Last Summer

When Rachel meets Michael, the attraction is mutual and immediate, and the boring summer she's been anticipating in dusty Agatha suddenly appears promising. But then her new beau's painful past begins to get in the way. Michael's life has been torn apart by the death two years earlier of the older brother he idolized. For years Michael and his friend Scott has been at odds with Cory and Taylor. Things begin to spin out of control, and Rachel finds herself caught in the middle of a series of increasingly violent pranks that threaten the stability of the small community and force her to question the boundaries of friendship and trust.

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares comes her first adult novel In the town of Waterby on Fire Island, the rhythms and rituals of summer are sacrosanct: the ceremonial arrivals and departures by ferry; yacht club dinners with terrible food and breathtaking views; the virtual decree against shoes; and the generational parade of sandy, sun-bleached kids, running, swimming, squealing, and coming of age on the beach. Set against this vivid backdrop, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is the enchanting, heartrending story of a beach-community friendship triangle and summertime romance among three young adults for whom summer and this place have meant everything. Sisters Riley and Alice, now in their twenties, have been returning to their parents’ modest beach house every summer for their entire lives. Petite, tenacious Riley is a tomboy and a lifeguard, always ready for a midnight swim, a gale-force sail, or a barefoot sprint down the beach. Beautiful Alice is lithe, gentle, a reader and a thinker, and worshipful of her older sister. And every summer growing up, in the big house that overshadowed their humble one, there was Paul, a friend as important to both girls as the place itself, who has now finally returned to the island after three years away. But his return marks a season of tremendous change, and when a simmering attraction, a serious illness, and a deep secret all collide, the three friends are launched into an unfamiliar adult world, a world from which their summer haven can no longer protect them. Ann Brashares has won millions of fans with her blockbuster series, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in which she so powerfully captured the emotional complexities of female friendship and young love. With The Last Summer (of You and Me), she moves on to introduce a new set of characters and adult relationships just as true, endearing, and unforgettable. With warmth, humor, and wisdom, Brashares makes us feel the excruciating joys and pangs of love—both platonic and romantic. She reminds us of the strength and sting of friendship, the great ache of loss, and the complicated weight of family loyalty. Thoughtful, lyrical, and tremendously moving, The Last Summer (of You and Me is a deeply felt celebration of summer and nostalgia for youth.

The first novel from award-winning author Gianfranco Calligarich to be published in English, Last Summer in the City is a witty and despairing classic of Italian literature. Biting, tragic, and endlessly quotable, this translated edition features an introductory appreciation from longtime fan New York Times bestselling author André Aciman. In a city smothering under the summer sun and an overdose of la dolce vita, Leo Gazarra spends his time in an alcoholic haze, bouncing between run-down hotels and the homes of his rich and well-educated friends, without whom he would probably starve. At thirty, he’s still drifting: between jobs that mean nothing to him, between human relationships both ephemeral and frayed. Everyone he knows wants to graduate, get married, get rich—but not him. He has no ambitions whatsoever. Rather than toil and spin, isn’t it better to submit to the alienation of the Eternal City, Rome, sometimes a cruel and indifferent mistress, sometimes sweet and sublime? There can be no half measures with her, either she’s the love of your life or you have to leave her. First discovered by Natalia Ginzburg, Last Summer in the City is a forgotten classic of Italian literature, a great novel of a stature similar to that of The Great Gatsby or The Catcher in the Rye. Gianfranco Calligarich’s enduring masterpiece has drawn comparisons to such writers as Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, and Jonathan Franzen and is here made available in English for the first time.

Lifestyle journalist Ella Skye remembers every celebrity she interviewed, every politician she charmed between the sheets, and every socialite who eyed her with envy. The chance meeting with her husband, Damien; their rapid free fall into love; and their low-key, intimate wedding are all locked in her memory. But what she can't remember is the tragic car accident that ripped her unborn child from her. Ella can't even recall being pregnant.

Three-year-old Caleb was afraid of the ocean. The waves were so big and fierce, and he was so little. He would play in the sand where the water could not reach him, but he refused to go in-until one magical afternoon last summer. With Dad at his side, gingerly coaxing and encouraging him to "look at the whole ocean, not just the waves," Caleb left his fears behind and stepped into the ocean for the first time.In Last Summer, author and photographer Raquel Jaramillo beautifully blends delicate sepia-tone photos with minimal text from a child's perspective to create a gentle, loving keepsake for any dad. These intimate photographs document the little boy's apprehensions, and his father's loving support, as he ultimately triumphs over fear. Readers will sense that they were there, celebrating with Caleb, sharing the moment when he first splashed into the waves as they crashed onto shore. The story is even more compelling because it's true. On that momentous summer day, Jaramillo captured these moments as her young son found the courage, with just the right words from Dad, to step into the surf. Serving as a metaphor for life, Last Summer is a warm, simple tale that will resonate with both children and adults alike as they remember their own childhood fears, and the sense of joy and independence that emerged once those fears were conquered.

“A thoughtful social commentary and tender narration of friendship and loyalty” from the bestselling author of A Wedding on the Beach (Publishers Weekly). The town of Yorktide, close to Maine’s beautiful beaches and the city of Portland, seems like the perfect place to raise a family. For Jane Patterson, there’s another advantage: her best friend, Frannie Giroux, lives next door, and their teenaged daughters, Rosie and Meg, are inseparable. But in the girls’ freshman year of high school, everything changes. Rosie—quiet, shy, and also very pretty—attracts the sneers and slights of a clique of older girls. Over time, the bullying worsens. When Meg betrays their friendship, fearful that she too will be targeted, Rosie suffers an emotional breakdown. Blaming both Meg and Frannie, Jane tries to help Rosie heal while dealing with her own guilt and anger. In the months that follow, each struggles with the ideas of forgiveness and compassion, of knowing when a friendship is shattered beyond repair—and when hope can be salvaged, one small moment at a time… Praise for Holly Chamberlin “Nostalgia over real-life friendships lost and regained pulls readers into the story.”—USA Today on Summer Friends “A great summer read but with substance. It will find a wide audience in its exploration of sisterhood, family, and loss.”—Library Journal on Summer with My Sisters “A dramatic and moving portrait of several generations of a family and each person’s place within it.”—Booklist on The Family Beach House

Skye is looking for an escape. Her sister died in a tragic accident and her parents think a camp for grieving teens might help her. But when she arrives, Skye starts receiving text messages from someone pretending to be her dead sister. Skye knows it's time to confront the past. But what if the danger is right in front of her?