The Second Home: A Novel

I received a free electronic ARC of this debut novel from Netgalley, Christina Clancy, and St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Ms. Clancy has brought us a tight tale with well-rounded, personable protagonists facing realistic troubles handled in age-appropriate ways, the family who despite their differences cannot help but recognize the love that binds them together. I enjoyed the way the old family home in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts ties together all of the elements of this tale. The Wisconsin Gordon family, current generation Madison educators, and their children spend every summer in Wellfleet in this the third and fourth generations of the Gordon family. Ed and Connie with teen daughters Ann and Poppy and their recently adopted orphaned schoolmate Michael hit the road as soon as summer vacations begin, and spend the summer on the cape, lovingly patching up the beloved 200-year-old home they all hold dear and living in the sand and water as much as possible. The area of Wellfleet and Cape Cod are clearly detailed and enjoyably pictured. Our story covers 1999 through 2015, as we watch the children grow up and clearly see the influences of the old family home on their life's decisions. We watch as the Gordon family ushers in the fifth generation and introduces them to sunny Wellfleet summers. The Second Home was an interesting and engrossing read. I am pleased to add new author Christina Clancy to my list of authors to watch for and to recommend her work to friends and family.

2.5 stars - rounded And sadly – the incongruencies here pulled me out of the story and made the read a difficult one. Sadly, because Clancy can create a character – a flawed, distasteful character and make you want to see more. Just piling on “bad things happened to __” and they are justified (or feel it) because of that doesn’t get to any sort of growth or recognition of the character problems, nor did it make any of the ‘connections’ feel more than ‘for convenience’ and to move the plot forward. It just didn’t work for me, as I want to see some changes that feel honest and not contrived. It’s a difficult read, despite the obvious talent of the writer – I just think that an editor should have taken away extraneous elements and ‘issues’ and focused the story, removing the ‘for convenience’ elements that served only to create confusion and drama that doesn’t serve the story. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

This book was a very emotional rollercoaster. It was about a family from Wisconsin and their second home on Cape Cod. At first it was the father, mother, and two girls and then one year they adopted a homeless boy that the oldest girl had befriended. The next year, everything came undone and the family was torn apart. The oldest daughter became pregnant, the younger daughter got into drugs and surfing and the adopted son got thrown out. The younger daughter traveled all over the world trying to find peace, the older daughter had her son and went to college, the boy stayed close to the second home and the parents wound up getting killed. Their deaths wind up bringing things to a head again when it comes to the settling of their estate. Each chapter is told from one of the three "siblings" point of view. There are many emotional ups and downs in this story and it was not a "light" read, but it was a good story. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press I was allowed to read an Advanced copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are freely given.