Basically four contemporary stories for the price of one, with each of four sisters alternating POV’s (one per chapter) during a summer of change.

I wish we’d gotten to see Des crafting her illustrated quotes since I very much enjoy reading about artistic processes but I can see where there wasn’t really time to delve into that, her story was more focused on breaking out of her shell a bit, realizing it’s okay to do some things for herself instead of always in service to her family, a journey I liked although a certain someone deserved even more anger from her.

Bea is the potentially controversial character of the bunch as another guy catches her eye before she’s found the strength to break things off with her long-time boyfriend. Understandably a lot of readers have issues with cheating, I didn’t mind Bea’s story, I thought the fallout, particularly Bea in the kitchen was some of the best emotion in the book, and I also really liked the moments with her rival.

For me, Kat had the least interesting story, she’s recovered from an eating disorder and aspires to be an actress but the focus here was on fake dating to win her ex back and then dump him. I unfortunately didn’t feel much chemistry between Kat and either possible love interest. Also, it seemed like the cat cafe was just thrown in there because cat cafe’s were trendy for a minute, it made zero sense why Kat would get a job there, she didn’t need that job to be close to her fake date, she was co-lead with him in a play, they could have been together working on rehearsals all the time which they’re never shown doing, instead they were randomly and unnecessarily renovating a cat cafe. I don’t know, it just seemed underdeveloped and like the author maybe didn’t quite know what to do with Kat.

Vi’s potential love interest had more of an arc than Vi did, still Vi’s story was sweet and it was fun to see her constantly singing the praises of various books she’s loved.

While I would have liked to see the sisters interact a bit more and as mentioned there were elements in each of their stories that I thought could have benefited from a little something more but overall if you’re looking for a novel to take outside on a sunny day this will do the job nicely enough. ( )

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was the perfect summer read! Jessica Spotswood has successfully made me want to buy a boat and live near a marina. Just the idea of laying on the deck and watching fireworks makes me smile! It sounds so relaxing and fun. One of the sisters, Bea, makes a comment about it being like a tiny house on the water, which would definitely force me to be a minimalist.

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls had a very Gilmore Girls vibe that I enjoyed. They live in a small town where it's impossible to keep secrets, and the townspeople live for the gossip. There are also no strangers except for the tourists they occasionally see throughout the year. There's an old bookstore, a Tabby Cat Café that has literal cats (they can also be adopted from there!), and even a yearly reenactment that people get really excited about.

I loved their Gram and how accepting she was of her grandchildren. They were all so very different, and she treasured them like they were her own. The girls also appreciated their Gram and how much she's done for them over the years. She trusts them to do what is right, and is there for them when they make a mistake.

I feel like there was a lot that could have been elaborated on, but I understand that can be difficult when you're telling a story through five different perspectives. There is a lot going on in each of their lives, and unfortunately some of the details were left out. They were small threads that I was following in the background, but most of them are never mentioned again. An example would be Bea's movie date with Erik and how Savannah taunted her with bringing Gabe. Bea gets ready for her date, but we have now idea how it went or if Savannah followed through with her threat. Bea was also really nervous about the date, and I was curious about how it ended.

The bookstore belongs to the Garrett family, and the author references a lot of YA authors and titles. She specifically mentions Nina LaCour and a variety of LGBTQ books. One of the characters is openly gay, another is bisexual, and one is still figuring things out. I thought Jessica Spotswood did a wonderful job of creating characters that a lot of people will be able to relate to.

There are a lot of Harry Potter references. Pets were named Remus, Sirius and Crookshanks, but there were also a lot of shirts and sayings that related to the books. It felt a little forced at times, but it wasn't too over-the-top. I was also happy about the X-Men shout out! Three of the horses were named Storm, Gambit and Rogue.

I think there were a lot of good points made about women's rights, equality and acceptance.

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls touches on family, friendships and how those two things can change over time. It was a fun story that I really enjoyed reading and had a hard time putting down. Every chapter was about a different sister, and I was quickly caught up in each of their stories. There were a few times when I cringed internally at someone's behavior or actions, but that's life. People make mistakes, but it's how they learn and grow from them that matters. I think each individual sister did a lot of growing over the summer, and I thought their story ended in a really great place.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on June 13, 2018.
https://www.doyoudog-ear.com/2018/06/the-last-summer-of-garrett-girls-by.html ( )

Review to come, but I can easily say that this is one of my favourite YA reads ever. The representation in this book makes such an impact, and I’ll be praising this book to everyone I see for the foreseeable future! ( )

Review to come, but I can easily say that this is one of my favourite YA reads ever. The representation in this book makes such an impact, and I’ll be praising this book to everyone I see for the foreseeable future! ( )

This honestly has SO MANY elements that I look for in a contemporary, so I was kinda super excited. I’m a sucker for family stories - especially sibling relationships!!! So a story about 4 sisters last summer all together at home before they start moving on with their own futures had my name written all over it. Unfortunately, the story didn’t really wow me - I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. Though I do think it’s a perfect “between book” to read, especially in the summer.

Things I Liked
Guess who will always love a fake-dating trope! MEEEEE!!! So I was super excited to see one here. Honestly, I’d probably just read the book for Kat and Mase because they were both super cute and both great in their own ways.

There was a lot of great diversity in this story too! Mase, is a bisexual Asian American character. Vi, the youngest Garrett sister is an out and proud lesbian. Vi’s love interest, Cece is a queer latinx character. There’s also a lot of talk about feminism and Vi’s feminist screen tees are always good for a laugh. Kat also discusses her issues with her eating disorder, and while she’s in recovery the topic isn’t ignored.

Things I Didn’t Like
I think that the 3rd person POV kept me a bit removed from the story. I just didn’t connect to the characters at all and I felt off to me.

I found Des to be uber naive given that she’s the oldest and has the most responsibility. I guess I just found her to be too trusting, and if your going to have a character flaw, that’s not a bad one to have even if it can read frustratingly.

Bea was definitely my least favorite sister and since her whole storyline revolved around cheater, she never really stood a chance with me.

There were so many pop culture references and everyone of them drew me right out of the story. I also found a majority of them to feel forced and kinda try-hard.

This wasn’t the best book I’ve read recently, but I did still enjoy it. It’s like junk food in a book form - not because the quality isn’t there or it lack substance, but because it makes you feel good, you have a great time with it, and it makes you want to read more. The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is a solid summer read about family and self discovery.

I received a copy of the book from Sourcebooks FIRE via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )