After reading and loving The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler, I read some more YA contemporaries. I didn’t like Second Chance Summer as much, but it was a very emotional read.
When Taylor’s family finds out that her dad is dying, they decide to spend one last summer at their old lake house. They haven’t been there in five years and Taylor wasn’t planning on coming back to face her ex-boyfriend and former best friend.
You would guess that this story is highly focused on family, but that really isn’t the case and it disappointed me. I wanted to read more about the family and especially experience more conversations between Taylor and her dad. They did talk, but not as much as I wanted. Matson also explained what they had talked about instead of showing the actual conversations.
I liked the characters, but I didn’t care for any of them. They all had some of their own traits, but they were a bit underdeveloped. Taylor did show some character growth and was a three-dimensional character. She however wasn’t my favourite either.
As far as the romance goes, I did like the couple together. I just wanted more conversations. I also didn’t get the whole issue with what happened five years earlier, because that shouldn’t have become a problem in the first place. Really why would anyone keep such unnecessary secrets?
An issue I have with most contemporaries, including this one, is the lack of plot. I mean nothing happens, except for the dying dad. These type of stories are often character-driven, but that only works with great characters and this book doesn’t have those.
In the end Second Chance Summer turned into a very emotional read. Not because I cared for the characters, but I related to what happened in a way. My grandfather died a few months ago and this story showed the dad losing elements of his personality and who he was because of illness, which I recognized. This was in my opinion a very strong portrayal and it made me cry a lot the last 60 pages of this book. 
I don’t regret reading Second Chance Summer, but I preferred Matson’s Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour. That one is more light-hearted and has fun scrapbook aspects. This one is more emotional, but I didn’t connect to the characters. All in all, I would give this book 2.75 stars.
What did you think of Second Chance Summer?
~Naomï (Bookish Sins and Wins)
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