Second Chance Summer

Starred review from July 9, 2012
Seventeen-year-old Taylor and her familyâher mother, father, older brother, and younger sisterâare off to the Poconos for the summer, whether everyone wants to or not. Taylor falls in the latter category. Returning to their lake house after a five-year absence fills her with dread: she'll have to face her estranged best friend as well as the boy she left without saying goodbye. But hardest of all, her father is dying of cancer, making this their last summer together. Matson (Amy & Roger's Epic Detour) writes subtly about complex family dynamics, grief, and the impending loss of a parent in a way that is both beautiful and true, while steering clear of melodrama. Matson's story, which shifts between the present and flashbacks from five previous summers, is as much about loss as it is about first love and friendship. Readers who love the work of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han will feel intensely for this cast of vulnerable characters who demonstrate integrity, personality, and perseverance as they work to bridge the distances between them. Ages 12âup. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

Starred review from July 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-This will be a bittersweet summer for 17-year-old Taylor Edwards, whose family has retreated to their beloved cabin in the Poconos for a few final months of togetherness as Taylor's father slowly succumbs to stage-four cancer. Her older brother, Warren, a socially inept genius, and younger sister, Gelsey, a budding ballet star, feel at home in the friendly summer community, though they haven't been there for the last few years. The book occasionally inserts the pre-teen Taylor's memories of delightful times with former BFF Lucy, flashing a secret code to each other across the lake from their respective docks and hanging out with Henry, Taylor's first boyfriend. In the present day, things are different. Taylor and Lucy had a falling out five years ago, and haven't spoken since, and Henry has matured into a hottie. Most readers will deduce the event-which is frequently alluded to and revealed late in the story-that destroyed the girls' friendship. The characters are true to life, and Matson acknowledges the maturing physical attraction between Taylor and Henry as they spend sleepless nights on the dock, looking at stars. Matson has blended romance, humor, teen angst, boring summer jobs, and a truly tragic event into a wonderfully readable story, told in a manner that trusts teens' intelligence. Jenny Han's and Sarah Dessen's fans will gobble this up.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2012
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* Ever since Taylor's disastrous seventeenth birthday, when her father received his diagnosis of untreatable pancreatic cancer, the family has scrambled to make up for lost time. Now all they have is one final summer with him at their old Poconos' lake house. For Taylor there are opportunities to revisit idyllic childhood summers and to share a final, special few months with her father. But there's also the challenge of witnessing his unbearably swift decline with no option of escaping the deep sorrow. Author Matson gets the dynamic of family death just rightthe highs and lows, the dailiness of life as an antidote to the pull of sadness, the attempt at normalcy through the lens of a thousand last times. She artfully allows the reader to become another family member as Taylor and her brother and sister move through their personal summer firstsfirst love, first jobs, first best friends. Teens will share in the exciting milestones of the characters' youth and empathize as they cope with their inevitable guilt of indulging in pleasure as their father deteriorates. This is a bittersweet, powerful tale of family devotion, the sustainability of true friendship, and the silent courage of loving someone enough to stay and watch them die.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2012
At her family's lake house five summers ago, Taylor abandoned her best friend and her boyfriend without any explanation. Now seventeen, she's fulfilling her dying father's wish and confronting her past. But making up for lost time isn't easy. Sympathetic, well-drawn characters lure readers in, while a vivid setting and bittersweet tone carry them through.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)