[JCQ]∎ Libro The Last Summer of You and Me Ann Brashares 9781594489174 Books

The Last Summer of You and Me Ann Brashares 9781594489174 Books

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The Last Summer of You and Me Ann Brashares 9781594489174 Books

A bittersweet look at the tumbled feelings of adolescence as it changes into early adulthood with ripening maturity. The novel centers around next-door neighbors with very different backgrounds. One, a wealthy fatherless boy and the two sisters next-door, close in age but very different dispositions and outlooks and their parents.

The language is beautiful. It's hard not to reflect on one's own youth: the melodrama, observing the complications of one's parents lives as they work out their own crises all set against the background of the microcosm of the small world in a seasonal resort with its own unique traditions repeated each summer.

You can almost smell the variations of the sea's scents, feel the ever-changing weather, the sand which finds its way onto your person, between the sheets, in your hair, the never dry bathing suits, the rituals which mark the progression of the summer from Memorial Day on.

This is a novel of personal discovery and growth for the three main characters. It's real and honest. You might recognize your own struggles and the endless questions you asked yourself as you morphed from a pleasure-loving, irresponsible teen into an adult making careful and yet frightening decisions about your future. There is palpable anxiety as you consider the friends you grew up and the work it takes to bring them into your future (or not). How do you hold a moonbeam or a sweet, always fated romance in your hands and heart? How do you handle loss while honoring those vibrant loved ones who would never want you to stop living after they've departed forever?


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The Last Summer of You and Me Ann Brashares 9781594489174 Books Reviews

Note You can safely read my entire review. I never write spoilers.

I really loved this book. This book gave me such vivid pictures of its setting Fire Island that I was sure the author must have spent significant time there. Indeed, when I finished the book and read her bio, I saw that she spends her summers there. It made me want to get a beach house there! The great thing about the descriptions in the book is that they are the kind you want to read word-for-word because they utilize the senses and experiences of the characters, rather than just giving you a general landscape description. The descriptions are given in the context of a memory or present experience, so the island comes alive in your mind. & It will probably make you nostalgic for your own summer experiences.

I was very engrossed with the characters and the story line. Yes, there was some foreshadowing throughout that I felt indicated where the story might be headed, but this book isn't a mystery, so I don't agree with some of the lower reviewers who say "I figured it out halfway through." I don't regard this book as one that has a twist or anything "to figure out." It is more an account of one year in the lives of 3 interconnected 20-somethings, and I think it is beautifully written. It is a story of friendship, romance, family, and growing up.

I'm kind of surprised that "fun beach read" is tagged so many times. Yes, I had definitely fun reading this and yes, I do think reading it on the beach would be a good setting since so much of the story takes place in a beach town. But it's important to point out that there are also some very serious themes and it made me cry several times. It's not laugh-out-loud chick lit, so don't go into it thinking you're getting Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series. This is more of a touching story, not a funny one.

My one dislike was that at times it seems ALL of the 3 main characters kept their feelings and thoughts inside and did not share with each other what they were really thinking. In a way that works, because it forms the backbone of some of the problems that arise in the plot. So I went with that.

This book might have a difficult time finding its audience due to the fact that Brashares in most known as a young-adult writer. I haven't read her Sisterhoood books, but I suspect the tone is different in those. And due to the fact that The Last Summer's main characters are aged 21, 24, and 24, I am sure a lot of her young adult fans read this. However, I felt like this book contains too many reflections on the way life changes in your early - mid 20's for someone, say 15 or 16 years old, to appreciate fully because they haven't reached that stage yet. I am in my late 20's and many themes in this story really spoke to me. It's not a story I'll forget. I am sure that people of all ages could like this, but I think that its target audience is 20 & 30-somethings.
As a fan of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants who is now a little too old for Ann Brashares' other books, I bought this because of the "adult" label. There were parts I liked, such as the setting and the character histories, and some I didn't like. First of all, the main character, Alice, seemed really inconsistent to me. One minute the narrator was talking about how she was the girly one in the group (though she tried to hide it), and would sometimes rather go out to a fancy boat party with her parents than stay on the beach, but then the next minute she's talking about how Alice was the only one willing to kill the crabs they found with her bare hands. Something about her just didn't add up for me, and it's the same with the character Paul, who seemed like a bit of a coward at some points, too worried about how starting a relationship with Alice would impact HIM, and avoiding her or pretending to forget things because of it. Riley was pretty much the only character in the book that I liked and found consistent as well as unique.
Also, I have to say I was not a fan of the graphic love scenes. It would have been more romantic had the author left out specific details and just let the readers draw our own conclusions. Another thing is that the tragedy aspect of the book seemed to come out of nowhere, although it did help the theme along. Overall it's a decent book about growing up while still trying to preserve the childlike innocence we need more of in this world, but throughout the whole book I found myself getting annoyed with the author's focus on trying to merely say the same thing over and over again in various poetic ways, like she was showing off her own creativity or something. But you won't regret reading it if you like sappy romance novels.
By the way, whatever you do, do NOT read this book in the winter. They're not kidding when they say it belongs under a beach umbrella. I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly like it either, partially because it made me long for summer during the winter.
A bittersweet look at the tumbled feelings of adolescence as it changes into early adulthood with ripening maturity. The novel centers around next-door neighbors with very different backgrounds. One, a wealthy fatherless boy and the two sisters next-door, close in age but very different dispositions and outlooks and their parents.

The language is beautiful. It's hard not to reflect on one's own youth the melodrama, observing the complications of one's parents lives as they work out their own crises all set against the background of the microcosm of the small world in a seasonal resort with its own unique traditions repeated each summer.

You can almost smell the variations of the sea's scents, feel the ever-changing weather, the sand which finds its way onto your person, between the sheets, in your hair, the never dry bathing suits, the rituals which mark the progression of the summer from Memorial Day on.

This is a novel of personal discovery and growth for the three main characters. It's real and honest. You might recognize your own struggles and the endless questions you asked yourself as you morphed from a pleasure-loving, irresponsible teen into an adult making careful and yet frightening decisions about your future. There is palpable anxiety as you consider the friends you grew up and the work it takes to bring them into your future (or not). How do you hold a moonbeam or a sweet, always fated romance in your hands and heart? How do you handle loss while honoring those vibrant loved ones who would never want you to stop living after they've departed forever?