Synopsis: Tender and compassionate, incisive and heartbreaking, Christina Clancy’s The Second Home is the story of a family you’ll quickly fall in love with, and won’t soon forget.

After a disastrous summer spent at her family summer home on Cape Cod, seventeen-year-old Ann Gordon was left with a secret that changed her life forever, and created a rift between her sister, Poppy, and their adopted brother, Michael.

Now, fifteen years later, her parents have died, leaving Ann and Poppy to decide the fate of the Wellfleet home that’s been in the Gordon family for generations. For Ann, the once-beloved house is tainted with bad memories. Poppy loves the old saltbox, but after years spent chasing waves around the world, she isn’t sure she knows how to stay in one place.

Just when the sisters decide to sell, Michael re-enters their lives with a legitimate claim to the house. But more than that, he wants to set the record straight about that long ago summer. Reunited after years apart, these very different siblings must decide if they can continue to be a family—and the house just might be the glue that holds them together.

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.

REVIEW: I enjoyed The Second Home by Christina Clancy. It was a good story to pass the time during quarantine. It was entertaining and kept me interested. I love stories that take place at the beach and this one takes place in Cape Cod. 

Clancy has a gentle approach to her writing style in this book. She is not in your face. She just lays out a nice story for your enjoyment. If you like stories about families with history and young love, you will like this one and I would definitely recommend it for your reading pleasure. This book warmed my heart. 

I grew to like her charecters and had several chuckles over Ed and Connie who were the parents of Ann and Poppy. They still had a great love for each other and I admired them. Have you ever had a teacher that was on the hippie side? Now, imagine them as your parents and going to the same high school where they teach.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review.