My Last Summer With Cass

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Synopsis:

“This One Summer meets The Edge of Seventeen in this poignant coming-of-age YA graphic novel about two childhood friends at a crossroads in their lives and art from the author of Mastering Manga.

Megan and Cass have been joined at the brush for as long as they can remember. For years, while spending summers together at a lakeside cabin, they created art together, from sand to scribbles . . . to anything available. Then Cass moved away to New York.

When Megan finally convinces her parents to let her spend a week in the city, too, it seems like Cass has completely changed. She has tattoos, every artist in the city knows her. She even eats chicken feet now! At least one thing has stayed the same: They still make their best art together.

But when one girl betrays the other’s trust on the eve of what is supposed to be their greatest artistic feat yet, can their friendship survive? Can their art?”

Review:

Friendships are difficult. Especially when it’s a friendship from childhood. People change and friendships change too. Mark Crilley’s graphic novel My Last Summer with Cass is a close-up look at how friendships change and evolve. Megan and Cass are best of friends who spend their summers together. I love how they share their art back and forth and really connect together. But, when Megan visits Cass in NYC, Megan realizes that they’ve both changed and they might not be able to use art to meet in the middle. I do think the ending wrapped things up a little quickly, but overall I really enjoyed this story.

As a graphic novel, the color palette is absolutely stunning. I love the soft pastels that feel so much like summer which is perfect for how this book is set often during the summers. I like the pencil sketching style as well, it really works for the artsy aspect of the book.

Verdict:

A YA book about what friendship means and how life can change things so quickly. This would be a great summer read for teens!

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Need to Know:

Title: My Last Summer With Cass
Author: Mark Crilley
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
Page Number: 256 pgs.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.