Scan barcode
A review by beckymmoe
The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood
4.0
Reviewed on my blog, Becky on Books, on 6/17/18.
Oh, goodness. Such a cute story--[b:Little Women|1934|Little Women (Little Women, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517s/1934.jpg|3244642] meets "Gilmore Girls" by way of [a:Sarah Dessen|2987|Sarah Dessen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372181953p2/2987.jpg], indeed! (And it only took me until the "about the author"section at the end to remember why her name seemed so familiar--we met her at the Rochester Teen Book Festival a few years back--duh!)
The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is told in alternating POVs--each sister gets a turn, from oldest to youngest, which was fun even if it did sometimes feel like we were just getting into one of them when poof! it was off to the next sister. Still, I liked seeing things from each of their viewpoints. (The tense of the story was a bit strange, though--present instead of the usual past. It tended to throw me at the beginning of chapters, though for some reason mid-chapter I never seemed to take notice.) It really made understanding their motivations--especially when they made really questionable choices--a lot easier. (Bea, for example--I usually have a huge problem with people who cheat, but seeing her nearly wrecking herself with all of the pressure and the guilt made it understandable, even if she was still wrong. Also, it seemed appropriate that this article showed up in my inbox while I was reading her story.)
I already have two of Ms. Spotwood's anthologies--I'll be keeping an eye out for more of her longer fiction now too!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Oh, goodness. Such a cute story--[b:Little Women|1934|Little Women (Little Women, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517s/1934.jpg|3244642] meets "Gilmore Girls" by way of [a:Sarah Dessen|2987|Sarah Dessen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372181953p2/2987.jpg], indeed! (And it only took me until the "about the author"section at the end to remember why her name seemed so familiar--we met her at the Rochester Teen Book Festival a few years back--duh!)
The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is told in alternating POVs--each sister gets a turn, from oldest to youngest, which was fun even if it did sometimes feel like we were just getting into one of them when poof! it was off to the next sister. Still, I liked seeing things from each of their viewpoints. (The tense of the story was a bit strange, though--present instead of the usual past. It tended to throw me at the beginning of chapters, though for some reason mid-chapter I never seemed to take notice.) It really made understanding their motivations--especially when they made really questionable choices--a lot easier. (Bea, for example--I usually have a huge problem with people who cheat, but seeing her nearly wrecking herself with all of the pressure and the guilt made it understandable, even if she was still wrong. Also, it seemed appropriate that this article showed up in my inbox while I was reading her story.)
I already have two of Ms. Spotwood's anthologies--I'll be keeping an eye out for more of her longer fiction now too!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.