Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

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. (Published by Simon & Schuester, May 8th 2012)

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 is a book where the ending is inevitable; you know it's coming and you know it will make you emotional. But good Lord, this book traumatized me. I needed to go grab the box of tissues in my bathroom because I couldn't even breathe right, my nose was all stuffed up and my eyes were hurting from my mascara and just GAH.


But this book does not just rely on the ending. It's the details that make this book great. Her family: her teddy bear father, her ballerina mother, her two exceptional siblings, they all shine and are three dimensional rather than being cardboard cutouts. Henry and Lucy and the drama that happened five years before are believable and allow Taylor to have a flaw that a lot of people can relate to. 


The slow rebuilding of Taylor and Lucy's friendship, and the romance between Taylor and Henry are all big parts of the book and Taylor as a character herself, but both plots take a back seat to the main plot of the book: family. The Edwards family starts off as distant from another, but as the book progresses, they slowly become a unit, working together. At the end, they are all able to support each other in a major time of need for support.

I try not to give five star reviews out readily, but this book deserves it. It's about romance, friendship, and the most important thing YA books should preach: family. I definitely recommend it to everyone, even if you're all like WAH I ONLY READ FANTASY. You must read this book. 5 stars.