Second Chances

by Brenda Chapman

It's the summer of 1971, and fifteen-year-old Darlene travels with her mother to cottage country. This year her wild cousin, Elizabeth, is staying with them in the hopes that time away from Toronto will straighten her out - but Elizabeth has other plans. It's her summer mission to torment Darlene by manipulating her friends and seducing every eligible male in her path. Meanwhile, Darlene is captivated by the mysterious strangers who rent the cottage down the road, particularly free-spirited Candy, who tells stories of traipsing across the United States with rock stars. Darlene is also friends with a reclusive journalist who will stop at nothing to pen the ultimate anti-war story. She, too, secretly dreams of becoming a writer, but knows that her father will never allow it. When the connections between the young strangers and the war start to become clear, Darlene is presented with more choices than she would like.

265 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

I'm an Ottawa author with 18 published novels in the mystery genre, both adult and YA. I am currently writing two adult mystery series: The Stonechild and Rouleau police procedurals from Dundurn include Cold Mourning (2014), which was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for crime novel of the year, Butterfly Kills, Tumbled Graves, Shallow End and Bleeding Darkness. Turning Secrets, 6th in the series, will be released spring 2019.

The Anna Sweet mysteries are novellas from Grass Roots Press for adult literacy or those wanting a quick read. My Sister's Keeper and No Trace were both shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis award and The Hard Fall and No Trace were shortlisted for the Golden Oak award.

Previous published fiction includes: the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for ages 10+, a full length adult murder mystery In Winter's Grip (Dundurn 2010), and a Rapid Reads mystery The Second Wife (Orca 2011), which was shortlisted for a Golden Oak award. Second Chances, a YA novel for ages 13+ was released by Dundurn in September 2012.

Reviews

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved about Second Chances was the way the author was able to so easily transport you from wherever you were while reading the book to Ontario's cottage country. The story line develops quickly but then sort of settles into a fun adventure that for anyone who's been to a lakeside cottage or cottage community can easily escape to while reading this tale.

I was never able to figure out exactly where all of the characters were headed or where the story line was going but I had some suspicion about the ending. However, I was way off the mark. That sort of guessing game made it a fast read for me as I was eager to find out how this summer mystery by the lake ended.

This fictional story was set over a decade before I was born but I was still able to easily relate and identify with many of the emotions the characters expressed. Who didn't experience that transformational summer in their teen years? (I actually had it while at my cottage which added to the intrigue of reading this book.)

No matter if you lived through the 70's, own or sang the music that fills this novel or recall the Vietnam war or not, you'll find this story will captivate you.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the groovy summer of 1971 and Darlene is fifteen. She lives in Ottawa (hometown of the author) and spends the summers in Cedar Lake, where her mother runs a convenience store for the cottagers (her father works in a mill in Ottawa and just comes up on the weekends), and she hangs out with her summer friends. This summer Elizabeth, her seventeen-year-old cousin from Toronto, is staying with them. She'd gotten too wild and her parents hope that spending the summer in the country will settle her down. Elizabeth amuses herself by annoying Darlene.

Candy and Johnny are Americans who are renting the Davidson's cottage this summer along with their young son. Darlene is intrigued by Candy, who is a free spirit who claims to have been best friends with Janis Joplin and hung out with Jim Morrison. Darlene is friends with Gideon, an older gentleman who lives in Cedar Lake year 'round, delivers the mail and writes articles for the Globe and Mail, especially focusing on protesting the Vietnam War. Darlene would like to be a writer when she grows up but her father wants her to have more stable traditional job like a secretary.

I've read a few books by this author and I enjoyed this one. I like her writing style. It is written in first person perspective in Darlene's voice. As such, I'm assuming it's considered a youth/young adult book but I didn't find it immature in actions or characters. I think people of all ages (15+) would find it engaging.

Though I was younger than Darlene when this story takes place, I could relate to the references to the music, clothing and TV shows. "Going to town" for everyone in Cedar Lake meant going to Campbellford, which I've driven through many times to visit my in-laws.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/01...

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The summer of '71 opens a whole new world to teenager Darlene. Dealing with a slightly dysfunctional family, old friends who are moving on, and strangers in town with intriguing lives, Darlene wishes for the carefree days of her childhood while wanting to be taken seriously as a young adult.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Second Chances" for its ease of reading, the realistic characters and situations, and the factual references to the issues of the day. A quick and satisfying read.

[Stephanie Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't decide whether this is an adult or teen book. I enjoyed the writing but found the storyline a bit confusing. The main character, Darlene, was very believable but dome of the ancillary ones less so.

[Crystal Hoang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book displayed detailed sceneries. It takes your mind to that day and it was interesting to read.