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A review by littlepythonmom
Second Chance Summer by Sarah Kapit
5.0
I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity.
I'm a music teacher by profession. But as a kid, I was just like Maggie in this book. A talented kid musically with two left feet. I was in grad school before I was diagnosed with dyspraxia. Like Maggie, I had big dreams, but also a recognition of reality. And like Maggie, I had to watch friends excel without,seemingly, even trying. I was fortunate in that my falls and funbles came before the internet. And I was fortunate in that my friends weren't TV stars and professionals who seemed to have it all.
See, that's the other character. Chloe had a prior starring turn on a TV show and a few other pro credits, She also has a stage mom and dreams of Broadway. She's beautiful and popular. And, while Maggie sometimes doesn't realize it, she too envies her friend, and has a growing realization that she's afraid her mother might not accept-but Maggie's supportive moms would.
That is where this book excels. We meet the girls after their falling out. After Chloe's pressuring Maggie to join the school musical with her went horribly wrong, after their friendship was apparently over, they both get assigned to the same cabin at Drama camp. The screenwriting program is canceled, and worse, they both end up in the musical. Through a mix of flashback and current events, we get the story, with alternating perspectives.
As someone with dyspraxia, I found this book realistic, and I think kids with dyspraxia, as well as friends and classmates, will welcome it. But Chloe's story is equally valuable and relatable.
The LGBT content in this book is woven in skillfully and completely appropriately for the MG age group. It is the best kind of representation, that where being gay is simply part of the character as a whole, not their primary identity, And it's nice to see that gay kids have ackward crushes, too.
This book deserves to be read. I hope it gets the chance it deserves.
I'm a music teacher by profession. But as a kid, I was just like Maggie in this book. A talented kid musically with two left feet. I was in grad school before I was diagnosed with dyspraxia. Like Maggie, I had big dreams, but also a recognition of reality. And like Maggie, I had to watch friends excel without,seemingly, even trying. I was fortunate in that my falls and funbles came before the internet. And I was fortunate in that my friends weren't TV stars and professionals who seemed to have it all.
See, that's the other character. Chloe had a prior starring turn on a TV show and a few other pro credits, She also has a stage mom and dreams of Broadway. She's beautiful and popular. And, while Maggie sometimes doesn't realize it, she too envies her friend, and has a growing realization that she's afraid her mother might not accept-but Maggie's supportive moms would.
That is where this book excels. We meet the girls after their falling out. After Chloe's pressuring Maggie to join the school musical with her went horribly wrong, after their friendship was apparently over, they both get assigned to the same cabin at Drama camp. The screenwriting program is canceled, and worse, they both end up in the musical. Through a mix of flashback and current events, we get the story, with alternating perspectives.
As someone with dyspraxia, I found this book realistic, and I think kids with dyspraxia, as well as friends and classmates, will welcome it. But Chloe's story is equally valuable and relatable.
The LGBT content in this book is woven in skillfully and completely appropriately for the MG age group. It is the best kind of representation, that where being gay is simply part of the character as a whole, not their primary identity, And it's nice to see that gay kids have ackward crushes, too.
This book deserves to be read. I hope it gets the chance it deserves.