Series ✦ Penny’s Take
Second Spring
Andrew M. Greeley · 2004
62/100
👎 Skip It
Andrew Greeley was a Catholic sociologist-priest who viewed marital sexuality as sacramental, and Second Spring reflects that in ways that will surprise readers expecting clean faith fiction — the sexual content is real and present. For longtime Greeley readers, the 1970s historical backdrop including the papal election and Carter White House gives this entry genuine colour, and the midlife renewal theme is emotionally resonant. But the prose is functional rather than literary, and jumping in at book five without the prior four is a rough start.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: contains non-trivial sexual content presented as sacramental but not appropriate for clean/faith-family readers or minors. We still scored it 62; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
📚 Buy the book ↗📱 Read on Kindle ↗🎧 Listen on Audible ↗ affiliate links · support the site, never the verdict
As an Amazon Associate and Audible affiliate, Penny earns from qualifying purchases. This never affects the verdict — see our affiliate disclosure.
Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety62
Substance / usefulness65
Craft & writing60
Originality62
Evidence & accuracy72
Hype vs delivers72
Age-fit65
👁 Human-eye gut-check62
Penny’s verdict62
Cross-pollinate