I really enjoyed this book. I'm from MA so was familiar with the area the story took place in. Good character development. An easy read. Not too deep, but worth reading

Ed and Connie Gordon leaves behind their home in Milwaukee every summer and treks to Cape Cod with their two daughters, Ann and Poppy, and their adopted son, Michael. These summers were always a source of fond memories and adventures until something terrible happens to one of the family members. A secret kept over the years and various lies told completely change the dynamic of the family.

When Ed and Connie unexpectedly die in a tragic accident, Ann, always the daughter with a plan, wants to immediately sell the Cape home. Poppy, a world traveler, thinks that selling maybe isn't the best option. Michael hasn't been spoken to in years and no one is quite sure where he is. Can they really let the Cape house go? Will they ever repair the damage that has been done to this family?

This was a great story of how a single event can start the complete breakdown of a family and their relationships. In a sense this was frustrating to read because if people would just talk to each other and be honest, the future could be entirely different. It holds true in real life for many families. I really enjoyed The Second Home and would like to check out more from this author!

Terrific family story and the important role a house can play in their lives and relationships. Good writing, character development and pacing. Enjoyed it and recommend it.

This book starts slow and really picks up about half way through. Warning there is a rape Scene and profound feelings of sadness, depression, and other consequences of such. Michael is adopted by a family who has two girls who are his closest friends. Always questioning support family and love he always felt he never deserved their acceptance. He always has loved one of the sisters but again felt she would never return this love. And so the self fulfilling prophecy of him going away and the families drifting apart. This book follows the parallel lives and how they come back and cross and uncross. Well written. Really was captivated from the second half onward. Could not put it down. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have reviewed this book for the New York Journal of Books website where it will be posted on the evening before the publication date.

"The Second Home" by Christina Clancy
St. Martin's Press
June 2, 2020
10-1250239346


The Gordons of Milwaukee, Wisconsin spend every summer at the century-old saltbox passed down from Ed Gordon's grandparents. Located in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, which is halfway between the "tip" and the "elbow" of Cape Cod, the residence is situated on historic Route 6.

Ed and Connie are a fun-loving couple and teachers who covet the quiet days they spend on the Cape. For Ed, it means fishing, relaxing and puttering around his barn, while Connie relishes the opportunity to curl up and read all the beloved books she saves up for the season.

In 1999, the Gordons adopt Michael Davis, after he lost his mother to AIDS. A classmate and friend of the eldest Gordon daughter Ann, she was instrumental in bringing Michael into the family.

Ann and her younger sister, Poppy eagerly look forward to their vacation on the coast, even more so now, so they can introduce their new "brother" to the enchantment of the Cape. Michael adjusts to life with the Gordon's and becomes the son Ed never had for he loves spending time with the young man and teaching him different things.

Ann, who's always been the popular sister, sees Poppy and Michael becoming inseparable. She sometimes rebuffs her younger sibling, but now she misses the closeness they once shared.

"All her life Poppy had followed Ann around like a lost puppy, wearing her clothes, imitating her gestures, wanting to hang out with Ann and her friends instead of making her own. Ann was used to shrugging Poppy off, only now Poppy didn't seem to care if Ann lived or died. She missed Poppy, but she was too proud to say so."

While Poppy and Michael explore the ocean and woodlands around their cottage, Ann, who has feelings for Michael that aren't brotherly, realizes she needs to keep her distance from him rather than let him know of her attraction. When she attains a job babysitting for Maureen and Anthony Shaw, a rich couple who own an ostentatious second home nearby, she jumps at the offer and relishes the company of the two spoiled, yet bored boys. Their mom, Maureen treats Ann more like a friend than the hired help, and soon Ann begins to covet their lifestyle.

This is the summer before Ann's senior year of high school and when the Gordon family disintegrates. Poppy rebels by getting involved with a surfer crowd where she starts drinking and smoking dope. She is never home and is disgusted by Ann’s constant fawning over the Shaw's.

Michael is delighted to be offered employment with a local landscaper who have the Shaw's as a client. He loves working with plants and nature, though when he encounters Anthony, he suggests Ann keep her distance as he believes the man is dangerous, though she does not heed his warning.

Busy with his company's heavy workload, Anthony is rarely around, but one day he shows up unannounced when Ann is alone in the master bedroom trying on one of Maureen's dresses—a dress Ann thinks looks hideous on Maureen. When he enters, Ann is posing naked in front of the mirror. She is embarrassed, but it is clear he relishes seeing the young teenager in the buff. What is worse is that Ann somehow revels in his attention. Though frightened by her feelings, she vows to stay away from him. He always seems to show up when least expected and as Ann's teenage hormones course through her, she can't help but get aroused though creeped out by the older man. Then one day when he accosts her, she cannot get away from him fast enough. Repulsed and ashamed, she quits her job and begs to return to Wisconsin to a life she never envisioned.

The Gordons never return to their cottage on the Cape, yet in August 2015, Ed and Connie decide to head back to their summer home. Ann is single and living in Boston working at a lucrative job, while Poppy is flitting around the world with the surfing set, like a vagabond, and Michael has been missing and unheard form for the past fifteen years.

Unfortunately Ed and Connie and are killed in a car crash on the way to the Cape. It is up to Ann to locate her sister and inform her of their parent's passing as well as needing no reminders of her last summer there, notifies her that she is selling the Cape Cod house. Though Anne and Poppy are estranged, Poppy does not want to give up the family home. Ann fears Michael may show up to put a claim on the property. After all, he is a rightful heir, but where has he been all these years?

The three siblings offer their point of view throughout this debut novel. They all have suffered misunderstandings and heartache, losing the closeness they once relished. Ann and Poppy are thrown together in the home that once brought them so much joy when Michael arrives. Can they ever recover the camaraderie that they once shared?

With the distinct and expressive descriptions of the locations, the reader can almost taste the salty sea air and smell the mudflats of the Cape. The sentiments of all the characters are credible as well as distressing and/or joyful as the case may be. Many contemporary novels offer endings that one can assume before the book is half-read, yet, The Second Home, is fresh, innovative, and pleasing with its unexpected conclusion.

This was a great quick read. The story line of the book had enough twist and turns to keep the book interesting. I did like the story line of adopting an older child that need a home in their teenage years. I think that we need more books that talk about this group of kids. I didn't like that he ran away when thing got tough but I did like that he did have a few good years with the family first.

I enjoyed this book and devoured it in a couple of days. The story is about a family in Milwaukee with a summer home on Cape Cod that has been in the family and passed down over generations. The story moved along nicely with the chapters alternating between the three children and how their lives evolved from their experiences on the Cape. Very strong character development. I will recommend for my book club.

I have been in a reading slump for awhile, but this book successfully snapped me out of it. Great characters that I really cared about, and enough of a plot twist that I kept reading. A few characters that I really hated (on purpose) and several that redeemed themselves as the book went on. I enjoyed the change in narrative throughout the book and seeing things from different perspectives. The house on the cape came alive for me and made me wish that I had a place like this, steeped in memories, to return to. I haven’t read this author before and look forward to reading more by her.

I loved this book! It tracked a family of unique and developed characters from a key point in their life through adulthood. I identified with each of the characters and their personal struggles and obstacles. The Second Home focused on how critical a house is to establishing memories and yet what secrets it can also hold. I felt rage at the way Ann was treated, but also impressed by her ability to move through her trauma and actually befriend someone who brought back nothing but negative memories. While some characters in this book did everything they could to become someone society wanted them to become, the others stayed true to themselves and were better for it. I highly recommend this book as a great summer read.

This book sounded like a story I would love. Coming of age stories are so interesting to me. I had to drag through the story. Parts were interesting, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. Thanks to netgalley and st Martins press for the e-arc.

This author is new to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I definitely want to read more by this author. Highly recommend!

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Life can get so messy when people start lying and families grow apart. What a mess this was.....At times I had to just set it down and not focus on how upset I was getting! UGH!
Things went so wrong and it made me crazy! And then I couldn’t put it down. I felt that somehow it was going to have to right itself, right?
What a good story. I did end up really liking this and I highly recommend this book. It had all the feels and I stayed up all night just to finish it. Wow! Now I need to rest. Great writing.

This was a NETGALLEY gift and all opinions are my own.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book through NetGalley.

This book takes just a little time to get into, but then I found it very engrossing. The characters are well written and the writing is very evocative. Although my Rocky Mountain family has never summered in Cape Cod, I feel like the descriptions in the book brought me there and helped me imagine what that lifestyle might be like. And isn't that what we read fiction for, to be transported into other people and places?

There's not a lot of intrigue in the book, but I don't think that's what Clancy set out to create. It's the journey and not the destination that this book excels at. Really, I think the story is about family and how what goes unsaid can be do even more damage than the most hurtful things we can say to each other.

An enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading more of this debut author's work in the future!

What a perfect title for this book. Connie and Ed are raising their two teenage daughters at their home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and spend their summers in South Wellfleet, on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Their girls are so kind, as you would think mid-westerners would be. Ann, the older daughter, wants her family to adopt a troubled boy, Michael, when his parents die. Ed and Connie do just that, and their second summer on the Cape with their three teenage children is where the story begins. The events of that one summer night change everything. The author draws flawed characters you can't help but like. Fans of Hilderbrand will really like this story and if you spend any time in the Cape, you will really enjoy the descriptions of this area.

The Quick Cut: Two sisters and an adopted brother find their lives get complicated as teens, only to find their lives intersecting again after their parents died. Drama ensues as the truth of the path comes to light.  
A Real Review: Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.  
 Sibling relationships are complicated, even in the best situations. However, when you're a teenager and the emotions combined with the drama of that time period work together to cause rifts... things can turn ugly fast. This is the case for the sisters Ann and Poppy along with their adopted brother Michael, when life does not go according to plan in a Cape Cod summer. 
 Their parents spent every summer at their home in Cape Cod, with their children in tow. Traveling from Milwaukee Wisconsin to the Cape became a family tradition, one that left a lasting impression on newly adopted brother Michael. However, when a summer together turns sour and Ann is left with a terrible consequence, Michael goes missing and leaves his newly embraced family behind. Fifteen years later, after their parents die, these three find themselves together again in order to deal with the assets left behind. Will the truth of that summer come to light or will it continue to drive these siblings apart? 
 First off, a trigger warning: this book contains storylines that include rape and suicide. They are not easy to read, especially considering the toll these elements take on the family members broken apart. Truthfully, this book doesn't really fit the definition of young adult for me. The story is told in two parts: the first in the past when the family fell apart and the second fifteen years later when the parents have died. A majority of the book takes place when they are adults, having kids who are in their teens (or nearly) and dealing with the fallout of parents without an asset allocation readily available. These aren't YA themes, not in the slightest. These are very adult conversations. 
 On top of that, the book description here does not match the story given. The explanation for the book makes it sound like the story will revolve around the present, with an explanation of what happened in the past. However, as mentioned above, the story doesn't play out that way. Due to the way that the past plays out on the page, all the suspense is taken out of the story. The story point where the three siblings talk about what happened in the past doesn't occur until you are well into the last quarter of the book. 
 Ann holds onto a rage that felt over the top to me, even considering the trauma she goes through. Fifteen years later, the anger almost seems worse than it was originally. Poppy is heartbroken and copes by running away, something that absolutely fits the scenario they find themselves in. Michael fills the role of new sibling better than the two sisters do in theirs, considering he still carries a certain level of self-esteem issue that is common in adopted kids. In cases where it made more sense for these siblings to talk and confirm what was happening, they chose to assume that what was being said to them was true. 
 A not so young adult book whose story doesn't quite match the description given. 
 My rating: 2 out of 5

Thank you to netgalley and st. Martins press for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed this book very much. The family dynamic was interesting and kept you entertained. I felt the author did a good job of portraying the feeling of all of the characters and weaving between the past and the present. I have read a lot of books in this genre and this one felt fresh and different from the books I have read lately. 4 stars!

Absolutely fantastic read. Ann, Poppy, and Michael are typical siblings of this day and age with typical inheritance problems when parents are gone. However, the surprises in this book as details are revealed are amazing and make the novel difficult to put down. I was wanting to make things right for them but had to struggle with them as they solved their created delimmas. Read The Second Home by Christina Clancy and take heed.

“Second Home” is the debut novel by author, Christina Clancy.

The Gordon family owns a summer home in the Cape Cod region. On Ann’s seventeenth summer, something disastrous happens in that home that causes a rift between Ann, sister Poppy, and adopted brother, Michael. Fifteen years later, the parents have unexpectedly died in an accident and the sisters return to Cape Co to prepare to sell the home. Michael, who has not kept in contact with his adopted siblings, shows up and makes a claim to keep the home. He also wishes to discover what exactly happened during that fateful summer fifteen years previously.

Told through the point of views of Ann, Poppy and Michael, the novel highlights how family members react in their time of grief. The major plot points and tension between the siblings felt instantly relatable (though not always believable), and the author makes a good effort to not make choices simply for plotting purposes. Ms. Clancy makes excellent use of her setting to enhance the dysfunction between the siblings. While the characters, especially Ann, were not especially likable, that didn’t stop me from wanting to read the story until its final resolution.

I did not have any expectations when I picked up this novel and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I look forward to see what else Ms. Clancy produces. Four out of five stars.

Thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for providing this advance copy.

“I tell her she needs to learn how to be in the present.” Brad said, “The present is a hard place to be sometimes.”

Families, someone once said, are like countries. They have their differences, their war zones, their isolated places. There are secrets that are swept under the rug or kept under lock and key. Some change every relationship, some bring siblings closer. Summers can bring new beginnings or dreadful endings, and for one family a summer changed everything. The story begins with Ann reminiscing about her parents as she meets the realtor planning the sell the summer home her parent’s owned in Cape Cod, “the house felt like it was less a place they’d left behind than a place they’d planned to return to.” Shivering with memories, she knows it’s vital she has the place up for sale in time for the summer people. She and her sister Poppy will split the proceeds, Noah will have money for his college fund, the financial boost will make their lives easier. She happens upon a family photo and in it, Michael. Michael, their adopted brother- as Ann feels the picture like a burn in her hands, immediately the reader knows there is a story there.

Due to the suddenness of their parents death, there is no will. But surely, despite having two houses to sell, both Poppy and Ann will be in agreement. Poppy lives a life “like a long summer vacation”, constant to nothing. There is a bite in that thought, in a sister who doesn’t seem to be present enough. But what about Michael, the adopted son? Where is he in all of this? If they have to lie about the title being in the all clear, so be it. With that decision, we are in the past.

Michael enters the Gordon’s lives as more than a visitor, still feeling like an outsider. The beautiful house, unfamiliar to the type of world he lives in, seems to be ‘buzzing with life’. He learns their family traditions, their history, all ‘the stuff of legend’ right away, and despite the fact he should feel lucky that they saved him from the fate of a foster home upon his mother’s death, he sometimes feels like they rub their perfect lives in his face. That fact that he doesn’t belong in their perfect world is only more apparent when they run to the shore and his hesitates in terror, rather than plunging in like Poppy. It is then that he runs away from the ocean, telling Ed and Connie find he just wants to go back to the house but the family have news that will fill his heart with their love. But with any blessing, there is always a catch, and it makes family life complicated for the young teen.

Ann is 17, cringing under the watchful, protective eyes of her parents when she starts working for The Shaws. As a nanny/helper, it isn’t long before she gets a little too close to the couple and their children. privy to grown up problems, emotions. She is growing up too fast for her own good, learning adult secrets that are better left unknown. Poppy spends the summer on her own, learning to surf, making new friends, the early days of her bohemian style. Put off because the family seems to run without her approval, even if she loves Michael it would have been nice to voice an opinion. A common woe of many last born children in a family. Michael notices that Ann seems obsessed with the Shaws and their big house, big lives. Irritated by the handsome couple eclipsing their importance in Ann’s life, feeling bored, lonely until Ann saves him again with an opportunity, a job working for the dreaded Shaws. It is when he meats Jason, the Shaws gardener and begins working for him that he too finds a passion in this ‘grunt work.’

Their summer begins with so much promise, but there are snarls in this perfect season and by the end of it, they will carry a bitter seed back home. Manipulation, lies, betrayal and leverage. When you love someone to the core, you’ll do anything to secure their future, even if it means destroying your own. Michael learns the hard way what being family means. Liars hold all the cards, and know just how to deal them so they remain the winner. People don’t get to the top without playing dirty. Ann is naive, but she goes from being this caring, sweet, strong willed girl who is the reason Michael is with the family at all to losing all sense of intelligence. Of course, fear plays a big role here, still… something just didn’t follow for me.

Just what did Ed and Connie do wrong in their parenting to cause such an unraveling? There is nothing but distance between the children, great distance for years!

The present, Michael is back and making a claim on the house. The story as it’s been told is falling apart, Poppy is once again shocked to find herself the last to know the truth. Ann hasn’t always been honest, and what she believed about Michael and about her nephew Noah’s origins may have all been a big lie. Does an heir who walked out on the family, breaking their parent’s hearts really deserve the chance to stake his claim? What makes it a solid women’s fiction pick is the seduction and abuse, that I don’t want to go too deeply into. It’s so easy to lead a young girl where you want them to go, that part is sadly too common. Still, in some ways the villain has an easy time of it.

This is a complicated tale about the love, desire, abuse, and loss one family must endure. The loss isn’t just in the death of Connie and Ed, but the closeness and support siblings should have had. Can the truth come too late? All it takes is one carefully constructed lie to change the direction all the children take. It’s sad, the wasted time, the broken hearts. It’s a good story, even if I found what happened a bit hard to pull off but life is stranger than fiction so you never know. I felt Ed and Connie would have gotten to the bottom of everything, but that’s just my take. I wish there was more time spent with Ann, Poppy and Michael as siblings before the rot set in, so it would be easier to understand the pain Poppy felt too. I actually liked Poppy’s role, in so many families the youngest is left out of the important decisions, and stories (especially involving sordid things), which often makes them feel adrift. So it made sense she later floats through her life. A good read.

Publication Date: June 2, 2020

St. Martin’s Press

I couldn't put this book down. The Second Home is heartbreaking and yet you can see how this exact situation could happen to a teenager at any given time. The author goes back and forth between the current day and the time period where misunderstandings took place. This is a fantastic novel.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this gook.