I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

I really wanted to like this book, but try as I might, I could never get fully invested in the story. I felt like I dragged my feet the entire way through this novel.

I added The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls to my TBR about 2 years ago and then promptly forgot all about it. But then I decided to scroll my TBR list for a challenge I gave myself in 2020 and I came across it again and back on the radar it went. And in the end it was really good. I know 3.5 stars doesn’t look like a rave review, but it really was a good story. The only reason I didn’t rate it higher is I think because it was 4 POVs and not a focus on 1 or 2, some of the stories felt a little rushed. Don;t get me wrong, I was mostly satisfied, but I think each girl would have benefitted from having their own book, their own stories apart from their sisters. For example I didn’t love Des. She was the only Garrett girl I was not a fan of and I think that is because I didn’t really get to know her. She was a girl I got a to learn about every 4th chapter. If she had her own book I think I would have understood and liked her more. But that aside, The Last Summer of the Garret Girls was a quick read and at its core about growing up and moving on. I think this deserves a spot on your TBR.

Great characterization and well-fleshed out setting.  One of her best, will certainly recommend this one to students.

Loved this book - I had actually never read Little Women(gasp) so I did not go into this book with any expectations to live up to the retelling.  I had seen the movie so, I knew some of the basics... I really enjoyed the updated storyline and inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters.  I enjoyed this book so much, it had me downloading Little Women as soon as I was finished.

This was a good YA novel! It’s not a genre I usually visit, but I really enjoyed this story. Characters were well developed and the contemporary narrative seems like it would be relatable for youn* peopl3 today. I’d love to see a sequel!

5/5 STARS

YOU GUYS. I honestly don't have the words for how good this book was? It's so difficult to balance multiple characters, giving them each unique personalities, inciting incidents, conflicts, desires, and even harder to do so in a way where readers will be able to keep them separate, remember who is who. I think of LITTLE WOMEN when I think of a book that did it well, and that book's pace is so much slower than this one, and the timeline so much more spread out. The fact this book accomplished that so well, and was so delightful at the same time, is just...

Honestly? Just read it yourself, because I can't praise it highly enough. Each of the sisters is going through a summer of transition, and it's at times painful, but it's also beautiful, hopeful, and lovely to see their bonds in action.

I would recommend this book for lovers of The Gilmore Girls and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  It's a great read for those looking for coming-of-age lit mixed with a bit of sass.  Spotswood did a good job of alternating POVs, which can sometimes through things off for the reader.  I loved getting glimpses into each sister's personality.

"The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls" by Jessica Spotswood is a delightful modern-day, inclusive retelling of "Little Women."  The resemblance to the March sisters, however, is only obvious at a surface level as the Garrett girls neither share names nor personalities with the former.  At turns funny, smart, sad, and heartwarming, this book is a must-read not only for fans of "Little Women," but also for anyone looking for a book that will make you feel something and remind you of what it was like to be young (even if you still are!).  5/5 stars.

This was a DNF FOR me. The pacing was kind of slow and the constant changes of the pic of the sisters wasn't really distracting at times. I feel that they  should have focus on 2-3 sisters instead of all them.

I loved this book!  The town is very, very cute, much like Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls.  If you are a fan of romance, I would highly recommend.

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is pretty much exactly what it looks like from the cover- a cute, summery coming of age novel in the vein of sisterhood of the traveling pants or a Sarah Dessen novel. Split across 4 narratives for the 4 Garret sisters, each protagonist is dealing with some major life changes as they navigate the last summer that they're all together before one of them leaves home for college. Though a bit predictable and not especially memorable among the many, many YA novels with similar concepts, I did appreciate the feminist narrative voice that Jessica Spotswood brought to the story.

What I Enjoyed:

-The girls are named after Shakespeare characters

-There is a lot of representation and diversity, including sexuality, gender roles, cultural diversity, etc.

-The cutest cat cafe ever is featured (and I loved Bea's ideas for renovating it and building up its social media presence)

-The four narrative voices were distinct

-There was a good blend of romance and non-romance focused plots (and Vi and her love interest were just the cutest)

-So much feminism without it feeling heavy handed or like "THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT FEMINISM." It just featured four girls who grew up in a very forward thinking family and who bring those ideals into their every day life.
   
-Features a strong and prominent grandparent!

What I Was Less Than Impressed With:

-Predictability: There were a LOT of plots where the outcome was pretty predictable, especially with Bea and Kat.
    
-Lack of Communication: A lot of the drama can also be attributed to a character not telling another character something (usually because they were procrastinating on a confrontation) that made things drag along at times.
    
-Des: I think at times I grew realistically frustrated with all of the characters, but Des really irked me as a reader. While I felt sorry for her being the "Cinderella" of the family, she had this combination of being a victim and self-righteous at the same time, and her blind loyalty to a newcomer to town over her own family was pretty frustrating.

Overall: The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is definitely cute and summery, with the added bonus of a lot of diversity, feminism, and representation being included. However, I felt like I didn't really connect with any of the characters and the story lines didn't feel very original. While this one wasn't my favorite read of the summer, I am definitely curious to continue to try novels by Jessica Spotswood as I love the feminism and diversity she incorporated in this one!

Last Summer of the Garret Girls follows four sisters from the ages of preteen to college age. 

We have Des the oldest, Bea a recent high school graduate, Vi who is in early high school, and Kat who is also in high school. 

This truly was a perfect summer read for me. It was light and funny but also dealt with a lot of real life things as well.

Des being the oldest has given up going to college so that she can help out there grandma with raising the other girls, as well as now running the families bookshop. While she loves doing it, she also feels a little bit like it's just expected of her now and like she is missing soo much of life, that her best friend is getting to experience. 

Bea is in a way stuck. She's planned out her whole life with her longtime boyfriend, but now she's not sure if that's what she wants. 

Vi has a huge crush on a girl, but the girl has a boyfriend and is also from a family that doesn't appear to support the LGBT community. Vi is also a huge reader and was one of my favorite characters.

While Kat might be the youngest, she's also the one that they all watch the closest because she is recovering from an eating disorder. She is also now set on making her ex-boyfriend want her back. 



Overall I really enjoyed this story. The sibling bond between all the girls, and the real-life things they were going through felt real. We get to see things from each girls perspective in a new chapter making it incredibly easy to follow along with. They all go through different things, but they are also still really connected. This book also showed how easy it can be too forget to tell your family things, or not want to burden them with certain things which aren't really talked about a lot, but is something that really should be talked about because it happens to everyone at some point in their life.

A great contemporary summer read perfect for fans of Jenny Han or Stepphanie Perkins. It is easy and fun to read and perfect for a summer holiday.

This summer I am all about Summer themed books, and The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood sounded like the most perfect summer read! (Also, the cover for this book is gorgeous, and definitely hard to resist!)

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is a modern retelling of super popular Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I have not read the original classic before, but I know the just of the story, and The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is actually the second retelling of the book that I've read this year. It's super fascinating to read each authors different version of the original story, and reading these books definitely makes me want to read the original sometime!

One of the things I liked most about this book were the characters. The story is told from each of the Garrett sisters perspective, and I loved this because it felt like we got to know each sister so much more this way. I loved them all, and the bond between them is really great. Another thing I liked about this book was that there were SO many diverse characters. Like, seriously, SO MANY! And they were all awesome, so there's definitely many people to love in the story.

The storyline for this book felt like Little Women meets Gilmore Girls, and that, in addition to the great characters, was what had me hooked on the story. I loved the small town, summer/holiday weekend setting, and I would love for this town to be read so I could visit in real life!

Overall; The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls was a super fun summer read, so if you're looking for a book to put on your Summer TBR, you'll most definitely want to look into this book! The characters are great, the storyline is sweet, and the setting is a place that you'll definitely want to visit. Combine all these things together, and you get a perfect summer read. I am now definitely looking forward to reading more books by Jessica Spotswood in the future!

Happy Reading!!

I received an early copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is cute enough with tons of representation, told from the perspective of 4 sisters who are each experiencing changes in their lives over one summer. I feel like there were a ton of different plot points and many of them felt rushed by the end, just so they could be tied up with the proverbial bow. This would be a great summer/beach read.

Review will be posted week of 7/16/18

The Garrett sisters live in Remington Hollow, Maryland, a small, quiet coastal town reminiscent of Gilmore Girls' Stars Hollow.  There are four Garrett sisters. First there's Des, the oldest, who feels a lot of pressure to help out her grandmother, who has fallen ill and is the sole caretaker of the girls, and she also feels a responsibility towards her younger siblings.  Then there's Bea, who just graduated high school and is trying to figure it all out. She is questioning things and asking herself what she really wants.  Next up is Kat, who is all about the community's theater program, but things don't go as planned when her ex-boyfriend is casted in the play as well.  Lastly, there's Vi, who is a lesbian and has strong feelings for someone, but will they like her back?  Can she put herself out there? The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls has something for every YA reader and it makes for a heartwarming beach read.

All four Garrett girls are memorable in their own right, but I found myself very interested in Des, the oldest.  Her struggle between helping her family and doing what she wants is something that many people can relate to.  I also really liked how the author switched the points of view between each girl so we could get to know them individually. I also really liked the chapters in The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls that focused on Vi and I think it's good that Spotswood included a gay character that wasn't just a caricature.   I also appreciated Vi's love of YA books as well as her references to books. Bookworms will absolutely love this! I found myself nodding my head a lot when she would talk books; I would so want to be friends with her!

The setting of The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls was so darn cute. It was very Stars Hollow and I love that! Everyone in town knows everyone else's stories and the fact that it's on the coast added to the town's charm.  Also, the Garrett family owns an independent bookstore that Des helps run and this was just a cherry on top of the sundae for me.

This was a quiet sort of summertime read and one that I think many YA female readers will appreciate this book the most, especially the bookish sort. Plus, The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls has a feminist vibe to it, which I also found to be delightful. We need more of that in YA literature and less damsel in distress type of females.  So, if you are looking for coming of age/feel good story this summer, add this one to your TBR list.

Started a little slow. But a good read  I enjoyed it. I recommend it. I’d buy it for a friend. I will read more by this author.

Paperback Princess Blurb

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood is four stories interwoven into one. It's a story of four sisters navigating their own lives whilst trying to remain as one family unit, during their potentially, last summer all together. 

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is four stories rolled into the one book. It's a beautifully written YA contemporary novel perfect for a summer read...or for those of us "hoping" it was summer 😆

The characters of this novel really made it perfect for me. The sisters; Des, Bea, Kat & Vi, had such distinctive voices, and their own individual stories that I thoroughly enjoyed each one. It's told in alternating chapters between the four sisters, but they were in systematical order (oldest to youngest and repeat) and were also clearly labeled so there was no confusion who was who, however, once you have read a few chapters into the book you'll no longer need to be told who's chapter it was, as each girl had distinctive voices. The similarities between the four stop at their looks, they couldn't be more different. 

Des is the eldest and has taken on the motherly role since they lost their parents and her Grandmother had knee surgery. She does all the cleaning and runs the family book store. She finds herself wanting more for herself, and she goes to explore these avenues, unfortunately not all her "trials" and "experiments" worked out too well, but in the journey she found herself a bit more, and found her voice. 

Bea is the success story. She is going to college at Georgetown, she's got a journalism internship at the local newspaper and has a long-term boyfriend that she is assumed to be marrying in the future, but she's now unsure if she still wants the life she's created. 

Kat is a drama queen (literally) and a heartbroken one at that; she's been left for another girl. In her efforts to win back her ex, she soon discovers that maybe what she originally seen in him was not what she wanted all along, and just maybe there's someone better for her.

Vi is the youngest sister and she's had a long crush on a girl she's known her whole life, but just because she's confident enough to come out to the world, not everyone is, and we see her journey into finding out whether the girl of her dreams...even likes girls!

I absolutely loved the girls, and it's definitely a character driven novel. You just fall in love with these girls, and just want things to work out for all of them, that's truly what kept me reading till the end. I was definitely invested in the characters.

I am truly amazed at Jessica's skills in how she wrote this novel; having four distinctive characters is quite hard to write, yet she did it so well, it's fluidity and distinction was well done.

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls is a young adult contemporary novel that is somewhat a coming of age story, each of the four sisters are on a journey to try and figure out their life, who they are and what they want. Definitely a must read for those that enjoy The Gilmore Girls, Little Women and any other novel that has bad ass feminist characters!

I knew I was going to love this book from the description! I love the relationships between sisters explored in YA (though I admit that, not having any myself, I can't speak for how realistic they are), and I love that each of the sisters was so different.

This had tropes galore, but they were all done so well that everyone else who uses these tropes needs to step it up. For example, there's a fake dating storyline. It was so adorable I screamed. I'll admit that not all of them were for me, however. Slight spoilers ahead: there was also a cheating storyline, which I am always very uncomfortable reading. I thought it was handled very well, but I still would have liked the book more without it.

My favorite part of this was the characters. I couldn't pick a favorite of the sisters, and each of their storylines was developed so well. I was a little apprehensive about having four alternating points of view, but it worked so well! I can't imagine this book working without them.