My Last Summer with Cass

by Mark Crilley

Overview

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759555457
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	137,497
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Mark Crilley is the author and illustrator of more than forty books, including several acclaimed graphic novels, for which he has received fourteen Eisner Award nominations. His work has been featured in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and on CNN Headline News. His popular YouTube videos have been viewed more than 390 million times. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Miki, and children, Matthew and Mio.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2021

Gr 8 Up—After spending eight summers together at a cabin in Topinabee, MI, childhood friends Megan and Cassandra parted ways at 13 when Cass moved to New York City after her parents' divorce. Years later, Megan convinces her overprotective parents to let her visit Cass in New York for three weeks while they are on a nearby business trip. Art brought the friends together back in Topinabee, but as they delve further into their shared passion, they realize their time apart and different family lives have led them in wildly divergent directions, on and off the canvas. The artwork has a pencil-sketch aesthetic, and the coloring alternates among understated shades of blue, green, and orange that take on a cotton-candy softness, complementing Megan's do-gooder personality while contrasting with Cass's exuberance and free-spiritedness. Though the art is stunning, the story is predictable and the main characters underdeveloped. That Megan's character growth happens off the page undermines her conflict between pleasing her parents and pursuing her dreams. Megan and Cass present as white, as do the majority of the secondary characters; Cass's sculptor friend Bahati appears to be Black. Small-scale but visible male frontal nude art, some cursing, and underage drinking are portrayed. VERDICT A beautifully depicted friendship and self-discovery story that misses the mark. An additional purchase.—Alea Perez, Elmhurst P.L., IL

School Library Journal

★ 2020-12-22
Two lifelong friends have a summer in Brooklyn that alters them and their friendship forever.

Every summer until the girls were 13, Cassandra’s and Megan’s families vacationed in the same Michigan cottage, where the two early on discovered their artistic talents. That last summer Cass’ father didn’t show, and Megan worried about how different Cass seemed since they used to be so much alike. A few years later, an ecstatic Megan has convinced her controlling parents to let her visit Cass and her now-divorced mom in Brooklyn. Cass shows Megan around her version of New York, highlighting the stark contrasts between the two girls. Cass seems determined to shock sheltered, Midwestern Megan into becoming as bold and hardened as she is. Despite Cass’ intensity, Megan opens herself to the excitement of the city and begins her journey of finding out who she is separate from her parents’ wishes. Near the end of Megan’s trip, the girls collaborate on a piece that pushes Megan’s boundaries, causing her to make a decision that could cost their friendship. Through subtle, realistic lines and nostalgic, watercolor-style art, including several charming full-panel landscapes, the author creates an immersive story that will resonate with readers. Although the story is told from Megan’s perspective, Cass is very much a fully realized character in this tribute to honest, authentic, creative expression. Megan and Cass read as White, and there is diversity in background characters.

A beautiful coming-of-age story about art and friendship. (Graphic fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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