I read Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer in literally one day. Yes, I am a teacher in her first few weeks of summer freedom, so I've got nothing but time, but I also couldn't put it down. Seventeen-year-old Taylor tends to run from things (we have this in common). Whenever things get tough or intense that girl is off. Once her family found out that her father has stage four pancreatic cancer, Taylor discovered that there are certain things you just cannot outrun. The doctors gave Rob four months to live so the family decided to retreat to their summer home in the Poconos for one last summer together. Taylor is dreading this summer plan, one because she doesn't want to emotionally deal with her father's sickness, but also because she burned some bridges during her last family vacation there when she was twelve. She had her first romantic experience, making things uncomfortable with her best friend Lucy and her summer love, Henry, and did what Taylor does when things get uncomfortable, she ran, and she never came back, until five years later. Matson created such a beautiful character in Taylor and the very different members of her family. Taylor was mature beyond her years in a lot of ways, but Matson always brought her back down to seventeen-year-old earth, which made Taylor's character much more relatable to younger girls. I absolutely loved Warren, Taylor's older brother. He was awkward and smart, and Matson gave us many vocabulary lessons through his character. Totally the English teacher in me. Second Chance Summer made me laugh, made me cry, and made me want to read more of Morgan Matson's work.
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