Center for Teaching & Learning

After Mr. Edwards receives terrible news, his family decides to go on a last- minute trip to their old lake house in the mountains of Pennsylvania. However, his daughter, Taylor, is not thrilled to travel back to the Poconos. She tends to run away whenever faced with a difficult situation— that’s exactly what she did five summers ago, when she was twelve.
Getting a job at the local pool snack shack forces Taylor to work with her nemesis and former BFF, Lucy Marino, almost every day. She remembers why Lucy is mad and knows that she deserves whatever silent treatment Lucy gives her. Life grows even more complicated when Taylor runs into her new next-door neighbor and ex-boyfriend Henry Crosby.
I was hesitant to pick up the book because it was so long, but it wasn’t slow at all. I didn’t even notice its length, and before I knew it I was halfway through the book. I couldn’t put it down— to the point where I got caught reading in math class. Matson’s writing style includes a lot of flashbacks to five summers ago when the incident occurred. I loved to read these because it slowly pieced together what exactly happened all those years ago and why everyone is so mad at Taylor.
This read was one of the best contemporary realistic fiction young adult novels I have ever read. The way that Matson compiles so many layers of problems into the book is fascinating. The theme of this novel is the importance of friends and family and the help and motivation they give you through tough times. From trying to rebuild lost friendships and relationships to dealing with siblings and a dying father, this novel is a masterpiece of creativity.
I would rate this book a solid twenty on a scale of one to ten. People that enjoy Second Chance Summer would also love her two other novels: Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour and Since You’ve Been Gone. Sadly, these are the only other books Matson has written so far. I eagerly anticipate her next book.
Overall this read is filled with humor, joy, and heartbreak with twists and turns in each chapter. Once you’re into it, you don’t want to finish it. Anyone that is lucky enough to read this book will take it to heart and think, What would I do in this fatal situation?
Maggie
Simon & Schuster, 468 pages