SOLD: ANITAblogcritics.org review:
In The Last Summer (of You and Me), recent college graduate Alice returns for yet another idyllic summer on Fire Island, only to discover that life, in its inevitable way, is moving out - with or without her.
Alice, her older sister Riley, and next-door neighbor Paul have grown up together, barefoot on the splintery boardwalks of the kind of resort town where nobody locks the door or carries a wallet. As a teen, Riley was the youngest of the lifeguards; now, at 24, she’s the oldest, still content to stare out over the ocean in the hopes of catching sight of a dolphin. Alice worries that both of them are aiming too low in the journey towards adulthood, hence Alice’s decision to go to law school, where she hopes she’ll learn to be a grown up.
Paul’s reaction to Alice’s plans is disappointment. He’s always wanted more for Alice, with whom he’s been in love as long as he can remember. To his surprise and delight, Alice reciprocates his affections, and, for a moment as fleeting as the midnight tide pools that so delight Alice, the past and the future converge.
When tragedy strikes, Alice finds herself filled with fear that she and Paul are betraying Riley by turning a threesome into a couple plus third wheel. Technically, Paul is Riley’s best friend, and they’ve always “shared” Alice as a little sister. For Alice to claim a greater stake in Paul than Riley is more than she feels entitled to allow herself.
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
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