"Second Chance Summer" by Morgan Matson is a Touching Story we Both Loved!

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson is a wonderful YA novel about tenderness, family relationships, love and dealing with Cancer.  When the husband and father of three is diagnosed with stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, he gets his family to spend the summer at their cottage again by the lake that they haven't been to in five years.  Taylor, the 17-yr.-old daughter is reluctant to go back because of her broken friendships.  It even has a dog in it!


This is a very good story about mending friendships, overcoming fears and being real with people.  The bond between Taylor and her dad is beautiful and reminded me so much of the special relationship I had with my parents.  The writing is conversational and told from Taylor's point of view.  It was interesting to see how she grows as a person through the book and gets to know her whole family better.  Her relationship with Henry is very sweet and this is a very touching story.  In some ways it is similar to The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.  If you liked that, I think you would also like Second Chance Summer.  It really touched me because I knew a couple sisters whose father died of Pancreatic Cancer in a very short time.  I also couldn't help reliving the deaths of my own parents, although I was fortunate to have had them much longer than Taylor had her dad in this book.  I loved this book too--a great emotional read!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson is about a family where the father receives medical news that is not good.  Consequently, the family decides to go to a summer cottage that they have but have not been to for a while.  Taylor, the oldest daughter, is not big on this.  The last time she spent there, she left on not so good terms with some friends she had there. 

I loved the character of Taylor.  She was so good but that is not to say the other characters were bad.  I enjoyed them all!  I was always happy to get back to this book.  It is a very emotional read, especially at the end.  The writing is excellent!  In short, I LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review on 5/16/16, 5++ stars)

If you still aren't sure you want to read this book, watch this video by Jesse the Reader which is what convinced us to read it:

 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Fire Line" by Fernanda Santos is Informative

The Fire Line--The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting by Fernanda Santos is a non-fiction book that tells the story of an elite crew of firefighters called "The Granite Mountain Hotshots."  This was some book, let me tell you!  I never knew all the details and things you have to know to be a firefighter!  Through this book I really got to know them and their families.  The main part of the book describing the Yarnell Hill fire made me feel like I was there.  These were very brave men and I am glad to learned about them through this book!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Wolf Hollow" by Lauren Wolk

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk kept my interest all the way.  Annabelle has lived a nice quiet life in her small town with her loving family.  However, that all changes when a young girl named Betty comes to town.  Annabelle is being bullied and has to find a way to stop it.  Then one day, Betty goes missing and all signs point to one man who Annabelle has befriended.

This book was really good!  It moved along quickly and Annabelle is a great character.  It also has a surprise ending that I liked!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teasers: 4 This Week

Gerard's:

I want to say yes.  I want to say, Yes, beautiful girl, I know.

From page 27 of When We Collided by Emery Lord.

I was trying not to see how tired he looked, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.  But most of all, I was trying not to think about the fact that we had been told, by experts who knew these things, that he had approximately three months left to live.

Page 13 of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson. 

I left her there, musing in that patch of poison, and prayed that she would wake tomorrow with scarlet boils and hard scabs.  I prayed for a rash to veil her face with pustules and scales.

From page 53 of Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk.

Karen's:

It took a while for the otters to realize that something was happening inside the crate.  But a moment later, they heard it.

From pg. 6 of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading. 

Happy Reading!

"When the Moon is Low" by Nadia Hashimi

When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi is a heartbreaking story about Fereiba and her family in Afghanistan.  Part 1 of the book is her childhood and her life in Afghanistan growing up and her marriage to Mahmoud, a good man who was an engineer, and their three children.  Part 2 focuses mostly on Saleem, her 15-yr.-old son and their journey to England after her husband was killed by the Taliban.  He felt the responsibility to be the man of the house and then got separated from his family in Greece on their way to England to live with Fereiba's sister.

This book kept my interest all the way through.  It shows how tough the life of a refugee is and my heart just goes out to them.  I liked Fereiba who always felt like an outsider and had a very hard life except for a short time.  I found myself pulling for Saleem in the second part of the book which showed how three different women helped him along the way and how encouraging that was for him.  I was a bit disappointed that the ending was sort of open, but I guess that was better than a sad ending.  I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in what it is like to be a refugee or Muslim.  It was an eye-opening story for me to understand how not all Muslims are extremists.  It even has some discussion questions in the back for book clubs to use.  It's very good!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)



Tweet by Karen:

Reaching the Unreached-MENA https://t.co/cbMY4fQUHp donated after reading WHEN THE MOON IS LOW 

— Karen Zemek (@kzemek) May 14, 2016

Here is a link to donate to help refugees in Greece through Samaritan's Purse
Here is a link to donate to help refugees through World Vision



Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!