TITLE: THE LAST SUMMER (of You & Me)
AUTHOR: ANN BRASHARES
DATE: APRIL 2008
If you are wondering why the author’s name sounds so familiar its because she is the author of the young adult books called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and series. This has nothing to do with those books. This in an entirely different book. You will notice that its no surprise that her first novel for adults features adult characters who seem reluctant to leave adolescence behind.
In The Last Summer (of You and Me), recent college graduate Alice returns for yet another summer on the Island, only to discover that life, in its inevitable way, is moving on – with or without her.
Alice, her older sister Riley, and next-door neighbor Paul have grown up together, barefoot on the 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. She has felt that same way about Paul.
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.
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