The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls

by Jessica Spotswood

[Sam@WLABB]

My love for family stories is endless, and The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls was one that combine so many wonderful elements to yield a thoughtful, fun, and heartwarming story of four sisters, who experience cataclysmic changes over the course of a summer.

• Pro: Sister stories are always so wonderful, and these sisters are closer than close due to losing their parents when they were younger. The bond between them was unquestionable, and there were some fabulous scenes where that sisterly love just burst from the page.

• Pro: I like multi-POV books. This one has four - one for each sister, and I thought Spotswood did a great job keeping each voice distinct. I had no problem telling them apart.

• Pro: Each character was dealing with her own issues, some bigger than others, and I think there is a little something there for everyone to relate to.

• Con: I love popular culture, but for some reason, I don't like too much of it in the books I read. I do understand that this story revolves around four teenaged girls, but there were a lot of references.

• Pro: There is lots of feminism celebrated here.

• Pro: I am giving a shout out to the grandmother, because I love them, and the Grarrett Girls' grandmother was really special. She didn't get a ton of page time, but the time she did get was quality time, and I really liked the way she interacted with the girls and helped guide them along the way.

• Pro: I kept finding myself smiling and laughing, because this book was a lot of fun. It was also all sorts of cute and adorable with just a touch of drama to keep us on our toes.

• Pro: Books set in small towns are always winners for me, and this one had all the charm you expect form a coastal little town. I loved meeting all the business women, touring the shops, attending a field party, and celebrating Fourth of July with the Garretts and their neighbors.

• Pro: Each character experienced some growth during the book, but the one who changed the most was Kat, and her story was probably my favorite as well. Kat was not the most likable in the beginning of the book. However, after entering into a fauxmance as a revenge plot against her ex-boyfriend, she undergoes a lot of personal changes, and I really liked late-summer Kat a lot.

• Pro: There's romance, and you know I can never get enough of that. Kat had her fauxmance storyline, and Vi had a really special first romance, which was terribly sweet. I shipped both couples, and it was delightful seeing how their relationships developed.

Overall: A delightful, which thoughtfully explored the dynamics of sisterhood and growing up.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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