“A novel of family and place and belonging.” –Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer Prize finalist “Tender and suspenseful.” –Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author Some places never leave you… After a disastrous summer spent at her family’s home on Cape Cod when she is seventeen, Ann Gordon is very happy to never visit Wellfleet again. If only she’d stayed in Wisconsin, she might never have … again. If only she’d stayed in Wisconsin, she might never have met Anthony Shaw, and she would have held onto the future she’d so carefully planned for herself. Instead, Ann ends up harboring a devastating secret that strains her relationship with her parents, sends her sister Poppy to every corner of the world chasing waves (and her next fling), and leaves her adopted brother Michael estranged from the family.
Now, fifteen years later, her parents have died, and Ann and Poppy are left to decide the fate of the beach house that’s been in the Gordon family for generations. For Ann, the once-beloved house is forever tainted with bad memories. And while Poppy loves the old saltbox on Drummer Cove, owning a house means settling, and she’s not sure she’s ready to stay in one place.
Just when the sisters decide to sell, Michael re-enters their lives with a legitimate claim to a third of the estate. He wants the house. But more than that, he wants to set the record straight about what happened that long-ago summer that changed all of their lives forever. As the siblings reunite after years apart, their old secrets and lies, longings and losses, are pulled to the surface. Is the house the one thing that can still bring them together–or will it tear them apart, once and for all?
Told through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, this assured and affecting debut captures the ache of nostalgia for summers past and the powerful draw of the places we return to again and again. It is about second homes, second families, and second chances. Tender and compassionate, incisive and heartbreaking, The Second Home is the story of a family you’ll quickly fall in love with, and won’t soon forget.
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“The Second Home” by Christina Clancy
For me this was an okay story. I forced myself to read the first half and curiosity as to where and how the author was going to end the story got me through the second half. Somehow, I never managed to connect with the characters; they never came alive for me which, for me, is a very important part of reading a novel. I am not sure what I was expecting but I was disappointed in this offering. I hope you find this a read that you can love.
note: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley this review reflects my take on this story.
The story is a good illustration how secrets can destroy a family. Ann, Poppy and Michael are all brought back to the summer that their lives changed when they revisit the family’s second home after the death of their parents. The story comes out in small pieces told from each characters perspective. There is a sense of sadness in the entire story. It’s fitting and it lifts at the end. The author made each character feel real and made me understand why each character did what they did in the past. Overall, it’s a good emotional story that has a good resolution. I received a copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a deeply emotional novel. Three siblings are torn in different directions by things that they are manipulated into at a young age. Years later, when their parents die, they are left to try and heal the break. The author uses multi point of view narrative to tell the story from each of the characters perspective. This allows the reader to see how each of the character views the events that happened and how it impacted their life. The story spans three generations and varies in perspective as the main characters grow and mature. It is about growth and forgiveness. It is a great debut novel and shows great promise for for future works.
*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.
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.
A book of an all American family that spends its summers on Cape Cod. Until one summer when a horrific act causes the family to lose trust and love in each other. Not until the parents are killed in a car crash years later is there an opportunity for the siblings to reunite. Can this family forgive the parts they played in a complicated history and learn to love each other again? The Second Home is a good read and the above comments and review are my honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.
Overall I enjoyed this one. It is actually more like three stories in one.
A story about the highs and lows of family relationships…parents/children, siblings and a teenage adoption added to the mix. But there’s also a parallel story about how outside influences on those family members (prompting misunderstandings, lies, jealousy and estrangement) can take its toll on the family dynamic. And ultimately it explores how a home can feel and mean different things to individuals at different stages/phases of their lives.
It is well written and angsty enough to have kept my attention.
My only personal issue is that I ended up not particularly liking any of the characters, the exception being the adopted son, Michael. But that’s my take (and probably not a popular opinion).
Overall recommended.
A big thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
Christina Clancy has crafted a wonderful book about a family in flux. Insightful and honest, her characters navigate their complex lives with emotional punches that left me turning pages for more. The Gordons are a family to fall in love with, faults and all. Perfect for a good book club discussion, The Second Home will break your heart–then put it back together.
Ann’s life drastically changes one fateful evening when she’s a teenager during her summer at the Cove. The ripple effect of what happens changes her entire family. Michael disappears, and Poppy, who was in the beginnings of acting out, takes to a life of surfing anywhere but home. Told in alternating timelines of the past and the present, we watch the family come to terms with the changes in their lives. We see how the past has shaped them into the people they are today as they learn the art of forgiveness.
While the pace was sometimes slow, the message of trusting your gut, of not jumping to conclusions, and of loving your family is very strong in The Second Home. Ann was a very standoffish person, and I understand why she was that way, but her refusal to listen to Poppy or Michael was very off-putting. Certain things that Anthony did were a stretch. I’m sure sometimes in life what he did does happen, but the way things went so smoothly for him was just too much. The incident that fractures the family is one that could easily happen, and no one worked to get to the bottom of it, which was saddening.
I loved how descriptive the book was. It made me want to visit the Cove. I think the girls’ parents were wonderful characters. When Poppy fully came into play, she made a great addition to the story. All the characters are well written and Clancy brought them to life on the page. Overall, this was a heartwarming and touching read. Thank you, St. Martin’s for sending this along!
Family drama about the Gordon family, the parents Ed and Connie, two daughters Ann and Poppy and their adopted son Michael. They are from Milwaukee, Wisconsin but most of the story was set in their vacation home in Cape Cod.
It was told in the present and the past, lots of teenage drama along with adult drama. Lots of misunderstandings with twists and turns and secrets. The beginning starts off rather slow, I wanted to give up but not my style to I continued on. By the end I was invested into the story and the characters. Just know this is not a lighthearted read lots of real-life issues.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins press and the Author, Christina Clancy for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I chose this book because it sounded intriguing and the cover was really nice and I literally could not put it down, I finished it in one day.
I loved the family dynamics, the interaction of the family members and the way the book was written from each siblings point of view.
My first read from this author and it won’t be my last!
When I picked up this book to read it the description intrigued me. I thought it sounded interested.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how much I was going to get invested in the story and characters.
The story starts with Ann one of the Gordon kids. Through her, we get introduced to Michael and Poppy. From the beginning, you are sucked into the Gordon family and the secrets they have but also the love and family connection.
As the story unfolds alternating from past to present through each character you begin to see the story unfold from multiple points of view which were really fun. You got to see how each choice made by a family member affected the others.
Christine writes a beautiful story about family, love, and finding your way back, She also takes us a journey through heartbreak, tragedy, and unspeakable acts of darkness. She wrote in a way that I felt Gordon’s pain, love, happiness, sadness, anger and eventually forgiveness. It was truly a wonderful journey that I would take again and again.
The Gordons, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, parents are Ed and Connie, with their teen daughters, Ann and Poppy, and their adopted son, Michael. They vacation every year at their summer home on the island of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in a saltbox style summer home. Something tragic happened to Ann on the island 15 years ago, and it causes the close nit family to become estranged. Now another tragedy has taken place, can the family come together again?
The writing is descriptive and thorough, you can picture the scene unfolding in your mind’s eye, however, it can be tedious at times. Overall would highly recommend this book.
The story opens with Ann Gordon waiting for a realtor to look at a vacation home that has been in the family for generations. Neither she nor her sister, Poppy, can afford to keep the house where their family spent summer vacations. The home, that was once rich with wonderful memories and not so wonderful memories.
The story unfolds going back into the past, where Ed and Connie Gordon, along with their two daughters, Ann & Poppy, and their adopted son, Michael arrive at the summer home. Michael had a very rough life, and was left an orphan after his mother died. The Gordon’s welcomed him into their lives to give him the stability and siblings he never had.
The three siblings struggle with their own inner thoughts and raging hormones changing them into teenagers. As they each try to discover who they are, it creates a divide between them. Where once they were close and did everything together, now they barely know one another.
After one harrowing event, leaving Ann damaged, she returns home seeking comfort, but Poppy is gone. Ann goes to Michael, and when Ed goes to ask Michael if he knows where Ann is, he finds them together in bed. Both pleading that nothing happened, Michael is beside himself feeling that he let Ed and Connie down. He avoids Ann and digs into his studies.
Meanwhile, Ann has a secret, and when she reaches out to the one, who she believes will help her. It sets into motion a terrible chain of events, where Michael believes he is helping ups and disappears.
Now years later, with everyone harboring secrets and believing the worst in one another, the death of Ed and Connie has brought the daughters back together to handle their parents’ estate. Unable to find the will, Ann tries to rush the sale of the homes before word might get back that there is another heir. Unaware that Michael is closer than Ann knows, and when Poppy learns from a friend where Michael is and his plans; Poppy tries to get all the siblings together to talk. A talk that should’ve happened years ago, where the summer home that was filled with heartbreak, might be the very place that can mend all their hearts.
This was a wonderful story! I really enjoyed how it was told from varying perspectives and I got to know each of the protagonists. A story about forgiveness, and learning not to jump to conclusions before knowing the facts.
I received an ARC from NetGalley via St. Martin’s Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.
Lack of communication, of their truth, caused a tight knitted family to break apart. This is an emotional story. The first part of the book was a bit slow to me, but ground works needs to laid to have a strong foundation, and that was taking place during this time. Before I realized it, I was involved and knew this family was heading for a huge disaster. I wanted to shout out to them to stop their damaging ways.
I enjoyed this heartbreaking, uplifting, emotional read. The author did a great job on character development, location setting and plotting a (mostly) believable story. There are one or two things that I accepted since this is a work of fiction that in real life would not occur.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read the advance reader copy. My review is my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.
This novel will grab a hold of you and keep you until the very end. The stories of three siblings are threaded through the events of their parents dying and of what to do with a vacation home that they all love and cherish.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Christina Clancy’s The Second Home is, in many ways, a treatise on growth amid adversity. (Or, in some cases, the lack thereof.) It’s a story about the power of familial bonds, and of the ways that life can be achingly imperfect.
When Ann Gordon meets Michael Davis, their connection is instant. Recently orphaned, Michael is welcomed into the Gordon household, and is eventually adopted. He is embraced as a brother by Ann’s little sister, Poppy, though Ann’s feelings for Michael (and his for Ann) are far more complicated. After an eventful, traumatic summer spent at the Gordon’s summer home on Cape Cod, Ann, Michael, and Poppy become estranged. Fifteen years later, their parents have died, and the three of them must come face-to-face with the ghosts of the past.
Personally, I think this novel packs quite a punch. The use of close third person narration style, with each chapter alternating between Ann, Michael, and Poppy’s perspectives, was highly effective. The manner in which the story unfolds creates a sense of nostalgia as well as a sense of irritation. Without providing any spoilers, there is a significant miscommunication that transpires between two of the protagonists that festers, and it’s difficult to read about. I also had a difficult time empathizing with Ann’s anger and unwillingness to communicate, but perhaps that is kind of the point. Clancy’s characters are all flawed in their own ways and are written in an achingly human way.
This would be the perfect novel for those who enjoy a female-centric, introspective read, and who appreciate compelling, imperfect characters.
An ARC was generously provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review.
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. In the acknowledgment, in the end, the author wrote people kept telling him to write what he knows and he told us this story. The book was like the ocean, it flowed like it. You have the highs and lows, and the weather affects the ocean with its rough waves and its calm waves. This is what I thought as I read the book. The author told the story of a family with 3 siblings and the life they had. A lot of things happened and they each had their own personality. The story tells of the three together, then how they separated and what happened when they met after years of separation.
Poppy was a free spirit and I loved reading about her adventures. Ann was a serious person and seemed angry and Michael was for me just Michael. He just seemed to know what he should do even when life was so rough.
Parts of this story made me sad, parts had me excited and parts like the end of the story gave me hope that this author would continue his story.
There is just something about the way he writes that makes me feel like I am at the Atlantic Ocean and this story flows just like the ocean is. I hope you read this book and fall in love with the story and the people like I did. Thank you, Christina Clancy, for writing it and NetGalley for the ARC.
The Second Home by Christina Clancy is a wonderful fictional novel that is about family, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and second chances.
I enjoyed reading about the dynamics and interplay between Ann, Poppy, and Michael. The paths that they have led to bring them to where they are at this point and how they were able to overcome and move forward was powerful and beautiful. The ending was fabulous and perfect.
The author was able to invoke such passion and emotion for me in the telling of the three siblings from their alternating viewpoints, and I was hooked from beginning to end.
Great book.
5/5 stars
I truly enjoyed this novel!
People often say that how you remember your childhood home and the memories are often not quite the same, nor can you go back.
I am sure this is not what Ann, Poppy or Michael think when they reconvene years later to settle the beach house estate.
Many summers were spent at this wonderful old cottage.
Things change and times moved forward, not always for the best of reasons. People drift apart.
Now…. can these three siblings remember all the good things they have? Can they forgive?
It is a well written story with love, family, friendship, and strength in the plot.
I will be looking for more from Christina Clancy!