Published: March 2021
Series: N/A
Author: Mark Crilley
Illustrator: Mark Crilley
Genres: Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Contemporary, Comics, Art, Fiction, Friendship, Realistic Fiction, Coming Of Age, Teen
Audience (Grade Levels): High School; 9-12
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads Link: My Last Summer with Cass
Triggers: Friendship betrayal, emotional conflict, identity changes, navigating trust
Review By: Sara Tripp
Publisher’s Summary:
A coming-of-age YA graphic novel about two childhood friends at a crossroads in their lives and art.
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:
“My Last Summer with Cass” is like an emotional rollercoaster that you didn’t see coming. Friendship, love, and a whole lot of childhood nostalgia packed into one sun-soaked read. Cass is a confident independent teenage girl. Megan is self conscious and worrier. Their friendship provides balance for each of their lives. Then Cass drops the bomb—this is the last summer they’re spending together. That summer is spent creating drama, laughs, and a bunch of heart-to-hearts that’ll hit you right in the feels.
The whole back-and-forth between past and present keeps things interesting. You get to see how the friendships evolve, and it’s like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle of memories. Plus, the setting? It’s practically a character itself. You’ll be craving your own summer adventure by the time you’re done.
Megan learns some valuable lessons about friendship and herself. What is really important in life. It’s a perfect story of friendship through the teenage years and growing into independent adults.
“My Last Summer with Cass” isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a solid, relatable story about friendships, growing up, and dealing with change. If you’re in the mood for a read that’ll make you laugh, cry, and maybe call up your bestie for a chat, this one’s for you.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): This graphic novel provides an exceptional look at the shifting dynamics of teen friendships, peer pressure, identity exploration, and emotional resilience. It serves as an excellent resource for guiding students through discussions on resolving betrayal, managing change, and establishing independent self-worth.
- Art & Visual Literacy: Given the story’s heavy thematic investment in creative expression, it serves as a wonderful cross-curricular link for art programs. Teachers can use it to examine how visual media and sequential storytelling communicate deep internal changes and nostalgia.
- English Language Arts (ELA): A strong text for middle and high school classrooms to study non-linear narratives, specifically examining how the author utilizes a back-and-forth framework between past and present to mirror a character’s memory.
- Extension Activity / Library Application:
- Visual Memories Jigsaw Workshop: Librarians or educators can host a creative workshop where students map out their own significant milestones or friendships using comic strips or mixed-media artwork, explicitly utilizing the flash-forward and flashback storytelling structures modeled by Crilley.
- YA High School Book Club Selection: This text is perfectly calibrated for independent reading programs or teen book clubs. It prompts high-interest group conversations regarding how physical settings influence personal identity, and whether an artistic or personal bond can truly survive a breach of trust.
- Diversity & Representation: Based on the file guidelines provided in Format of Review_12.pdf, Format of Review_13.pdf, and Format of Review_14.pdf, this section evaluates how the text handles diverse perspectives. My Last Summer with Cass honors developmental diversity by validating the varying speeds at which adolescents mature and form independent identities. By contrasting Megan’s careful, self-conscious approach to life with Cass’s subcultural, tattoo-friendly New York art lifestyle, the book meaningfully explores identity exploration and urban cultural shifts without judging either path.
Readalikes:
- Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
- Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
