The Last Best Story

by Maggie Lehrman

A witty, fresh romantic comedy, set on one fateful prom night, about two high-schools seniors who can’t quite admit they are in love. Think E. Lockhart meets Katie Cotugno.

It’s the end of senior year, and Rose Regnero is over it.

She’s over chasing stories for a school newspaper no one reads. Over missing out on “normal” high school life. And most of all, over Grant Leitch: editor-in-chief, former close friend, never-quite-boyfriend. Now all she wants is a typical prom, complete with handsome date, fancy corsage, and dancing to cheesy pop songs.

It’s the end of senior year, and Grant Leitch is in denial.

He’s in denial about handing over the reins of the paper to an unworthy underclassman. In denial that Rose suddenly, inexplicably quit the paper and now won’t talk to him. But mostly he’s in denial that she is at prom with another guy, and it’s no one’s fault but his own. Grant’s only hope of luring Rose back to him (and the paper) is a juicy story she won’t be able to resist.

In the end it takes a toga-wearing prom crasher, an emergency lockdown, a secret stalker, and a wild after-party to bring Grant and Rose together for one last story...and one final chance to admit that they’re made for each other.

• ISBN13: 9780062320773
• Publish Date: 20 September 2018 (first published 7 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 15 October 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: Balzer and Bray
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

For almost four years Rose had been Grant's "person", but then she abruptly walked away from the paper, journalism, and Grant too. The search for the truth about the gunman was their last chance to work on a story together, and maybe their last shot at friendship as well.

• Pro: The parts, which focused on the journalistic aspects were very interesting. I really enjoyed getting to see their whole process.

• Pro: I keep seeing a lot of reviewers saying they hated Grant. I didn't hate grant. He was flawed, and his singular focus was sometimes frustrating, but I didn't hate him. As a matter of fact, I was sort of awed by his passion for finding the truth.

• Pro: Both Rose and Grant were struggling with things. We get to see some of their hardships via flashbacks and in present time. The issues steering the plot, Grant's reticence to start a relationship or maintain the friendship, as well as Rose's realization that maybe everything she had been hyper-focused on wasn't what she wanted, felt very authentic, and I think many could relate to these quandaries.

• Pro: The mystery of the gun kept me quite interested in the present day story, and I liked the searching for the missing pieces of the puzzle.

• Pro: Though the book tackled some serious issues - gun violence, divorce, sexual assault, it was not too serious. There were quite a few hilarious moments and some heartfelt ones too. I definitely sensed that end of an era nostalgia as well.

• Pro: I thought the ending was really good, and it's always great to end on a high note.

Overall: An interesting evening spent searching the story, the truth, and one's purpose.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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