Review of The Last Summer (of You and Me)

Here we are in the last month of summer! If you only have time for one more summer read, The Last Summer (of You & Me) is the perfect escape from the rapidly approaching sweater days. I was introduced to Ann Brashares by my daughter when she was caught up in traveling pants fever. Here we are, my daughter's an adult and Ann is writing novels for adults. Perfect!

More About The Last Summer

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares comes her first adult novel

In the town of Waterby on Fire Island, the rhythms and rituals of summer are sacrosanct: the ceremonial arrivals and departures by ferry; yacht club dinners with terrible food and breathtaking views; the virtual decree against shoes; and the generational parade of sandy, sun-bleached kids, running, swimming, squealing, and coming of age on the beach.

Set against this vivid backdrop, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is the enchanting, heartrending story of a beach-community friendship triangle and summertime romance among three young adults for whom summer and this place have meant everything. Sisters Riley and Alice, now in their twenties, have been returning to their parents’ modest beach house every summer for their entire lives. Petite, tenacious Riley is a tomboy and a lifeguard, always ready for a midnight swim, a gale-force sail, or a barefoot sprint down the beach. Beautiful Alice is lithe, gentle, a reader and a thinker, and worshipful of her older sister. And every summer growing up, in the big house that overshadowed their humble one, there was Paul, a friend as important to both girls as the place itself, who has now finally returned to the island after three years away. But his return marks a season of tremendous change, and when a simmering attraction, a serious illness, and a deep secret all collide, the three friends are launched into an unfamiliar adult world, a world from which their summer haven can no longer protect them.

Ann Brashares has won millions of fans with her blockbuster series, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in which she so powerfully captured the emotional complexities of female friendship and young love. With The Last Summer (of You and Me), she moves on to introduce a new set of characters and adult relationships just as true, endearing, and unforgettable. With warmth, humor, and wisdom, Brashares makes us feel the excruciating joys and pangs of love—both platonic and romantic. She reminds us of the strength and sting of friendship, the great ache of loss, and the complicated weight of family loyalty. Thoughtful, lyrical, and tremendously moving, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is a deeply felt celebration of summer and nostalgia for youth.

More About Ann Brashares

I am a writer living in New York City and a mother of four. I am married to artist Jacob Collins. I grew up in and around Washington, DC. Before becoming a writer, I was a student of philosophy, a receptionist, an editor, a ghostwriter, and briefly, the co-president of a small media company.

I love babies and children (many of whom are no longer children), teaching, gardening, and the effort, more generally, of growing and taking care of living things, in some cases fictional. I love walking, running, and biking around my own city and others, especially old cities. I love reading fiction, poetry, and history; I love talking about ideas and also arguing about them in a civilized way. I prize curiosity above intellect. I cherish my friendships.

Thoughts about The Last Summer

This was my actual beach read. I toted it along on a beach vacation last month thinking it would be a light-hearted love story. I was pleasantly surprised that The Last Summer (of You & Me) explored the many facets of love: romantic love, sibling love, parental love, friend love, unrequited love. For most of the book I had a running debate with myself about just which characters were the You & Me of the title. The characters were deliciously flawed. At times I wanted to shout at them to pull themselves together.

This book made me question the different kinds of love -- which is the most powerful? Would I give up one type of love to honor another? The island setting for this book, rife with summer traditions that evolved over generations is powerful and reminds me of other summer-only beach communities I've visited. It's not to late to escape into an emotional beach read this summer!

A Little Extra

In July, Ann Brashares and her youngest brother Ben Brashares released a middle reader trilogy: Westfallen. Westfallen is an alternate history for readers ages 8 to 12 about what it would be like in present-day America if Germany had won World War II.

As an older sister, I am amazed that these two teamed up. Rumor has it that Ben once placed a tarantula named Fredericka on Ann's head while she was sleeping. Unforgiveable! If that had been my brother, I would still be holding that over his head. If we wrote a book, every time we disagreed about a plot point I'd say, "Yeah, but you put Fredericka on my head while I was sleeping. You owe me." Thankfully, Ann rose above it and Ben (hopefully) no longer has access to tarantulas.