The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares

Squeaky swings and tall grass
The longest shadows ever cast
The water's warm and children swim
And we frolicked about in our summer skin

I don't recall a single care
Just greenery and humid air
Then Labor Day came and went
And we shed what was left of our summer skin

On the night you left I came over
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders
Our brand new coats so flushed and pink
And I knew your heart I couldn't win
Cause the season change was a conduit
And we left our love in our summer skin

"Summer Skin" -- Death Cab for Cutie

If you read only ONE book that I have reviewed . . . let it be this one. It's rare that I listen to music while I read . . . it's even rarer that while I read a book a specific song comes to mind. Anyone ever experience this? It seems to make the words on the page that much stronger. Ann Brashares, of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series fame, has written an amazing debut adult novel. The Last Summer (of You & Me) immediately made me think of Death Cab for Cutie's "Summer Skin." If you aren't familiar with the sound of the song, listen to it here at Amazon.

Last Summer is the perfect novel to read after Labor Day when we seem to miss summer already. It's a powerful story of two sisters, Riley and Alice, and their summers spent on Fire Island with their next door neighbor Paul. Riley and Paul are best friends; Alice and Paul are secretly, violently in love with each other. They all struggle with these changing feelings . . . and Alice has to make a staggering decision right as the summer ends. Brashares explores these different relationships with raw emotion but gorgeous words. You'll devour each chapter, each turn in plot so masterfully crafted that you will be unable to do anything but read on. I'll warn you, you'll stay up all night to find out what happens to Riley, Alice and Paul when their summer skins fade into the rest of the year.

[Photo: www.amazon.com]