The Last Summer (of you and me)

Ann Brashares really does have her finger on character, which is why I like this YA book. It’s unusual, in that she’s taken a real place, and a real place she really loves (an island called Fire Island off NY where rich people spend summers) and weaves a story about it which isn’t entirely happy. Alice and Riley are sisters, and have spent every summer on Fire Island; now they’re in the early twenties and embarking on life. Paul’s the guy next door who has spent every summer with them. This is the last summer of the three of them because Paul and Alice fall in love, and because Riley gets sick (and eventually dies).

The first half of the novel was great, and I really enjoyed it, but I wasn’t so sure about the second half. The idea of the young person not entirely engaged in life dying – and she brings it on herself, like a Peter Pan refusing to age – doesn’t sit too well with me as something real – it’s more like a cop-out, a way for it to be not so bad. The first half was slowed down, really analysing character; the second half sped up and went many places. It was still enjoyable, but if the novel had just been the first half, it would’ve been just as good. Brashares reminds me of Melina Marchetta, with a real feel for that coming of age period. It’s a very good book, perhaps even better than her Sisterhood series.