The Last Summer of You and Me: A Novel

It was a little slow to start, but about 40 pages in I was fully engrossed and finished the book in one night! A very sweet story with a twist of tragedy thrown in - the ending sort of drifted off but that's where imagination comes in handy!

With her first adult novel, the bestselling author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series shows us that sometimes, the line between a friend and a romantic interest isn't always so clear.

So when Alice and Paul find themselves falling for each other, everything between them and Alice's sister, Riley, becomes awkward. The three of them spent every summer since their early childhood in the cottage country of Fire Island - that is, until Paul disappeared from the scene for three years. Now that he has returned, he and Alice struggle to form a relationship while trying not to leave Riley out. However, the situation is complex, and they soon find themselves coming to terms with a life-threatening illness that complicates their relationships even more.

Having been an avid reader of Ann Brashares' previous works, the similarities between The Last Summer (Of You and Me) and the Sisterhood novels were evident. Brashares has her own way of interpreting how friendships work, and this was an important theme in each of her novels. Even the stories are based on the summers that the characters spend as close friends, whether together or apart.

As the publisher's note says, however, this novel is much more mature. Relationships seem to take over adventure in importance. The characters face adult issues, being older than the Sisterhood personalities.

I would highly recommend this novel to fans of the Sisterhood series, as well as any readers of chick lit or romance novels.

If you enjoyed the Sisterhood novels you will love this book as well. I could not put it down!!
I am so looking forward to more books from Brashares!!

I really enjoyed this book. I've read it numerous times. You can really see that Brashares stepped up and made this an adult novel, not to say that teens can't read it. I loved the characters and I think her narrating is one of the best aspects of the books. Definitely a must read if you liked her previous series.