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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This was not a long book, but the story could’ve been told in half the pages. So much blah blah that I skipped through. Unlikeable characters can’t figure out how to communicate with each other.
The only redeeming aspect of the book: the beautiful, evocative descriptions of Cape Cod.
The only redeeming aspect of the book: the beautiful, evocative descriptions of Cape Cod.
The Gordon family of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has a second home on Cape Cod where they spend many blissful summers together. Hippie high school teacher Ed Gordon and his wife Connie and their two daughters, Ann and Poppy, are joined by Michael whom they adopt at age 16, the same age as Ann. Michael does not feel accepted by the family so he tries to prove himself but he creates jealousy between his competitive sisters. He has an unhealthy attraction to Ann, one of several strained relationships among the characters. The story is told in alternating chapters, each sibling taking his or her turn.
The rebellious sibling, Poppy, falls in with the druggie, surfer crowd on the Cape, and moves away, spending much of her 20s and 30s living in exotic places around the world. She travels light and prefers a spiritual way of life which includes yoga, meditation and detachment from her family and romantic commitments.
“Ann with a plan”, works as a babysitter for well-to-do Maureen and Anthony Shaw who also have a second home on the Cape. She becomes like a member of their family and in her innocence, becomes privy to adult situations. Ann’s world is turned upside down by Anthony who becomes the book’s evil and divisive villain.
Michael also works for the Shaw’s, as a landscaper. A hard worker who eventually builds a successful toy business, he is also intimidated by Anthony. The story gains momentum and depth as family secrets are held tightly and suspicions arise among the characters. Like Poppy, but under different circumstances, he drops out of the family circle to forge a separate life. By the time Poppy, and then Michael, return to the family 15 years later, it has become broken and untethered. Ann has taken over and they both strive to find a way back in.
Tensions between them escalate over the fate of the summer home. Each one stakes his or her claim based on what they perceive as the truth about their role in the family. But are their perceptions true? In many cases, no. Can they reconcile with each other and recreate their family bonds? Surprise revelations keep the reader engaged right up to the last page. Highly recommended.
The rebellious sibling, Poppy, falls in with the druggie, surfer crowd on the Cape, and moves away, spending much of her 20s and 30s living in exotic places around the world. She travels light and prefers a spiritual way of life which includes yoga, meditation and detachment from her family and romantic commitments.
“Ann with a plan”, works as a babysitter for well-to-do Maureen and Anthony Shaw who also have a second home on the Cape. She becomes like a member of their family and in her innocence, becomes privy to adult situations. Ann’s world is turned upside down by Anthony who becomes the book’s evil and divisive villain.
Michael also works for the Shaw’s, as a landscaper. A hard worker who eventually builds a successful toy business, he is also intimidated by Anthony. The story gains momentum and depth as family secrets are held tightly and suspicions arise among the characters. Like Poppy, but under different circumstances, he drops out of the family circle to forge a separate life. By the time Poppy, and then Michael, return to the family 15 years later, it has become broken and untethered. Ann has taken over and they both strive to find a way back in.
Tensions between them escalate over the fate of the summer home. Each one stakes his or her claim based on what they perceive as the truth about their role in the family. But are their perceptions true? In many cases, no. Can they reconcile with each other and recreate their family bonds? Surprise revelations keep the reader engaged right up to the last page. Highly recommended.
A review on the inside cover says this novel is a "book club gold mine" and I think that tells you everything you need to know lol.
I don't DNF books, because usually they go through an intense vetting process before I start them. But this was a gift so I had no choice but to read it. And yeah it was exactly what I expected. My copy will be coming soon to a little free library near me
I don't DNF books, because usually they go through an intense vetting process before I start them. But this was a gift so I had no choice but to read it. And yeah it was exactly what I expected. My copy will be coming soon to a little free library near me
The writing in this book was fantastic – the character development and story were both extremely well done. I also really enjoyed the strong sense of place throughout the novel – while it isn’t an area I’m personally familiar with, it was so easy to picture yourself right on Cape Cod with the family. The book deals with some very difficult topics, but overall I really enjoyed the read!
I normally try and wait to review books that have publishing dates that are 6+ months away but after I read the book summary of Christina Clancy's debut novel I knew I had to read it right away. I am a big family of sagas that follow a family over time and The Second Home centers around the Gordon family and spans multiple decades.
Clancy's writing style is incredibly detailed and engrossing and I felt like I could picture each of her main characters so well. They were layered and raw and while I couldn't always relate to them (Poppy) I felt like I could understand them because of Clancy's gifted character development.
The Cape Cod setting was perfect for this family drama that reads like a beach read but has a depth that made it so much more than that. Through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested.
The ending was particularly satisfying and I loved how the charactered connected and reconnected throughout time and the idea that family can sometimes be something you create on your own.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy.
Clancy's writing style is incredibly detailed and engrossing and I felt like I could picture each of her main characters so well. They were layered and raw and while I couldn't always relate to them (Poppy) I felt like I could understand them because of Clancy's gifted character development.
The Cape Cod setting was perfect for this family drama that reads like a beach read but has a depth that made it so much more than that. Through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested.
The ending was particularly satisfying and I loved how the charactered connected and reconnected throughout time and the idea that family can sometimes be something you create on your own.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy.
I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I this was great story about family and trauma, and healing.
It's very difficult to believe that this is Christina Clancy's first book. It reads like it comes from a confident and seasoned author. While there are (of course) stumbles along the way, for the most part, I just loved The Second Home. I found it... beguiling. Both in its premise and its acute sense of place.
With one eye firmly on the past, The Second Home introduces us to the Gordons - Ed and Connie, the loving parents, Ann the elder sister, free-spirited Poppy, and their adopted brother Michael. While they live in Milwaukee, their hearts reside in their much-loved summer home on the Cape - and its there that the Gordons' lives change forever. During one summer, Ann develops a secret that threatens to tear the family asunder, and when the repercussions finally land, they are devastating - for both the siblings and their parents.
Fifteen years later, Connie and Ed have died, and it's up to Ann and Poppy to sort out what will happen to their beloved home on the Cape. When Michael makes an unexpected return - everything that the sisters believed to be true is up-ended, and their memories are opened up to reveal new truths, like prisms of light.
A caveat that much of the book rides on miscommunication, which is somewhat annoying - there's this sense of just TALK to each other). The ending is also very rushed, and I wanted much more time to savour the new relationships forming. In the beginning, I felt Poppy might be a waste of a POV - but over time, she became one of my favourites. Always searching for her place in the circle, always looking for inclusion. Never settling, never still, always riding that wave. She's a fascinating bundle of insecurities and bursting with love that she's never able to express.
Many reviewers have written about their dislike of Ann. While I agree she's not all that likable as an adult, I think what happened to her justifies that prickliness and distrust. At her most sensitive and at that cusp-age of just sixteen, she had everything ripped apart and scattered to the winds. It's no wonder that she struggles to reconnect with Michael, or Poppy for that matter. Everyone she loved went away, in the end.
I felt a real sense of grief over the deaths of Ed and Connie, and most of all, for Michael. It's Michael who is the true tragic figure in this story - on the brink of a family, and only to have it torn out from under his feet. I loved what Clancy did with his character, but I so wish he could have had that final moment with his parents, and again, I wanted so much more from his reunion with Ann. That ending is just too quick, like the blink of an eye.
(Perhaps that is a testament to the power of the book... I just didn't want to leave it)
Oh, but the journey toward that ending is gorgeous. The writing is slyly funny in parts and beautifully volatile and vulnerable in others. The descriptions of the Cape and Wellfleet and Milwaukee and even all of the exotic locales that Poppy visits - you could just sink into them, like a languid drowning, like the pond that Ann slipped into and never really returned from ... this story is like that, you submerge yourself only to be changed, the water like silk scarves, pulling you under and away.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
With one eye firmly on the past, The Second Home introduces us to the Gordons - Ed and Connie, the loving parents, Ann the elder sister, free-spirited Poppy, and their adopted brother Michael. While they live in Milwaukee, their hearts reside in their much-loved summer home on the Cape - and its there that the Gordons' lives change forever. During one summer, Ann develops a secret that threatens to tear the family asunder, and when the repercussions finally land, they are devastating - for both the siblings and their parents.
Fifteen years later, Connie and Ed have died, and it's up to Ann and Poppy to sort out what will happen to their beloved home on the Cape. When Michael makes an unexpected return - everything that the sisters believed to be true is up-ended, and their memories are opened up to reveal new truths, like prisms of light.
A caveat that much of the book rides on miscommunication, which is somewhat annoying - there's this sense of just TALK to each other). The ending is also very rushed, and I wanted much more time to savour the new relationships forming. In the beginning, I felt Poppy might be a waste of a POV - but over time, she became one of my favourites. Always searching for her place in the circle, always looking for inclusion. Never settling, never still, always riding that wave. She's a fascinating bundle of insecurities and bursting with love that she's never able to express.
Many reviewers have written about their dislike of Ann. While I agree she's not all that likable as an adult, I think what happened to her justifies that prickliness and distrust. At her most sensitive and at that cusp-age of just sixteen, she had everything ripped apart and scattered to the winds. It's no wonder that she struggles to reconnect with Michael, or Poppy for that matter. Everyone she loved went away, in the end.
I felt a real sense of grief over the deaths of Ed and Connie, and most of all, for Michael. It's Michael who is the true tragic figure in this story - on the brink of a family, and only to have it torn out from under his feet. I loved what Clancy did with his character, but I so wish he could have had that final moment with his parents, and again, I wanted so much more from his reunion with Ann. That ending is just too quick, like the blink of an eye.
(Perhaps that is a testament to the power of the book... I just didn't want to leave it)
Oh, but the journey toward that ending is gorgeous. The writing is slyly funny in parts and beautifully volatile and vulnerable in others. The descriptions of the Cape and Wellfleet and Milwaukee and even all of the exotic locales that Poppy visits - you could just sink into them, like a languid drowning, like the pond that Ann slipped into and never really returned from ... this story is like that, you submerge yourself only to be changed, the water like silk scarves, pulling you under and away.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I have recently been getting let down by book endings but this one I was really happy with. The author did a great job of emotionally connecting you with each character, keeping you along for the ride.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an early copy of The Second Home!
This was a wonderful family drama. It reminded me a bit of an Elin Hilderbrand novel, which I always enjoy. Christina Clancy is a talented writer, and I was engrossed in the teenage years of Poppy, Anne and Michael. Michael’s story was really heartbreaking, and I loved that he found a family in the Gordon’s. That all changed one night in Cape Cod, which affected the family for years to come.
This book had me turning the pages to see what, if anything, would bring the family back together. I was so invested in this book until Poppy returned to Cape Cod, then I became a little frustrated with the characters. Still, I really enjoyed the story and look forward to Christina Clancy’s next book!
This was a wonderful family drama. It reminded me a bit of an Elin Hilderbrand novel, which I always enjoy. Christina Clancy is a talented writer, and I was engrossed in the teenage years of Poppy, Anne and Michael. Michael’s story was really heartbreaking, and I loved that he found a family in the Gordon’s. That all changed one night in Cape Cod, which affected the family for years to come.
This book had me turning the pages to see what, if anything, would bring the family back together. I was so invested in this book until Poppy returned to Cape Cod, then I became a little frustrated with the characters. Still, I really enjoyed the story and look forward to Christina Clancy’s next book!