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A review by morganthebookishbeagle
The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood
4.0
3.5 stars. This was sweet! The Gilmore Girls meets Little Women description is very apt. I loved the small town setting and I liked that each sister had their own POV chapters. I think Kat's might have been my favorite surprisingly but they all had their pluses, and Vi's was a super cute f/f plot line. The whole book in general went out of its way to include many different LGBTQIA representations (bi, lesbian, gay, and I'm pretty sure unnamed ace as well), as well as Asian American and Latinx characters, most of it intersectional. It was super refreshing in the small town setting and noticeable from a readers perspective because it's more than I normally see to be honest. And all of the romances were written so well!
My main gripe is how... earnest some of the writing was. The author went out of her way to include very current book and tv references that I think will get lost in the future but definitely makes it fun for today's teen readers. Some of the current social topics felt forced too, as far how the characters spoke about certain things- it could have felt more natural. I found the writing tense took some getting used to as well, not my fave. There are also some trigger warnings to be mindful of, such as dead parents, former eating disorders, cheating, and some homophobia (including the f word, which really irritated me) that's immediately challenged on the page. Overall, I liked how each sister had real personalities and interests that differed from each other but didn't feel like they were sorted into boxes. And there were a lot of examples of friendships being repaired, especially between girls, which I think is lovely and important.
My main gripe is how... earnest some of the writing was. The author went out of her way to include very current book and tv references that I think will get lost in the future but definitely makes it fun for today's teen readers. Some of the current social topics felt forced too, as far how the characters spoke about certain things- it could have felt more natural. I found the writing tense took some getting used to as well, not my fave. There are also some trigger warnings to be mindful of, such as dead parents, former eating disorders, cheating, and some homophobia (including the f word, which really irritated me) that's immediately challenged on the page. Overall, I liked how each sister had real personalities and interests that differed from each other but didn't feel like they were sorted into boxes. And there were a lot of examples of friendships being repaired, especially between girls, which I think is lovely and important.