The Last Summer (Of You & Me) / by Ann Brashares

Best known for her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants novels, Ann Brashares has become a staple of Young Adult fiction. Her first contemporary adult novel, published in 2007, explores the relationship between two sisters and a long-time male friend during one summer at a Long Island beach community, and the subsequent times thereafter.
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Riley and Alice have summered at their family's Fire Island (NY) beach house for as long as they can remember. Now in their 20's--Riley, 24 and Alice, 21--they're spending what could be their last summer next door to Paul, a boy who's the same age as Riley but belongs to the social sphere of the wealthy elite. Through all the summers together and despite any social barriers, Paul's become not just a close friend but practically a brother to the two girls, sharing in lifes ups and downs and connecting on an especially companionable level. Though technically just friends, Alice has long been in love with Paul and Paul with Alice though neither have ever been able to own it. Riley, always the independent tomboy, headstrong and uninhibited in everything, recognizes the romance but has a difficult time reconciling herself to the fact that one of her best friends and only sister seem destined for each other, especially as she herself harbors her own unresolved feelings about Paul.
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When Riley is diagnosed with a serious, possibly fatal heart condition, Alice is told but Paul is kept in the dark. Quickly, things between the friends become complicated as Alice struggles to balance her love for Paul with loyalty to her older sister while Riley must face her own mortality and bear a falsehood which goes against her honest, genuine and forthright nature. Paul does his best to sift through the awkwardness of things while trying to come to terms with his own conscience and convictions. As the knowledge and secret of Riley's illness takes hold, a rift steadily arises between the two sisters, and ultimately Paul, as the trio is forced to confront a pivotal period in their young lives and the bond between them which has sustained their friendship for so long.
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Brashares is intuitive and understanding when it comes to characteristics which drive relationships, but she doesn't quite hit the mark on this one. With a talent for establishing an intriguing premise and introspective characters, the author seems to be at a loss to resolve any of the interconnected conflicts and things become stagnant amid too much self-evaluation and dreamy meanderings. Memories of better times are constantly rehashed in the minds and hearts of all three protagonists; a perhaps deliberate, but altogether confusing device detracting too much from the present tense. As the plot evolves, the three lives are well-fleshed out but any personal revelations fail to grow the story or break through the cycle of sad and troublesome quandaries constantly lingering in the context.

The Last Convertible / by Anton Myrer

American novelist and WWII veteran Anton Myrer (1922-1996) wrote several well-received books, many of them on war, combat experiences the personal repercussions involved. The Last Convertible chronicles the intertwining paths of several youths entering their college years just prior to World War II.

"One minute we were a group of awkward,ill at ease strangers thrown together by chance, the next we were a force...comrades, partners, band of brothers, call us what you will."

The group of friends who would become known as the "Fusiliers" (George, Jean-Jean, Terry, Dal, Chris) all arrive at Harvard's freshman orientation in the early autumn of 1940, soon establishing solid mutual friendships among themselves and building loyalty to one another even amid attachments with several likable though somewhat garish females. Collectively, as each are caught up in the ensuing tumultuous years of the Second World War, their lives and subsequent relationship characterized and defined by the turmoil at home and abroad--also, to a lesser extent, through the affection each share for the "Empress", the green 1938 custom convertible. Preserving the memories for all is George Darrow, the leader of the group, who understands the importance of memory, legacy and, above all, love. George knows that love, with it's loyalty, pain, schisms, dreams; its essence often questioned, often broken, yet somehow is always redeemed defines the substance of life.

Through George's eyes, we watch as the group's fortunes rise and fall, their marriages bloom and are strained even as their own bonds of friendship grow, solidify and ultimately fall away. We read as their children grow, suffer, live and, in George's case, die (his son Ronny in Veitnam), carrying on the paradox and pathos of love and brotherhood vs. war and death as a way of life. With fine, lyrical prose, Myrer describes the pivotal World War II years and the impact and legacy the events surrounding the lives of those who lived it years after the fact. Thrilling and vivid descriptions of WW2 activity with it's inevitable trauma and loss are portrayed accurately even as romance away from the battlefield abounds with the flowery pursuit of true love throughout. This is an exceptional work by Anton Myrer, written almost as if he had lived the story himself. (FIC MYRER)

Looking Back / by Belva Plain

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There's a reason why friends come and go. A fact of life learned the hard way for three college roommates when graduation begets adulthood. Cecile, Norma and Amanda are practically family after four years together; literally so for the beautiful Amanda who's engaged to Norma's brother Larry. A marriage of sacrifice more than compatibility (definitely not love with Larry a total loser), it's a step toward the financial independence Amanda's always longed for. The price is high though as, predictably, things sour quickly between the couple, ultimately propelling Amanda into a dangerous affair with the worst possible person--her own father-in-law/Norma and Larry's dad.

Things aren't quite as desperate for the other two...at the moment. Cecile's marriage to lawyer Peter couldn't be better. Really and truly their only disputes revolve around plans for their dream house and what to name their anticipated firstborn. And despite looks to match her name, Norma's liking life as well. Always the brainy one, her teaching job at a prestigious prep school has opened windows of opportunity she never could have imagined, even the soul mate she dared not dream of. But with Amanda's perilous circumstances escalating, how will all three friends handle the drama if (when) the affair is exposed?

Belva Plain's name has been thrown around with much the same weight as Debbi Macomber and Anna Quindlen in recent years. And for good reason. This is a "fun" book with characters fleshed out just enough to draw sympathy before some bitter misdeeds expose each's truest, darkest convictions. It's not quite dark enough to be sad though. Melodrama withstanding, the mood stays relatively "light", positioning characters and circumstances more to dissuade un-sympathy than promote partiality among the three friends. Easy and entertaining, it's a good book for lazy readers.

New African-American Fiction Titles!

Between Goodbyes

by Anita Bunkley
After a harrowing escape to Florida aboard a renegade boat of Haitians, Afro-Cuban Niya Loundres must now cope with unfamiliar surroundings and fair-weather ‘friends’. By chance she lands a waitress job at a floundering Jamaican restaurant where, with time, she works her way into a life as a nightclub dancer. Meshing natural ability with innate beauty, Niya becomes in-demand almost overnight; finding success to be as treacherous as it is advantageous.



What You Won’t Do for Love

by Wendy Coakley-Thompson
After another letdown in the romance department, Chaney Braxton moves to Washington D.C. hoping for a fresh start. One day while walking her sister’s dog, she meets Devin Rhym who, in addition to being a veterinarian, also has a penchant for Asian cuisine. As sparks fly between Chaney and Devin, so does the baggage as past relationships, family drama, and tragedy force each to re-evaluate their feelings.

Trouble Loves Company

by Angie Daniels
Renee, Danielle, and Kayla are three sexy, sassy thirty-somethings rolling with life’s ups and downs and together sharing life’s hard-learned lessons. Despite a devoted husband, romance author Renee is dissatisfied with marriage; viewing it more and more as the button-down lifestyle she’s always dreaded. Kayla just knows the Rev. Leroy Brown will leave his family for her until she finds him in bed with another woman (not his wife) and single mom Danielle struggles to raise her teenage daughter even as her own relationship drama heats up.



Gotta’ Keep on Tryin’

by Virginia Deberry & Donna Grant
Pat and Gayle are longtime best friends who co-own and operate a business together—Ell & Me, Inc., a children’s toy company based around a storytime character Gayle created several years ago. But trouble arises when secrets from the past emerge threatening to destroy both their business partnership and time-tested friendship.

Less Than Zero / by Brett Easton Ellis

Winter break brings 19-year-old Clay home from his first semester back east. The son of wealthy LA ‘people’, his life and that of his equally over-privileged friends seamlessly yields itself back to the partying, out-on-the-edge days before college. But any joy is lost on a dissolute Clay. Drowning in his own solitary void, a numbness to the high-times is only compounded by the ugly depravity of his once-closest friends.

American Psycho (both book and movie) made Ellis a cult icon but Less Than Zero first acknowledged him as a voice for Generation X. Published in 1985, the novel stirred controversy with its revelation of California’s drug culture and some its most loyal patrons--children of LA’s wealthy upper-crust. Perpetually aware but never surprised, Ellis’ style remains devoid of emotion. Clay’s world is one without hope, without feeling where characters exist below the surface. No action is interpreted and reactions are never personalized as Clay's own reflections remain far from the plot's content focusing instead on distant memories from the past. Despite this, or perhaps even because of it, Clay’s character is still felt by the book’s end.

Ironic Footnote: This book was made into a 1987 movie starring Robert Downey Jr.