This is a novel in the vein of Elena Ferrante., and at first, I was quite excited about it. I liked the characters, the setting, the voice., and the first half of the story, up until the rape and its immediate aftermath. This first part tugged to all the strings of my heart. But it was all downhill for me in the second part when the pace is slow and the story is flat. The fight over the house was a slog, there was no narrative tension as things got predictable and long-winded. Hence, I couldn't finish the novel

Overall, the size of the chapters is wildly uneven, the Point-Of-View is all over the place, often distracting. Much of the writing is uneven. The key scenes are written wonderfully, but the others are rather bland. I skipped many pages (almost all the tiny chapters about Poppy who was not an exciting character with an exciting narrative). I made every effort to keep going but in the end, I couldn't finish the novel.

Mrs. Clancy is a very talented new writer but this manuscript needed more work.

This is an honest review in exchange for an advanced copy from NetGalley.

One of the biggest problems that I have is that the back cover copy/description misrepresents the novel. Described as "tender and compassionate," filled with "wit and warmth," the book is actually a story that centers around a rape and the lies and manipulation of the rapist. This isn't a romantic beach read, not escapist fare. Many of the characters (all?) are deeply flawed and unlikeable. SPOILER ALERT: Ann is cold and manipulative (as well as the innocent and confused victim of rape); her sister Poppy is an odd surfer bum who is always high, but with a heart (cliched?); their adopted brother Michael is Heathcliff for the 21st century: in love with Ann and tortured by her lies. The plot is dark, but all is resolved quite simply and melodramatically by the end. It's unclear what this book wants to be: disturbing psychodrama or contemporary romance?

The second home is the story of complicated relationships, and the love and despair that comes with family. It is the story of Ann and Poppy, along with their estranged adopted brother Michael, and how their lives unfold during their teenage years, and how they find each other again after their parents pass away tragically. This story pulls on your heartstrings and also has a beautiful setting in Cape Cod.
This book kept my attention from the beginning, and I found the story to be very interesting. There were, however, two continuity/fact errors that bothered me: it referred to a character's ex-wife when it also said they never got married, and also talked about a cryptosporidium outbreak and the vomiting it causes, but crypto does not cause vomiting. I can forgive the author for those errors, since she clearly did a lot of research on Cape Cod to be able to beautifully explain the setting of the novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I would definitely recommend it to others.

**A top 2020 read**

A beautiful and impressive debut. Overwhelmingly, evocative. I felt everything - tenderness, joy, outrage, heartbreak, unease, and relief, to name a few. The author did an amazing job with her characterizations and oldest sister Ann especially resonated with me. Her internal conflicts felt so real for a confused and innocent 17 year old and then the strength she exhibited as a mature and empowered adult.

The story pulled me in fast with the compelling writing and I was completely engrossed as the story progressed. As different as each of the three siblings were, they were bound by bittersweet memories of a joined history and the unconditional love of parents, biological and adopted. I felt like I wanted to know these people, encourage them, and fight for them.

Sometimes you read a book that touches your heart in lasting ways, and The Second Home was one such book for me. It is a heart-wrenching story about family – what makes a family, what breaks a family, and what brings a family back together – and at the center of it all is the family beach house at Cape Cod.

This story captures the smallest nuances of the family, so sincerely and honestly, I expect to see the Gordons if I should ever make it to Cape Cod. Narrated by all three siblings, the story could have become disjointed and confusing. But, all three narrators tell their story in seamless tandem that is delightful to read and enhances the importance contained within their tale.

Connie and Ed Gordon are the parents of Ann and Poppy and the adoptive parents of Michael. They are known to smoke pot from time to time and are very relaxed parents, though not permissive. Two things stand out about Connie and Ed – their love for all three of their children and their love for the family home on Cape Cod and what it represents.

Ann Gordon – a classic oldest child, she excels at everything and always has a plan. A babysitting job the summer before senior year begins a string of events that will change her life and that of her siblings for a decade.

Poppy Gordon is a free spirit who follows life wherever it takes her and enjoys many adventures until she forced her to return home and learn an emotional lesson about all that she missed while she was gone.

Michael Gordon – the adopted son of Connie and Ed, he is the same age as Ann. Michael had a hard life before his adoption, and it made him the thoughtful and responsible young man we meet in the story. In a short amount of time, he learned to care for the Gordons and all that was important to them. When he does what he thinks Ann wants him to do, it creates a rift that only honest communication will fix.

And at the center of it all stands the Cape Cod house. An old house that is not considered ideal by anyone other than the Gordons. It is a quirky old house, sitting right next to a major highway. Many things need to be updated, and the road is loud, but it has been a treasure in the Gordon family for four generations. Every summer, the Gordons packed up and drove to their second home for the entire summer. They never considered not making the long drive or selling the beloved home until the house's fate is put in Ann's hands. It is at this point that the Gordon siblings discover the true nature of this vacation home. It is the glue that binds the family. It is the one place they get to live in the moment with each other, where past, present, and future all come together, reminding them that family is all that is important.

I shed more than one tear as I read this poignant and heartfelt story about a family that is torn apart and tries to find their way back. With well-developed characters and a homey setting, this story moved me beyond words and will stay with me for some time to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing is very good, I just did not care for the characters or the story. They weren't very likable people for the most part and quite passive aggressive on all counts. It covers teenage years, family secrets and old wounds but they didn't handle them very well through the years. There are some gaps in how people reacted/progressed from some situations that were missing or illogical. For a first novel, it probably deserves a very good and next will be better. It could be a beach read though since that is the primary setting.
I received this book as a complimentary copy.I was under no obligation to provide a review. Thanks to the author,publisher,and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Second Home is a family drama that starts with a life-changing summer on Cape Cod - the effects of which ripple out for 15 years before coming to a head when Ann, Poppy and their adopted brother Michael see each other again after more than a decade apart.

The characters in this book are rich and developed, each having a distinct personality. All three siblings have heartbreaking stories, in their own way. The paths they each end up taking align perfectly with their personalities, and there's nothing incredibly surprising here.

I'll be honest - these character-driven, family sagas aren't my usual cup of tea, but I found myself really loving this story and dying to know where they would all end up. I think this will be a very popular book this summer - it would be a great beach/vacation read for those who want something a bit heavier and in-depth.

Content warning: there's a pretty descriptive and upsetting rape scene in this book.

Christina Clancy's Gordon family is definitely one that I won't soon forget as the description indicates, but I didn't fall in love with them. As the Prologue of The Second Home begins, we meet Ann who is awaiting a realtor's arrival at her childhood summer home in Wellfleet, MA, and she's planning to arrange the sale after her parents' sudden death six months before. Since she hasn't been able to find a will and with Poppy moving around and out of communication, Ann is able to get the court to establish her as the executor of the estate. When Ann finally reaches her, Poppy comes home to Milwaukee to help arrange the sale of the main family home and will join Ann in Wellfleet once the Milwaukee sale is finalized. The Prologue is written from Ann's point of view, so her thoughts make it clear that she's hiding Michael's existence from both the realtor and the probate court. What we don't know yet is why.

Part I is almost the whole first half of the book. The first chapter introduces us to the fact that it's Michael's first summer with the family, and Ann and Poppy spend the summer introducing him to the house, the beach, and the family's summer traditions on Cape Cod. It is that first summer when Michael falls in love with the Cape.

The chapters that follow begin the following (disastrous) summer of 2000 when Ann and Michael are about 17 and Ann picks up a babysitting job with Anthony and Maureen Shaw. She also arranges for Michael to work with the Shaws landscaper for the summer. We follow the alternating perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael who spend that summer in very different ways. Instead of spending all their time together as a family, Ann is babysitting, Poppy is embraced by the surfing community, and Michael learns the ropes of gardening and landscaping.

The book takes us through this last fateful summer that they spend together in Wellfleet before Part II begins with an article detailing their parents' death 15 years later as they're driving home from the Cape. We continue through the alternating perspectives, which now detail the distance and animosity between the three and carry us through to the end of their story.

Here's what I loved about this book. Having never been to Cape Cod, I was still able to feel the beauty and appeal of the location because of the detail woven throughout the story. And each of the kids viewed it in a different way, revealing their distinct personalities. The reader is able to pick up on the similarities that made them close along with the differences that pull them apart.

The book has its happily ever after, but I couldn't reconcile the situations outlined in the spoilers. They don't make it a bad book. I just feel like they make it a not-great book.

Here's what knocks it down to three stars for me.

***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***

I need to outline quite a few story details to explain what I didn't like.

(First trigger warning - rape)
The summer that is detailed in the book is one in which Ann flirts with Anthony Shaw all summer, enjoying the attention of the older and successful man. He eventually creates a situation for them to become physical, and he rapes Ann when she says realizes how wrong it is and says no. That evening, she sneaks into the house in search of Poppy for comfort, but when Ann discovers that Poppy isn't home, she seeks out Michael. She doesn't tell him what happened, but crawls into his bed just for company. When Ed and Connie discover Michael and Ann in the same bed, they immediately pack up the family and head back to Milwaukee.

Even though Ann and Michael insist that nothing happened between them (it didn't), we don't hear any ramifications of them being caught in the same bed. There isn't any discussion with Ed and Connie. We just see Ann become more and more withdrawn because she discovers that she's pregnant. She calls Anthony to tell him, he of course insists the baby is not his but then tells Ann to give him a week to think about it and hangs up on her.

The next thing we see is Anthony in Milwaukee approaching Michael and telling him that they need to talk. He tells Michael that Ann is pregnant, that he and Ann are in love, but that Ann wants Michael to say he is the baby's father and leave town because admitting that Anthony is the father will ruin his life. In return, Anthony will give Michael $50,000 for himself and put another $50,000 in the bank so Ann will receive regular checks that look like they're coming from Michael. If Michael doesn't agree, Ann will get nothing. Anthony then proceeds to tell Ann that Michael overheard her telling Anthony she was pregnant and that Michael blackmailed him, saying that he would tell the Gordons he was the father if Anthony paid him to disappear. Anthony convinces Ann that he will make her life miserable and fight her for custody if she takes a paternity test.

Michael is resentful that Ann expected him to say he is the father. Ann is resentful that Michael blackmailed Anthony. Both of them were manipulated by a man who has everything to lose. Granted, they are young, and Anthony is in a position of authority, but neither of them had the faith in their parents to confide in them. The Gordons believe Michael when he leaves a message for them apologizing for what he did to Ann, but Ed and Connie never stop looking for him. They are confident that if they can find him, they can all get past what happened.

So....

Ed and Connie continue to go to Wellfleet every summer, even though the girls don't join them. Michael, as it turns out, takes the money from Anthony and joins the landscaping business that he worked with that summer. He asks not to work in Wellfleet itself, but I find it very hard to believe that in a town that size, even with the summer residents, that Ed and Connie continued to look for Michael for 15 years and never discover that he had actually settled there.

The court system should have a record of Michael's adoption, so even if they are unable to find him and assign Ann as the executor of the estate, Ann still shouldn't be able to get a document stating that the title on the house is clear of other heirs. Additionally, the realtor is a former friend of Poppy's. Wouldn't she know that Poppy had an adopted brother?

(Second trigger warning - suicide)
After her parents' death, Ann decides she is brave enough to confront Anthony for support for Noah, believing that their son should have the same opportunities that the boys she babysat for had. When Maureen answers the door, Ann discovers that the company Anthony worked for has gone out of business and Anthony is suffering from depression. When he realizes she is in his home, he gets angry and they end up arguing in front of Maureen about the rape. He eventually goes back upstairs and shoots himself. And then Maureen and Ann become close friends to the point where Maureen is willing to front Ann an insurance settlement to buy Michael's share of the Wellfleet house. What?!?!

When Michael finally reunites with Poppy and Ann, Poppy is thrilled, but Ann wants nothing to do with him. Over time, they argue about selling the house or not. Eventually they find the will, which assigns ownership to the grandchildren. Ann assumes that the house will then go to Noah, not realizing that Michael has a daughter. The court determines that Michael and Ann need to alternate residence in the home every two weeks, which seems completely unreasonable since Ann lives full-time in Boston. The two of them diligently swap residence every two weeks, seemingly to antagonize one another, and never talk about what happened the summer Michael disappeared and Noah was born. I understand family estrangements. I'm sure everyone has experienced something like that at one time or another, but I can't help but feel that as close as the three siblings were for those two years, they would have talked about things when they found themselves all back in Wellfleet together, especially once Poppy actually finds out both sides of their stories.

Like I said, there is a happily ever after. The siblings come back together, Poppy settles down, Ann and Michael are building a business together and seem to be developing the romantic attraction they have always had for one another. Michael's daughter Avery and Noah are described as acting like brother and sister. So a nice ending. I just didn't think it was a 4- or 5-star read.

I received an advance digital copy of this title from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. It is currently available for pre-order with a release date of June 2, 2020.

Really enjoyable summer read! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Ann Gordon, the oldest sister of the Gordon family, has taken on the task of selling the family Cape Cod retreat after her parents die unexpectedly. Visiting the house stirs up memories for Ann of the summer fifteen years ago changed the course of her life as well as her sister Poppy and adopted & estranged brother Michael.

Told through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, I enjoyed watching the family history unfold. Christina Clancy was able to weave an engaging novel with tons of character development across all three narrators. Would recommend as summer read this year!

Thank you Christina Clancy, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley

I really liked this book. An engaging story of a family from Milwaukee that spends their summers in a traditional old Cape Cod home. They’re a pretty normal, although quirky family, that adopts a teenage boy, recently orphaned, that is a school friend of daughter Anne.
Their close knit family is thrown into turmoil, when a summer of frightening events, splits the harmony of the family and their lives just fall apart. Fast forward 15 years when their paths cross again after the long estrangement, and old grievances bring things to a head.
This story has fun, love, tragedy, heartbreak and reconciliation that creates a page turner. Christina Clancy is a good story teller and creates wonderful, authentic characters. My thanks to #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Second Home should not be missed. It will touch your heart as Ann and Poppy struggle to deal with the death of their parents, the resurgence of old wounds and eventually redemption for not only themselves but those they hold dearest. The characters are flawed and real and damaged; that is what made it impossible for me to put thIs book down. This is Christina Clancy’s first novel, if we are very lucky it won’t be her last.

This book was far darker than I expected. And difficult to get through. The writing was beautiful. The author is clearly talented but I was unimpressed by the story.

If you love stories about complicated families, Christina Clancy provides a doozy in her debut novel. She provides an intricate tale of three siblings told in multiple points of views. ***Please note, there is a trigger warning for Sexual Assault. This is written in two parts, the Gordon siblings as teenagers and then as adults.

The Second Home is a vacation home in Cape Cod that the Gordon Family has had in the family for generations. This house has always held a ton of memories for this family. Ann, Michael and Poppy are your narrators. Michael was adopted by the Gordon’s at age 16 after his mother had passed. Ann and Poppy both vie for Michael’s affection but in very different ways. One night, their lives are forever altered.

We meet again 15 years later and their parents have died tragically in an accident. They have to deal with this beloved house. Each sibling has a different opinion of what should happen, and with no will they are each going to great lengths to get what they want.

Each narrator is extremely unreliable, and they are severely misled after that pivotal incident, and I think that is what I love most about this story. Clancy weaves this extremely intricate story. You will love and hate each character throughout. This is a fun ride for this genre, and you will savor every minute.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three very different teenage siblings and one fateful summer on the Cape will change the lives of an entire family forever.

What happens years later, when the parents are killed in a terrible car accident, seemingly leaving no will behind? Read this engaging, hard to put down debut novel for all the answers!

At one point, I wanted to throw the book across the room because one character was so frustrating and ultimately the root of all evil, but I loved every page of it! I highly recommend this book for fans of dysfunctional family drama with a happy ever after!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is actually a nice story about family and what really matters in life. The Gordons have a beach house in Cape Cod and after one Summer everything changes. One of the daughters works as a babysitter for another family and gets too involved with this other family, and then gets tangled in a web of lies. In the end, the family that was super close ends up becoming separated for several years. But that house is always there, their second home, to reconnect everyone together.

The Second Home was a captivating read right from the first page. Christina Clancy deftly draws the reader into the relationship between sisters Ann and Poppy, the complexities between the girls and their brother Michael, who was adopted by the family as a teen. I could feel the sand between my toes as I read this book. Each page carries the electricity of escaping into a world where there's both beauty and danger. A great summer read!
Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved that the second home in this story was on Cape Cod. I live thirty minutes from the bridges so I felt right at home from the start of this story. It was also a great story with wonderful characters that you immediately felt could be people you’d like to know. I wanted to shake them when they were naive teenagers who allowed themselves to be sucked in by the lies of the one despicable character in the book. I had to keep reading to find out if the mistakes made could be fixed. Well worth the ride to find out how it all turns out!

This book was amazing! I literally couldn’t put it down, but I had to put it down at a few parts because my blood was boiling and I had to look away.
I thought this was going to be a fun, easy, summer read, but I was so wrong! great until the very last page.
After a disastrous summer spent at her family’s home on Cape Cod, Ann is left harboring a secret she never expected at 17. A secret that will change her life, and her family, forever. 15 years later, after the death of her parents, Ann returns to their Wellfleet home to sell it and is reminded of the bonds made and broken in that summer home. Along with her sister, Poppy, and her adopted brother, Michael, she will have to decide the fate of their home and their family.
There is a huge trigger in this book, so please DM me if you decide to pick it up on June 2 when it comes out!

I can not tell you how much I thoroughly loved this book. Totally hooked within 10 pages. Moving, beautiful story of a family whose lives change after one fateful summer at their beloved vacation home on the cape. Teenagers Ann and Poppy love to go on vacation to the cape every summer with their family, especially with their recently adopted brother Michael. The aftermath of a horrible incident that occurred one summer will change the trajectory of their lives forever. Beautifully written story of family, betrayal, and healing. Would give way more than 5 stars if possible.

So I have an hour left of The Second Home and came to work this morning and preorder it. This book is soooooo good! The writing is wonderful Christina sucks you in and you are part of the story. Ann, Poppy, and Micheal are wonderful characters and you get intertwined in their lives. As the story goes each chapter is from a different point of view which keeps your interest. I can not wait to read another Christina Clancy book. Man, this was so GREAT!!!!