The Last Summer (of You & Me) & Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Did you read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequels? Did you see the movie? Are you wondering what to read now that you are grown up and ready for an adult novel? Ann Brashares has the answer. She has written a moving story of love and loss that is deeper and more atmospheric than Sisterhood. In Sisterhood, Brashares deals with the relationships between four best friends. Each girl, a character in her own right, goes through her own set of experiences when they are apart during one summer. The girls share a pair of jeans, the Traveling Pants, that somehow magically fit each girl, and which act as a concrete bond between them. Sisterhood reflects the trials and tribulations of the teen years. It shows how the girls' intense friendship provides each with support and a shoulder to cry on when needed.

In the Last Summer, Brashares tells the story of Riley and Alice, two sisters who spend their summers on Fire Island. Riley is the athletic lifeguard, Alice is the shy and quiet younger sister. A third person has made the twosome a threesome for most of their summers. He is Paul, nearer to Riley in age, but loved by Alice. When Paul returns to Fire Island after three years away, a complex situation develops.
Though the trio longs to live in the past and relive their childhood days at the shore, reality and the real world begins to intrude and they must all begin to face their future as adults. Brashares tells their story with great delicacy, sensitivity and emotion. This novel will appeal to adult readers of all ages.