning to know her father, and their time is running out. Soon Taylor learns that if you're lucky enough to have a second chance, you have to make the most of every moment...

Reading books in which the outcome is easily surmised can sometimes be hard, disappointing, or even boring. Second Chance Summer was none of those things. In fact, this book, with its unassuming yet somehow still profound writing, suspended time, and while I was reading it, I forgot about everything else. I loved the setting of Lake Phoenix - it was the perfect atmosphere for this story (and also made me want to go to the mountains). Along with the setting, the characters truly came to life. I felt like I knew them all, from Gelsey's passion for dance to Warren's penchant for reciting facts to Taylor's dad's puns. Taylor herself was quite real and relatable - even though she was not always able to express her emotions, I was always able to feel them. Through flashbacks scattered in the novel we learn what happened between Taylor, her former best friend Lucy, and her first boyfriend Henry. Even though these three were young at the time, the story speaks to the power and depth of childhood friendships and first loves.

So many emotions and relationships were portrayed in this novel. We saw joy and sorrow, tears and laughter, aspects of parent-child and sibling relationships, friends, and even romance. Because of that, this book is the total package. In addition, Taylor's emotional journey gives a great message of courage and strength. I loved who she became by the end of the novel. This story really tugged on my heartstrings and had me tearing up in a few places. The story might have been hard to read sometimes, but it is one of the best books I have read so far this year.

I said this earlier and I will say it again: Second Chance Summer is beautiful and a book that I know will stay with me a long time. I am eager to see what Morgan Matson writes next! (less)

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Aug 23, 2012 steph rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012, favorites, fiction-contemporary, fiction-family, library-la-county, lots-of-characters, made-me-cry-like-a-baby, romance, ya-fiction

4.5 stars.

This book made me get a bit weepy as I closed the last page. And made me want to tell my family that I loved them, because I cannot remember the last time I uttered those words to them. This book was young adult but the emotions, the emotions were all there. I love that this wasn't a book about boyfriends or former best friends fighting (although parts were), but instead it was about relationships of all kinds (family, friends, spouses) and learning that everyday is important to live b...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Anneleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely love this book. It is not as easy to read as 'Amy and Roger's epic detour', but that's not a bad thing. This is the kind of book you need to lay down for a few days and then start reading again. The book doesn't have the same pace as Amy & Roger's, but because of the heavy topic it makes the book even more special.
Taylor is a really likeable character, and I could relate to her in many aspects. She has flaws, but you can really understand why she does those things.
The only thin...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Louisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

After finding Amy and Roger's Epic Detour lacking, much to my disappointment, I was pleasantly surprised with Second Chance Summer! I'm glad I decided to give Morgan Matson's books a second chance (heh). A brief mention of Amy and her "tall, cute boy" didn't hurt either.

This book was particularly bittersweet to me, what with Taylor's dad's steady physical decline. Matson has a knack for capturing specific emotions with painful accuracy. I confess to having cried a few times near the end. We've a...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars

I discovered Morgan Matson by accident. I read her novel Amy and Roger's epic detour and knew after reading it, I had to read more books by her. For starters, Morgan Matson is the Queen of poignant stories.

I was saddened by her first novel and almost welled up but it was seond chance summer that made me cry hard. It's the story of Taylor Edwards, who on her 17th birthday finds out her father has only three months left to live. Her family decide to spend that last summer together at the beach ho...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Xxxjellybeansxxx rated it 4 of 5 stars

*Mild Spoilers*

Second Chance Summer is an amazing summer read. It has the basic summer read characteristics: setting (camps, summer houses, and whatnot), fun in the sun, and romance. However, unlike others, it has more depth and substance. In the beginning, I thought I was looking at what was another, basic, easy read, but it turned around. Turns out Taylor's dad has cancer. Stage four prostate cancer to be specific, and has, give or take, three months to live. The family goes to the summer hou...more

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May 31, 2012 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

3.5 stars

This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

If I were asked what the most haunting phrase in the English English is, “stage four pancreatic cancer” would have to be somewhere towards the top. It is, after all, a phrase that’s virtually synonymous with death. There’s something so terrifying about this disease, more than so many others: it’s an invisible disease that devours from the inside out. It’s a disease that people don’t know how to deal with, one that seems to...more 3.5 stars

This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

If I were asked what the most haunting phrase in the English English is, “stage four pancreatic cancer” would have to be somewhere towards the top. It is, after all, a phrase that’s virtually synonymous with death. There’s something so terrifying about this disease, more than so many others: it’s an invisible disease that devours from the inside out. It’s a disease that people don’t know how to deal with, one that seems to make no sense–why would one’s body turn on itself? It’s a disease that flouts all of our typical grieving processes, our goodbyes. It’s the awkward silence that descends on a room and makes everyone who they are.

It’s also something that follows you no matter how far you run, and for the first time in her life Taylor Edwards, who has made a habit of running, is being forced to stand her ground and follow something through to its conclusion. When Taylor’s dad is diagnosed with terminal cancer, her family decides to spend the summer–a last summer–at their old lake house in Pennsylvania. But it’s a decision that means not only that Taylor has to face the inevitable death of her father, but a past that she’s been outrunning for years.

The Edwards’ summer home is a strange mix of the new and the old: some things, like the decor, have remained utterly unchanged in the past five years, while others, like their neighbours, have changed completely. The neighbourhood is mix of the familiar and the strange, much like the situation with Taylor’s father. A successful lawyer, he’s always been strong and successful in Taylor’s eyes: until now, she has seen him as a rock-like figure in her life, never changing, but always just there. It’s not that Taylor doesn’t love her father, it’s just that there have always been priorities she’s put ahead of getting to know him. After all, if you see someone as unchanging, then your future with them seems infinite.

But now Taylor can see the changes: from day to day there are differences in his conduct, his manner, his aspect. And although he’s wasting away, ageing at some sort of supernatural rate, he wants this summer to be one where he can experience as much of his children, his wife, and the rest of his life, as possible. The family has perhaps three months together until everything changes forever. But Taylor’s torn between wanting to spend as much time with her father as possible and his need to be able to get his affairs in order. And so Taylor leads what’s largely a normal teen life: beginning a love affair with a childhood friend; rekindling a friendship with her best friend from years ago. Getting a job for the first time. Helping her brother find a date, and her sister find her first best friend. Taylor uses the summer to atone for the wrongs she feels she has committed, and also as a second chance for her and her father. Her father, on the other hand, uses it to relieve all of the things that have meant so much to him throughout his life–and to encourage his children to become the people they have always wanted to be. But time, of course, is running out.

Second Chance Summer is a beautiful novel in so many ways, and there are parts of it that are tremendously strong: the end had me very close to tears. But I was disappointed by the scope of the book: the emotional impact of Taylor’s father’s illness and her growing relationship with him, which is the key aspect of the book, was diluted by the various side plots of summer love, friendships, and summer jobs. In particular, the terrible deed that Taylor keeps so obliquely referring to, and which turns out to be very much a mountain out of a molehill, is hugely overemphasised, with a good half of the book spent focusing on this element and not on the more crucial plotline of her father’s illness, her family’s reaction to it, and Taylor’s subsequent growth as an individual because of it.

The problem with red herring of Taylor’s past shows up in other places, too: there are things that we’re led to believe should be more important than they are, which becomes quite exhausting in a book that’s as emotionally challenging as this. There are, throughout the book, scenes that feel like they should go somewhere, but don’t: for example, Taylor’s boyfriend’s reaction to an abandoned dog seems to hint at something more than what we get: the reader expects a plot-related progression rather than a simple emotional reaction.

However, this aside, there is a good deal here to like, and I adored the relationship between Taylor and her father, not to mention all of the ways in which each tried to “make right” their relationship through small but meaningful gestures–buying licorice, watching certain films, having pun wars–but with the many subplots on display here the book feels bloated to the point that much of this loses the emotional impact it should have had. It’s when, at the very end, the novel condenses back down to just the family that it’s at its best, and Matson’s considerable skills as an author show through.

Second Chance Summer is deeply moving, but I couldn’t help but feel that its lack of focus dampens its emotional impact.
(less)

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May 17, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm really struggling between giving this book 4 or 5 stars. Really, the only thing that stops me from giving it a full-on 5 star rating is the juvenile grudge. That said, it's been a long time since I was 12 years old and nearly as long since I was 17. The story hints about some long ago situation where Taylor did something that hurt both Henry and Lucy. What she did was definitely relevant to the story. How she handled it at the age of 17 was relevant to the story. How Henry and Lucy handled i...more I'm really struggling between giving this book 4 or 5 stars. Really, the only thing that stops me from giving it a full-on 5 star rating is the juvenile grudge. That said, it's been a long time since I was 12 years old and nearly as long since I was 17. The story hints about some long ago situation where Taylor did something that hurt both Henry and Lucy. What she did was definitely relevant to the story. How she handled it at the age of 17 was relevant to the story. How Henry and Lucy handled it, the first time seeing her since it happened, developed their characters. The actual event is anti-climactic and is not revealed until far into the book. However, more background is also revealed of what Henry's 12th summer included which clearly exacerbated his reaction.

Confused? Bored with my analysis? Okay, I'll spice it up a bit. What I loved about the story is my own visceral reaction to it. I rarely cry over a book or movie. I surprised myself by watching a tear plop on my bedspread. What I've described is the basic teenage angst. I know. Been there. Done that. But as the book description indicates, the summer in the mountains is the last one for the family as a whole unit. The father, Rob, is dying of pancreatic cancer. Ironically, my own first boyfriend, the one I met on vacation and continued to meet every summer on vacation, grew up to a successful lawyer, married the proverbial girl next door, had four children and then was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The author chose a cancer that has a nearly zero survival rate. The reader is duly warned by the kind of cancer and the stage. (view spoiler)

This is the second book I have read by this author. The first one had me giggling in pleasure and glee. It was so fun, upbeat, and such an enjoyable journey that I was surprised she could write another book so vastly different yet with amazing skill. The scenes are well orchestrated, characters quickly developed, relationships understood then change with natural transitions. Very, very well written.(less)

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About Morgan Matson

Morgan Matson grew up in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles but halfway though a theater degree, she started working in the children's department of Vroman's Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature.

Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theater/English degree) she moved back East to attend the New Schoo...more

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“A thousand moments that I had just taken for granted- mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more.” — 117 people liked it

“And I’ve realized that the Beatles got it wrong. Love isn’t all we need—love is all there is.” — 97 people liked it

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