Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah

by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan Narrated by Michael Crouch, Sophie Amoss

Overview

The New York Times Bestselling duo behind Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily return with twins out to throw the party of a lifetime--or at least the best party of high school!

Siblings Sam and Ilsa Kehlmann have spent most of their high school years throwing parties for their friends--and now they've prepared their final blowout, just before graduation.

The rules are simple: each twin gets to invite three guests, and the other twin doesn't know who's coming until the partiers show up at the door. With Sam and Ilsa, the sibling revelry is always tempered with a large dose of sibling rivalry, and tonight is no exception.

One night. One apartment. Eight people. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, we all know the answer is plenty. But plenty also goes right, as well...in rather surprising ways.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"It is purely a pleasure to see these characters bounce off one another."—VOYA, starred review

"The duo excels at creating witty characters who deal with real-life struggles in heartwarming, humorous ways" –Publishers Weekly

"A satisfying blend of entertaining quirkiness and thought-provoking wisdom for teens on the brink of what’s next." –Bulletin 

Kirkus Reviews

2018-02-05
This farcical dramedy takes you from appetizers to dessert—but may not leave you feeling sated.It's senior year for brother and sister Sam and Ilsa and time for one final dinner party at their grandmother Czarina's rent-controlled apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. (Czarina's forebears fled Eastern Europe during the pogroms.) The rules are simple: The twins may each invite three people and see how the guests interact. On Sam's side are Ilsa's ex, the suave, ballroom-dancing, Dominican and African-American Parker; Sam's own ex, Jason Goldstein-Chung; and Johan, an Afrikaner whom Sam fell in lust with on the subway. Ilsa's list consists of her school friend Li Zhang; the rude socialite KK Kingsley (presumed white); and Frederyk Podhalanski, a blond Polish exchange student who communicates mostly through his sock puppet, Caspian. Over the course of the evening (narrated in alternating chapters from Ilsa's and Sam's points of view), this mix of former, current, and future lovers fight, drink, scream at one another, drink, philosophize, drink, and (you guessed it) drink some more. The tone of the book is humorous, although it often toes the farcical line from well on the other side. That rare breed of teen reader who quotes Auntie Mame, Absolutely Fabulous, and Neil Simon will devour this, but others may find the characters and scenario excessively mannered.This sweet treat of a story is akin to a croquembouche—light, rich, and delicious but nutritionally lacking. (Fiction. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169267693
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	04/10/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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Excerpted from "Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Rachel Cohn.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Children's Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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