**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.
