2 1/2 stars? I am torn about how to rate this book. There were moments when I really liked it, then there were moments I really kinda despised it, awful as that sounds. I did have to skim some of the "heavier" parts.

Set on Cape Cod and Milwaukee, we watch as a family that seemed to have it all drastically fall apart. One summer that should have been like all others profoundly changes all three kids and we watch as this all happens. Then we see them 15 years later as the house on Cape Cod forces them to come together again.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC for my honest review.

A beautiful story told through multiple points of view. It digs deep into the complexities of a family. Very well-written.

I did not know what to expect going into this book but I become 100% hooked on the Gordon family.

I feel like a while ago this book could have easily bored me but it didnt at all. I devoured it in a couple of days and was actually quite sad to finish it.

This book follows the life of the Gordons, written in multiple perspectives of the childers Ann, Poppy and Michael. Following such a large timeline there is obviously alot going on and alot of character change and growth.

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing of this book and highlighted a fair amount of gorgeous quote and stand out sentences. The characters were so well written and with each having their time to be loved, and disliked it made it feel all the more raw and realistic.

I loved the main setting of Cape cod and the secondary setting of Milwaukee also the numourous other snippets of locations. But the cape cod setting and home especially, really stood out and with the turn of some events became a sad place for a time even to me as a reader.

I became so interested and intrigued by this family which really does not happen that often for me in these styles of books, so that's saying something. I would 100% pick up another book by this author and highly recommend.

If you have read the Forests by Emily perkins and enjoyed it I think you would enjoy this one but this one is better!

Thank you netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review

I love books like this. What pulls sisters together or apart? This book was emotional and maddening all at the same time.

This family drama was a bit more than I expected. For whatever reason, I thought it was going to be a light read, but it is anything but light. This story, told by three siblings, Ann, Poppy, and Michael shows the real issues behind one family (and ultimately the darkness in all families).

I didn’t love the story, but I thought there were some good qualities about the writing. A few good jokes here and there, good old fashioned awkwardness, and great details. I’d rate it 3.5 stars.

The Gordon family lives in Milwaukee. They have a much-loved summer home in Wellfleet on Cape Cod. The family consists of parents Ed and Connie along with daughters Ann and Poppy. As a teenager, Ann convinces her parents to take in and then adopt her friend Michael. His mother has died and his father is out of the picture. The first summer with Michael in Wellfleet is a dream. The family is excited to share the history of their home and the area with Michael. The girls and Michael become best friends and the school year flies past. The second summer everything changes. Ann takes a job babysitting for a wealthy family. The husband takes an interest in Ann. Things take a dark turn in spite of Ann telling him “NO”. As Ann’s life spirals out of control, Michael gets wrapped up in the drama and his life spirals also. He runs away and is lost to the family. Years later the parents are killed in an automobile accident while returning to Milwaukee from Wellfleet. Ann is living in Boston at the time with her son Noah. Poppy has lived her life moving all over the world; only staying long enough to surf for a while and to make enough money to move to the next location. Ann and Poppy must reconcile long enough to sell the homes. They meet at Wellfleet and soon find that Michael lives close by. The family must figure out what broke them apart and if they can mend the rift and become family again.
The book hooked me from the beginning. The characters are well developed. The story easy to follow but with twists I didn’t see coming. I would recommend this book highly.

Thank you to St. Martin's and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this novel for my honest opinion,

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Christina Clancy. I recommend this book for someone looking for their next great summer/beach read. Set in the late 90's and present day it tells the story of the Gordon family and how secrets and lies can tear a family apart for years. I enjoyed the characters and the setting and this great new voice in the women's literature genre.

Family dramas are always told best at fictional family vacation homes abundant with dysfunctional siblings with secrets from the past...The Second Home doesn’t win any prizes for originality, but it owns these familiar and comfortable tropes, and the reader can relax and dive into a few hours of family drama that isn’t their own. Nothing special but a cozy and competent weekend read.

This debut novel, by Christina Clancy, delivers a compelling, character-driven family drama that kept me up reading way past a reasonable bed time. While some of the plot points were predictable (i.e. the creepy Mr. Shaw and the way Ann's pregnancy went down), Clancy has a way of keeping readers invested in the outcome as well as the journey.

Personally, I found Poppy's journey to be the most interesting and one I wanted to know more about after the final page. I felt there was something more there..... Something more to explore in her relationship with her parents that might explain, at least a bit, why she always felt the need to flee. And I had to wonder, do Poppy and Ann ever get back to the closeness they felt before Michael's adoption?

The main plot line-- Ann's pregnancy and the fallout with their adopted brother Michael, drives the novel, for sure. And not in a bad way. There was much to explore. My only (minor) gripe was the way Ann handled things after being forced to re-engage with both her siblings and confront the difficult truth of their collective situation. (I also found the close relationship she later forged with Mrs. Shaw a bit unnecessary and perhaps unbelievable). Ann had opportunities to tell her truth and let Michael tell his, and I felt it just took too long to get to that point. There had to be some part of her adult psyche that knew her recollection of history wasn't the entire picture, and that like her father, she had to know that just by virtue of being kids/teens at the time, both her and Michael were on the unfortunate side of the power balance with Mr. Shaw.

But on balance, it all came out in the end, and we get to see how all three siblings are able to move forward, grieve their parents as well as the time lost being a family.

If you're a fan of Joyce Carol Oats (specifically "We Were the Mulvaneys"), you'll likely enjoy this novel as well. I will certainly be in the lookout for what comes next from this promising author!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this lovely novel! A solid 4.5 stars!

The Second Home by Christina Clancy is a beautifully written summer novel about what makes a family and what tears them apart. Ann Gordon, her sister Poppy and her adopted brother Michael always spent their summers at Cape Cod, it was family tradition to drive cross country from Wisconsin to the beach. Happy memories were made there, until Ann turned 17. That was the year she decided to work and accepted a babysitting job at the Cape. By the end of the summer, something devastating occurred that had to be kept secret, but that secret tore the siblings apart.

After their parents' deaths 15 years later, the sisters decide to sell the house, having lost touch with Michael. When he shows up with a claim to the house, will they be able to finally come to grips with what happened so many years ago?

The Second Home is a wonderful novel and will make a great beach read...if we're ever allowed out of our homes to go to the beach again! Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The story starts off a bit juvenile & scattered but gets better as you go on. I found the main character Ann didn’t have consistent character development. And personally unlikeable. The description of Cape Cod is accurate & beautiful. Liked the ending.

I really loved this book. Many years ago I visited Cape Cod and fell in love with the area. Reading this book has brought back happy memories, the descriptions of Cape Cod being so real. The story is well written with wonderful characters and the plot made me want to finish the book to find out the conclusion. In conclusion, a book I will remember for some time with a smile on my face, thank you.

I received an e-ARC through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this story very much. I related to each character, and liked the alternating points of view.

I enjoyed this debut novel which is not surprising because it contained family drama and dysfunction in a strong sense of place (in beautiful Cape Cod). It has a bit of dual timelines which I enjoyed. Some of the character's decisions were questionable and there was a bit too much use of "miscommunication" between the characters to move the plot along. Other than that, I think this would make an excellent beach read.and will keep an eye out for this author's next novel.

I loved this. My heart broke for Michael, well for many of the characters at different times but I really felt so strongly for Michael throughout. Brought me to tears! Great story.

This debut novel immediately grabbed me and didn’t let go throughout, although there were a few inconsistencies that niggled a bit here and there.

I love stories about families and all the things that make them human, including misunderstandings and withholding, as well as shared day-to-day moments and happy occasions. We begin with the oldest daughter, Ann, returning six months after an accident has claimed the lives of her parents, to the beloved cottage on Cape Cod where she had spent her childhood summers, with her hippie teacher parents and her sister, Poppy. The good memories, though, are marred by some horrific things that happened over fifteen years before, during the summer just a year after their brother, Michael, was adopted when the siblings were young teens.

The subsequent story takes us back to those times and unfolds slowly but surely. The setting in Wellfleet, MA, at the end of Cape Cod, is described in such exquisite detail that I could imagine myself there so easily, a place I’ve never been. I can envision many marvelous childhood summers spent there by the sea.

The family is irrevocably changed by events that blow them apart, scattering the siblings apart from each other and their parents. Although the explosive and difficult things that happened is recounted down to the last, cringe-worth detail, it is difficult at times to piece together some of what occurred after the rift. I found myself wishing I had a paper book in my hands (rather than reading on my Kindle), to more easily go back and check on the details and timeline of certain occurrences or what people said.

I enjoyed learning about what each sibling had experienced in their lives before they finally reunite again after fifteen years, notably Poppy’s carefree travels and surfing/spiritual experiences. Michael’s life after he abruptly left was a revelation and it was satisfying to learn how he’d developed into a mature and successful adult. There were a lot of questions, though, about why he had remained estranged from his parents and how he and his sister Ann had not connected with each other for so long. The details given for the way that happened weren’t very convincing to me.

However, even though I think the author might have woven more of the threads together a bit better, I did enjoy this novel quite a lot. I would give it three and a half stars if I could. It is the perfect ‘beach read’ in my opinion, although I like stories with deeper themes (loss, forgiveness) rather than feel-good-all-the-time books that don’t delve into the depths of what it is to be truly human.

The Second Home will be released on June 2, 2020 and I highly recommend it. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free eARC of this great debut novel.

Sign. me up for family drama, especially when it takes place at the beach. Even better when it takes place on Cape Cod. I don't think any of the characters were very likable but that was not necessary for this story to move or to keep me interested. The Second Home is written so that the Cape essentially feels like a character; the details were great. Having never been there, I had no problems picturing what it's probably like.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this book once I got into it. It was a little slow and I couldn't see where the story was going. SOme of the things the characters did annoyed me and I questioned if anyone would be so gullible to believe such a story, even if the person was an adult and they were teens. It just strengthens my resolve to make sure my own children know they can ALWAYS talk to me, no matter what.

I enjoyed how this story ended and how the characters came back together. Well written story overall

Family, trust, love-it’s all so fragile, it can break with one action, one word, and so it does, in The Second Home. Manipulations that end up changing lives forever and people who aren’t as they seem, make this a tumultuously endearing story. The characters are varied, unique and human while the plot ebbed and flowed easily through them. Definitely a book to read!

The Second Home is a fantastic debut! It reads as a coming of age - told in the alternating voices of 3 siblings. I personally enjoy that style of writing. I feel like it really closes the loop on the story telling - it gives you a new way to see the story from all parts. The prologue is told in adult voice/present day and the bulk of the rest is a flashback to the teen years and into the young adult years. The family saga unfolds around the family's vacation home being "up for grabs". Ann seeks to sell the home without the input of her siblings, Poppy and Michael, and as details unfold, a lot of old wounds surface. The sibs are forced to look at memories and reality and whether or not they are the same thing. The Second Home is emotional, warm and well-written. I will definitely read other books by Christina Clancy - with any luck, she's working on a new one right now! ;) Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for honest review.