Second Chance Summer

Author: Morgan MatsonGenre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary.Editorial: Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersYear: 2012Ranking: 4 / 5

Synopsis

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 are 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 Author

Morgan Matson grew up in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles but halfway through 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, she moved back East to attend the New School, where she received her M.F.A in Writing for Children.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, inspired by Morgan's three cross-country road trips, was published in May 2010. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a PW "Flying Start" book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Book Prize. Her second book, Second Chance Summer, was published in May 2012 and draws largely on her experiences spending summers growing up in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Her third book, Since You've Been Gone, was published in 2014. And in 2016, She published The Unexpected Everything.

Personal Experience with this Book

Out of all the books, I read by Morgan Matson, this is the saddest and my second favorite. I think my first serious option is "Since you’ve been gone" and the second would be this. I finished my reading of her books and I am waiting for next year to come so she writes something that I can read.

The story this time also occurs during summer. It also deals with many important issues gently and has a romance that will melt your heart. Even so among all I have read so far, this is the only one dealing with a disease like cancer, it is the only one that has made me mourn and is the only one where the family is the focus of the whole story.

Taylor is a character who you like very fast. It is nice to be stuck inside her thoughts. What is happening to her now is very hard for her and her entire family. Taylor shuns everything that is difficult or what she is scares her, she always has. However, who is not afraid of difficult situations, who has not been eager to flee a hard situation that presents itself? We all have fears like this and that makes Taylor a more real character.

The fact of not being able to run away from this summer puts her in a difficult position at the beginning of the story. However, her character learns a lot during the summer. She realizes how important it is to face the difficult situations that appear in front of her and, that despite what she herself can imagine, her family will always be there to support her in everything.

The Edwards family is a very special family. They have no problem to the naked eye. They are a "perfect" family, if you can say. However, the 3 siblings do not have either good or bad relationships. There is no closeness between them; they do not feel like siblings, they are like 3 people who know each other living under the same roof. Their parents love each other and have a very good relationship with their three children, but also work hard and therefore does not have that family recreational space where they spend time with each other simply for fun.

I loved seeing the development that has the whole family. Following what happens with Mr. Edward, these brothers must find a way to give their dad the best summer that he may have. Aside they will start doing things for one another, something rare among them. They begin to worry about every member of the family and to enjoy moments that they did not have before. This development is reflected in each of the pages of the book. I liked having a familiar approach, because the subject of the disease as warranted.

Romance and friendship are also present in the story. Taylor returns to her summerhouse where her former best friend and her ex-boyfriend are waiting. She did something that hurt them both and, she have not yet been able to make peace with neither. As the story progresses, we see how Taylor is facing the situation with both of them and how things get resolved. At this point, I must say I imagined something more serious. Taylor always put it as something horrible and when I heard, what was what she had done I felt deceived. I expected something deeper. Although I must say that this happened, when they were only 12 years old and maybe it was serious for them, at that time.

I liked how the romance came slowly. I like Morgan’ romances because despite all of them happening in a short period, you get to feel that we are not going very fast with them. She focuses her romances more on the getting to know the other person before taking the step toward romance. So when the couple is finally at that stage, you feel as if they had known each other long ago. Out of the four books Morgan has written, I put them in position 4 because this story does not focus on them, this romance is like a plus it gives us the author, to put something nice to her story.

The friendship between Taylor and Lucy is very natural. These girls have a bond that is not broken with the passing of the years. I have 2 friends (one of those with whom you speak only occasionally but you have so many memories with them that no matter how much time has passed, the day you sit down to talk to them tell each other everything and openly) like them. It was very nice to see such a friendship in this story.

I repeat what I said in every Morgan book, READ THEM. Each one is worth it. Morgan style is very refreshing and I really have fun reading her stories, but they all have something that makes them unique. This book will make you mourn and that is not a spoiler because from the synopsis you can tell that there is something bad happening, but those tears will be worth it if you get to enjoy this book as much as I did.