Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

“As I gradually restore Words Like Silver to its archive of reviews written between 2011 and 2024, I'll aim to first and foremost make my reading history explorable by publishing the blurbs and short reflections as books cross my mind, with the goal of eventually transferring and fleshing out the original WLS content. For now, please enjoy this brief spotlight.”

From the Flying Start author of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour comes a powerful novel about hope in the face of heartbreak.

Taylor Edwards's 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.

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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.

I’ve read most of Morgan Matson’s books and recently reread my favorite of her works. I’m about to work my way through the others. I’d forgotten how strong the summer imagery is: barefoot lake days, small summer towns, fireflies, Fourth of July. It feels like a lot of my most beloved June-to-August feelings, and I’m a bit awed that a book could evoke them so well.

Second Chance Summer is the best, or at least has the most substance to me. It’s bittersweet, and most of my favorite books are. In order to be satisfying, they can’t be cloying. Even though I know what’s coming, I still cry my eyes out every time I read this one. This time, I finished my reread while on the beach at the North Shore and just started sobbing on the sand.

You know, going into this one, that it’s going to be sad. It’s said from day one that the dad has terminal cancer, and they’re just back on the lake to experience one last summer together.

The tropes are familiar: such an average girl, although everyone around her is exceptional! Whoah! Keeps running away! Never seen that before! But the way they’re compiled still feels refreshing, bubbly, and sincere. The authenticity draws me in to this book. Additionally, the pacing was excellent. It’s the whole package.

Taylor is likable in all the right ways. I enjoyed her narration, and her problems felt relatable enough to everyone to still feel resonant despite the all-consuming issue of her father’s impending death. It’s impressive that Matson is able to balance those elements with the carefree summer vibes so that the overall impression of the book is substantive but still absorbing. Overall, it’s a well-balanced beach read that still carries weight. I just love it entirely, and I probably read it at the exact most formative time as a teenager for it to be significant to me.

For fans of:

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler; Moonglass by Jessi Kirby; The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV); Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills; The Last Song (movie); This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune; Fingerprints of You by Kristen-Paige Madonia.