Rowena’s review of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson.
Main Character: Taylor Edwards
Love Interest: Henry
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads
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.
Last year, one of my favorite books read was Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour so I was pretty anxious for this book to come out this year. Ames got me hooked on this writer and I had every confidence that I would enjoy this book as well and…I did. I totally did.
This book follows Taylor Edwards back to the place where she hadn’t been back for five years. The summer where she got her first kiss, and fell in love for the very first time. The summer that she also lost her best friend and then lost that same first love. When she walked away all those summers ago, she hadn’t ever wanted to return and face what she did but her Dad is terminally ill and wants to spend the few months that he has left at the summer house with his family.
So off they go.
Taylor is dealing with a lot of things and like most teenagers, she keeps it all bottled up and well, that’s never good. Facing the memories in the town that she had loved from her childhood was going to be hard enough but facing all of those memories and dealing with all of the changes that come with time made everything so much harder.
The biggest change of all is seeing Henry (the boy she loved and lost) living right next door to her. The other biggest change? Working with the best friend she loved and lost too. This book is about summer of second chances and about a girl who comes to terms with the hand she’d been dealt. I couldn’t read this book fast enough. I almost read the entire thing in one sitting. I just couldn’t get enough of the characters, the setting and the romance. I’m a total fan of romances, whether they’re between adults or teens, I don’t care. I’m all about the romance.
I won’t lie and tell you that Taylor didn’t get on my hot damn nerves throughout some of the book because she did but I forgave a lot of what she did because of the things that she was going through. Her Dad is dying, she has to face things that she walked away from and over the course of the summer, I saw her grow and learn from her mistakes. She wasn’t perfect so with every mistake she fixed, she made another one to take its place but through it all, I was rooting her on.
Matson wrote another winner of a book for me with this one. I laughed, I cried, I smiled and sighed throughout the whole thing and if that doesn’t spell WINNER in all caps, I don’t know what would. I can’t recommend this book enough. I enjoyed the ups, the downs and I connected with each character. From her family members to her friends, I loved them all in different ways.
I really enjoyed seeing Taylor bond with her family. When they first got to the summer house, they weren’t connected the way that they were when they left and I loved that we were there to see how far they came over the course of one summer. I loved that we were able to go through this hard journey with Taylor’s Dad, right alongside her and really, the whole thing was just an awesome read. If you were wondering if you should get this book, I think you should. It was a great book.
I also loved seeing the quick glimpse of Amy Curry in this book. Oh goodness, I loved her book so much!
..and that’s your scoop!
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com
You’re tempting me to go to book depository right now!
LOL
I hope you’re proud of yourself.
Thanks for this review, the book does sound really, really lovely.
Oh Alex I enjoyed this book so much. It was such a lovely book. I hope you like it as much as I did.
It is a beautiful book, and it’s so poignant towards the end. Taylor certainly has her flaws, but I really enjoyed watching her become so close to her father during such a difficult time.
@Stephanie: So true! I really enjoyed seeing Taylor get close to not just her father but the rest of her family members too. They came so far from the beginning when they first got to the lake house. Adored this book.
I also totally loved this book. I did miss the Amy reference and I am going to have to go back and find it… but that would also mean crying like a baby again. If I had to call one book that I read this year “perfect”, it would be this one. Morgan has a way of challenging her readers while creating a complex storyline. I like how she is able to balance the focus on Henry and also the character’s relationship with her dad & her whole family. There’s a lot to love here.
Great review!
Thanks Estelle! I read this book so fast that I just knew I was enjoying every word. Amy is in one very brief scene but there’s no dialogue with her or anything but I still squealed like a little girl when I saw it.
I really enjoyed all aspects of this book, I loved how Matson weaved all parts of Taylor’s life into one interesting story that kept me turning the pages faster than my fingers would allow. Such a good book.