The Last Summer (of You and Me) [Paperback]

Ann Brashares (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 6, 2008

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.
 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author delivers her first novel for adults, a treacly tale about the tribulations a trio of longtime friends encounter. For as long as she can remember, 21-year-old Alice has spent summers on Fire Island with her parents and older sister, Riley. Riley, 24, is a beach lifeguard, more boyish in both looks and spirit than sweet, feminine Alice. An island neighbor and Riley's best friend, Paul, whose father is dead and mother mostly absent, returns to the island after two years away and must decide whether to sell his family's house there. More importantly, he and Alice finally act on an attraction they've felt for years, but they keep their frequent nuzzling quiet so as not to hurt Riley. Riley, meanwhile, has her own problems that could ruin Alice and Paul's clandestine romance and just about everything else. Brashares's YA roots are on display: the girls and Paul act like high school kids (Riley threatens to move out of the house unless everyone butts out; Paul and Alice are stricken with the most saccharine of puppy love), and anything below the surface is left untouched. It's a beach read, for sure, but a mediocre one. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

An unputdownable beach book calls for love, deceit, and sex. And The Last Summer (of You and Me), by Ann Brashares, has all those elements. The page-turner follows two 20-something sisters as they cross the threshold into adulthood and try to make summer romance last all year. -- Cosmopolitan

Ann Brashares has written a glorious novel of unrequited love, longing and the meaning of friendship in The Last Summer (of You and Me). She weaves a tale full of delicious plot twists and revelations that will surprise and enthrall you. Riley and Alice are sisters, their relationship is as potent and complex as the real thing. Funny, deep and true, this one will keep you reading long after the sun has gone down. -- Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of Big Stone Gap and Lucia, Lucia

Ann Brashares's new book, The Last Summer (of You and Me), will delight all of her Traveling Pants fans-now grown-up and ready for this very adult novel of love, loss and the beauty of intense family bonds. -- Anita Shreve, New York Times bestselling author of The Pilot's Wife and A Wedding in December

Brashares's writing is natural, insightful, and affecting. -- Entertainment Weekly

This debut adult novel from Brashares will please her unnumerable fans and win over readers who enjoy a thoughtful coming-of-age story....The themes strongly resemble those explored by Ann Packer in The Dive From Clausen's Pier. -- Library Journal

When summertime neighbors Alice and Paul realize their feelings for go deeper than friendshipm they're afraid to share the news of their clandestine affair with Riley, Alice's sister and Paul's best friend. But then a darker, more tragic secret threatens to come between them. The page-turning pace of Ann Brashares's The Last Summer (of You & Me) makes it a perfect beach read. -- Redbook

[Those with] a hankering for a breezy summer read will easily relate to Brashares's restless threesome of lost souls -- People, three stars --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594483086
• ISBN-13: 978-1594483080
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ann Brashares is the bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, Forever in Blue, The Last Summer (of You and Me), and My Name is Memory.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book May 14, 2008

A Kid's Review

Format:Paperback

In this book, sisters Riley and Alice are going to their summer home on Fire Island, where they have gone every summer since they were kids. Their friend Paul is going to be there too, whom Riley and Alice haven't seen in quite a few years since he didn't come to Fire Island in the last three summers. So many things happen to the three friends in that one summer. A romance between two of them happened (I won't say who), a illness overcomes one of them (I still won't say who) and secrets are uncovered regarding them. Deep secrets. This book was wonderful and I loved it. Although, it was made for adults, I read it anyway, since I love Ann Brashare's books! Although it was a little sexual, I loved it all the same. I suggest this book to anyone, even kids, if your parents will allow you to. That's how good it is. So, go read the book!!!!

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't go to sleep until I'd finished the entire novel. June 9, 2007

By Gretchen C. Rubin VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I bought THE LAST SUMMER (OF YOU AND ME) yesterday, and I couldn't turn off the light last night until I'd reached the end. The relationship between the three main characters (two sisters and the guy who lives next to them every summer, when they stay on Fire Island) was complex and fascinating.

This is a love story, but also the story of the love between two sisters...it's romantic, poignant, suspenseful...what more can you ask?

I am a huge fan of Ann Brashares's TRAVELING PANTS books -- this novel is written for adults, so feels very different, but just as good.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good light summer reading August 9, 2008

By Mama in MA

Format:Paperback

I bought this book for a summer read for a beach vacation. It was a bit hard to get into but about 1/3 of the way in, I was hooked. I read just for personal pleasure and an escape so had no big expectations. I had not read any of the other reviews before reading and was frankly surprised by all the negative ones. I would recommend this book.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A summer to forget October 24, 2007

By Amanda Richards HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If you're looking for another "Traveling Pants" sort of story, I'm sorry to say that this isn't it. Instead, the author of the famous and highly acclaimed series "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" aims for the heart, with a rather drawn out tale of two sisters, a guy who hasn't decided who he wants to be if he grows up, and life in Waterby, Fire Island.

Intended for adults, this book fails completely in that respect, especially as the main characters are all young adults, and even the few steamy parts come over with only a weak sizzle. Having said that, there's a very nice little story buried in here, about the close relationship between two sisters, Riley and Alice, and how this is affected when their close friend Paul returns to the island to pick up where he left off three years before. Things have changed, people have grown, and secrets long hidden start popping up, but it takes eons to develop, leaving the reader lots of time to walk on the beach and watch the ferry come and go.

In summary, this rather dry tale of sisterly love and growing up serves as a reminder that sometimes, life's a beach.

Amanda Richards, October 24, 2007

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Summer (of you and me) is one of the best books of the summer! September 2, 2008

A Kid's Review

Format:Paperback

This book is great. This story is perfect for reading by the beach or sitting outside on a cool summer evening. I loved this book! The Last Summer ( of you and me) is on my list for best books of summer. And even if summer is now over you can still enjoy the romance and the sister bonding. The ending will put a smile on your face and make you happy for days. This book made me tear up a little. Not just because it was sad but I was happy also. It was a little predictable at times but Ann Brashares is a brilliant writer anyways. And I think that predecting the end helps you understand the book better. The Last Summer( of you and me) is full of sister bonding, tragedy, and that silly little thing called love.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Characters Were Really Frustrating! June 13, 2009

By Brenda

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

So it's going to sound like I didn't like this book, and the thing is I did... BUT there were a few things that just really bothered me!

First, the whole book, basically, is based on this tension between Alice and Paul. The tension is a nice effect, but it makes no sense! There is no reason for it! Alice and Paul both admit to themselves that they love each other, and they both want to be together, and yet they both deny themselves the pleasure for reasons we are never told. Paul it just mean to Alice the way a third grade boy is mean to a girl he crushes on, and Alice just takes it as normal behavior. What? I found myself wanting to give both of them a good shake! Why doesn't Paul just hit on Alice? Why doesn't he just kiss her? Ask her on a date? Why is she off limits? The forbidden fruit thing only works if there's a reason it's forbidden.

So without giving anything away, I will tell you that just as the above conflict seems to work itself out, and you think, okay, so the characters are actually starting to act like you would think people would act, they go and act even more crazy! Would you just stop talking to someone you are madly in love with because someone else told you to keep a secret from them? NO. It seems to be through this entire story Brashares has her characters doing things that advance the plot, but doesn't take into consideration that in "real life" no one would act that way. It's just very frustrating to read!

I am giving this book three stars, though, because despite what I have said if you can get past that stuff, the book is a page turner. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what was going to happen, even if I was annoyed with the characters.... Also, I like the fact this book was in my demographic - I'm 26 and it's hard to find good reads that aren't YA, are smarter than chick lit, but aren't targeted at an older audience. Upmarket fiction about twenty-somethings is almost impossible to find. Read more ›