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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Do not sleep on the character development, especially Poppy’s! I loved the scenery and characters hand in hand in this novel.
I enjoyed it. I liked the characters, and though I felt like they weren't all equally developed. I really liked the writing style and the story itself.
This was a wonderful novel. It wound up being not at all what I expected—from the cover and blurb, I was somehow thinking it was going to be a beach read of sorts… long lost family reuniting at their beach home in Cape Cod. The tone feels like more of a literary character-driven sort of novel, with quite a few dark spots. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s way with words and found myself drawn into the setting and the characters.
Ann and Poppy are in high school when they meet Michael, a fellow classmate whose mother has just died, leaving him homeless. Michael comes to live with the Gordon family over the next few years, bonding with all of them and eventually getting adopted. I won’t spoil what happens next, but it definitely kept me turning pages. Author Christina Clancy can craft a twisted tale, for sure! Told in split timelines with the events of fifteen years ago, and the present, we see how Ann, Poppy and Michael have come to be where they are today and whether it’s possible to find your way back to family after terrible tragedy and decades of estrangement.
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
Ann and Poppy are in high school when they meet Michael, a fellow classmate whose mother has just died, leaving him homeless. Michael comes to live with the Gordon family over the next few years, bonding with all of them and eventually getting adopted. I won’t spoil what happens next, but it definitely kept me turning pages. Author Christina Clancy can craft a twisted tale, for sure! Told in split timelines with the events of fifteen years ago, and the present, we see how Ann, Poppy and Michael have come to be where they are today and whether it’s possible to find your way back to family after terrible tragedy and decades of estrangement.
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
The Second Home follows the story of Ann, Poppy and Michael, middle class midwesterners who make the trip each summer to Cape Cod to stay at their family home. Now, it’s not quite as swanky as it sounds. It’s off the main road and doesn’t have a clear view of the beach, but it’s enough for them. It’s got charm, it’s been in the family forever and it’s home.
I feel like those details alone are enough to make the story different from every single summer read about entitled East Coast millionaires who summer on the Cape. But add to all this the fact that Michael is a friend/foster child who isn’t adopted until the age of 17 and it’s a lot different.
I really enjoyed this one. I love books that take place on Montauk, or Nantucket or Cape Cod, even though I’ve actually never been to any of those places. But they sound idyllic. Modest cottages on a private or quiet beach. I can just imagine myself sitting there with a floppy hat, breezy cover-up and a glass of white wine. And of course, I’d be reading this book.
I thought the family dynamics were spot on and I loved the richly drawn characters-especially the hippy parents. The only reason this one wasn’t a 5 for me was mainly that I found some of the later details hard to believe. That the secrets that were kept would actually be kept and that in the age of social media, that people could stay hidden or disappear when they actually live basically around the corner.
Still, this is one to pick-up for your non-existent vacation this summer. So pull up a lawn chair by the baby pool in your backyard, pour yourself some ice tea and escape to Cape Cod! Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one releases June 2! Get your copy (and support your favorite indie bookstore!)
I feel like those details alone are enough to make the story different from every single summer read about entitled East Coast millionaires who summer on the Cape. But add to all this the fact that Michael is a friend/foster child who isn’t adopted until the age of 17 and it’s a lot different.
I really enjoyed this one. I love books that take place on Montauk, or Nantucket or Cape Cod, even though I’ve actually never been to any of those places. But they sound idyllic. Modest cottages on a private or quiet beach. I can just imagine myself sitting there with a floppy hat, breezy cover-up and a glass of white wine. And of course, I’d be reading this book.
I thought the family dynamics were spot on and I loved the richly drawn characters-especially the hippy parents. The only reason this one wasn’t a 5 for me was mainly that I found some of the later details hard to believe. That the secrets that were kept would actually be kept and that in the age of social media, that people could stay hidden or disappear when they actually live basically around the corner.
Still, this is one to pick-up for your non-existent vacation this summer. So pull up a lawn chair by the baby pool in your backyard, pour yourself some ice tea and escape to Cape Cod! Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one releases June 2! Get your copy (and support your favorite indie bookstore!)
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
boooring
Was making me unhappy as I listened to it because of young people being stupid
Really intriguing family drama between 3 siblings, who are practically estranged in their 30s, reunite following their parents death in a tragic crash. It was tough to hear about situations misunderstood from multiple perspectives, but I enjoyed the story overall!
I won this book in a giveaway and so glad I did. It takes place in Cape Cod, which immediately sparks my interest. I love anything local. This is a book about family and love. I was hooked after the first page.
Thank you, Goodreads for the advanced copy. This is an author I will watch for in the future.
Thank you, Goodreads for the advanced copy. This is an author I will watch for in the future.
Okay, I like a good family drama with lots of secrets as well as the next person, but there's just one problem - I can only stretch my ability to overlook the implausible and unbelievable so far. The Second Home surpassed that in the first half, which left a whole other half a book to get through without rolling my eyes completely out of my head. Seriously, it reached a point that I started thinking about the many times my mother told me they would get stuck that way. It's a good thing that's not true! I realize that I'm in the minority here, and this book has received a great many glowing reviews, so I'm not going to go into the many problems I had with this book in detail because they would certainly be considered spoilers. It is safe to say that the problems were many. The story does get dark, but it just pushes too far for me to get invested in either the characters or their goings-on.