The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls

Spotswood (the Cahill Witch Chronicles) provides four stories about conventional and unconventional relationships in one contemporary problem novel featuring four teenage sisters with distinct personalities and different sets of problems. Oldest sibling Des is tired of always being the responsible one and is ready for a radical change. Valedictorian Bea is having doubts about her plan to attend Georgetown the next year with her longtime boyfriend. Budding actress Kat is hatching a scheme to make her ex-boyfriend jealous by “fake dating” a bisexual friend. Youngest sister Vi has developed a crush on a girl she’s known most of her life, but is hesitant to act on her feelings. During the course of the summer, while the girls spend their spare hours working at the family bookstore, they hide secrets, make some serious mistakes in judgment, and form decisions that will change the courses of their lives. If tolerance and forgiveness at times come too readily here, the book, which is told from the girls’ alternating points of view, does present a variety of situations and outcomes, providing a little something for everyone. Forward thinkers will embrace the book’s strong feminist message, while romantics will relish the all’s-well-that-ends-well conclusion. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (June)