Second Chance Summer

Dear Becca,

Shortly after we went to the LA Times Book Festival, Jessi Kirby did a book reading signing in my area. She was touring with Jenny Han and Morgan Matson, which is how I came to find my latest YA selection: SECOND CHANCE SUMMER by Morgan Matson.

At first, I was a little wary of this book. It’s about a teenage girl, Taylor Edwards, who goes to her family’s old summer house for her father’s last summer. (He only has a few months left to live after being diagnosed with cancer.) I wasn’t sure about reading this because I don’t usually gravitate towards books about death or terminal illness. I understand why such books are important for people going through similar situations – we all need something to relate to and help us sort out our emotions – but personally I don’t like reading a story that’s going to turn out to be a “downer”. My mom went through cancer and she’s recovered, thank goodness, but it’s not something I long to relive. Nor was it something I wanted to read about while we were going through it.

Anywho, suffice it to say I had my reservations but Morgan Matson was one of the sweetest authors I’ve ever met. She was very down to earth and we spent a good ten minutes discussing her MFA. She was extremely encouraging when I told her I was thinking about applying to an MFA program. I definitely wanted to see what her latest book was all about.

As with most of my book choices, part of the storyline is a summer romance between Taylor and her first love, Henry. Taylor and Henry dated before the Edwards family stopped summering at their lake house. There is some mystery about what happened that summer, but it is enough to say they did not break-up on good terms. I suppose I’ve always known that the key to a novel about a good summer romance is the male love interest but it really hit home with this book. Henry is an extremely good guy. In fact, I can’t think of anything really negative about his personality or the way that he treats Taylor. That said, he might be a little bit too good to be true. I loved him as a character and of course I wanted him and Taylor to wind up together, but to all the young ladies out there – most guys are not this perfect and most guys do not give you this many chances.

Now, fair warning, I tried to read this book with a steely heart since I do not like crying during books. But I cried anyway. (Just a little bit.) You know the ending is coming but it’s still just so darn sad! The father-daughter relationship is a huge aspect of this book that I haven’t really focused on in this post. (Again, the whole talking about death/illness thing – I’m not good at it.)

Lastly, I hesitate to say anything about this because I know it’s not Morgan’s fault…but what really bothered me while reading this book was the number of typos. I’m used to there being one every now and then – after all, no copyeditor is perfect – but there were so many in this book that it actually became a distraction.  Nevertheless, it didn’t take away from it enough to stop me from recommending the book to you! And I’ve since gotten Morgan’s first book, AMY & ROGER'S EPIC DETOUR, which I am excited to read!

I hope I’m not killing you with all these romances…

Til we read again,

Megan

PS (10/1/12) - I have to add a much delayed post script because I failed to mention that Matson references Colorado College, which is where I spent my first two years studying. It's very rare for people to know what I'm talking about when I mention the college, so I was more than a little surprised! After reading Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, I found out that the CC reference in Second Chance Summer is actually Roger from her first novel making a guest appearance. I wonder what Matson's connection is to CC!