I'm going to try something a little different here. Let me first say this blog isn't going to turn into a book review blog. I am not nearly a fast enough (or dedicated enough) reader for that. And we all know you don't want to read my thoughts about every book I read. (Because if you did, you'd ask me for that. Right?) But there are a few things I've read recently that I just need to talk about. And it won't surprise anyone who knows me to find out that one of those things is Morgan Matson's latest Second Chance Summer. So let the review commence!!
Second Chance Summer-- by Morgan Matson
This book is everything Amy & Roger was not. While Amy & Roger (A&R) physically traverse the country, Second Chance Summer (SCS) spends 97% of its time at a summer lake house in Pennsylvania. In A&R, family members couldn't be further apart physically or mentally. SCS looks at grief when the family members are all in the same house, literally unable to escape its clutches. And most notably where Amy and Roger were virtual strangers, no one knows Taylor Edwards better than Henry Crosby.
Taylor's father is diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer on her 17th birthday and is given a 3-month prognosis. Her parents decide to pack up Taylor, her younger sister, and older brother, and head to their summer lake house one last time to spend those final good moments together. The major hitch? If coping with the loss of a parent while watching him slowly decline isn't bad enough, Taylor has other troubles. The last time her family was at the lake house 5 years ago, and Taylor left things entirely a mess with her a boy and her best friend. But Taylor can't run from her problems this time. there is no escaping Henry, who is suddenly her next door neighbor or Lucy who is less than thrilled to find Taylor her co-worker. A place overflowing with memories happy and sad from the past, the lake house is also the anchor of current grief. The question is, can Taylor find joy and peace there now too?
Once again Matson weaves a tale about real life, lovable, and entirely human teenagers dealing with stuff: grief, friendships, coping, family, and love. Where A&R leaned on ephemera to tell the story, SCS has nary a footnote, photo, or doodle. And you know what? I didn't miss them at all. Not what I would have expected. I loved what Matson did with her play lists, receipts, and emails. She filled out the story and gave close readers little nuggets others might have missed. I fully expected to miss that in her follow up.
The strength of her supporting cast (including the setting at the lake house itself) fills that gap. Lucy and Henry are well-rounded characters. I appreciate how snappy Lucy is and how long she holds a grudge. Henry felt a lot like Roger. Steadfast, quiet, solid. Her siblings were a bit eccentric for me (Gelsey, really?), but they were secondary enough that it didn't really bother me. And to round out the cast you get Elliot (poor Elliot, we would totally be friends if you were real), Henry's younger brother, the script writing neighbors, the vet tech, and her boss. Through all these minor characters you really get a sense for the type of vacation town they're in without being overwhelmed by having to know everyone's name. You feel the history and the community that the Edwards have missed in their absence, but also the remembrance of what used to be when they were present.
Through the alternating flashbacks, once again Matson tells two stories simultaneously, each informing the other. Traditionally I hate flashbacks in books, but somehow she deftly weaves them together so I don't mind the time jumps.
This doesn't feel like a terribly well written review, but I'm having a hard time pulling my thoughts together about this book. I'll leave you with a few bullet points about things I loved about the book:
Second Chance Summer-- by Morgan Matson
This book is everything Amy & Roger was not. While Amy & Roger (A&R) physically traverse the country, Second Chance Summer (SCS) spends 97% of its time at a summer lake house in Pennsylvania. In A&R, family members couldn't be further apart physically or mentally. SCS looks at grief when the family members are all in the same house, literally unable to escape its clutches. And most notably where Amy and Roger were virtual strangers, no one knows Taylor Edwards better than Henry Crosby.
Taylor's father is diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer on her 17th birthday and is given a 3-month prognosis. Her parents decide to pack up Taylor, her younger sister, and older brother, and head to their summer lake house one last time to spend those final good moments together. The major hitch? If coping with the loss of a parent while watching him slowly decline isn't bad enough, Taylor has other troubles. The last time her family was at the lake house 5 years ago, and Taylor left things entirely a mess with her a boy and her best friend. But Taylor can't run from her problems this time. there is no escaping Henry, who is suddenly her next door neighbor or Lucy who is less than thrilled to find Taylor her co-worker. A place overflowing with memories happy and sad from the past, the lake house is also the anchor of current grief. The question is, can Taylor find joy and peace there now too?
Once again Matson weaves a tale about real life, lovable, and entirely human teenagers dealing with stuff: grief, friendships, coping, family, and love. Where A&R leaned on ephemera to tell the story, SCS has nary a footnote, photo, or doodle. And you know what? I didn't miss them at all. Not what I would have expected. I loved what Matson did with her play lists, receipts, and emails. She filled out the story and gave close readers little nuggets others might have missed. I fully expected to miss that in her follow up.
The strength of her supporting cast (including the setting at the lake house itself) fills that gap. Lucy and Henry are well-rounded characters. I appreciate how snappy Lucy is and how long she holds a grudge. Henry felt a lot like Roger. Steadfast, quiet, solid. Her siblings were a bit eccentric for me (Gelsey, really?), but they were secondary enough that it didn't really bother me. And to round out the cast you get Elliot (poor Elliot, we would totally be friends if you were real), Henry's younger brother, the script writing neighbors, the vet tech, and her boss. Through all these minor characters you really get a sense for the type of vacation town they're in without being overwhelmed by having to know everyone's name. You feel the history and the community that the Edwards have missed in their absence, but also the remembrance of what used to be when they were present.
Through the alternating flashbacks, once again Matson tells two stories simultaneously, each informing the other. Traditionally I hate flashbacks in books, but somehow she deftly weaves them together so I don't mind the time jumps.
This doesn't feel like a terribly well written review, but I'm having a hard time pulling my thoughts together about this book. I'll leave you with a few bullet points about things I loved about the book:
- seeing parents play a role in a YA book
- despite having never visited or vacationed at a lake or anywhere long-term, I felt like I knew exactly where the house was and how Taylor felt about it.
- the fact that Taylor and her father play a version of 20 questions to get to know each other like Amy & Roger did (only in reverse)
- having secret codes and languages to communicate across the lake (or in my case across the street)
- the tree house
- fireworks
- constellations
- Mr. Edwards' philosophy about ice cream
- the Amy & Roger cameo at the beginning
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