Summer Book 3

Sam and Ilsa's Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

It's no secret that I fell in love with this duo's books last summer, and have made an effort to read all of their collaborations. So, when I found out this was being released, I put it on my to buy list. Like I've said about most of their other couples, this is no Dash and Lily, but it was a good read.

Sam and Ilsa are twins that live in Manhattan. They are not well off, but they do have access to their grandma's badass rent-controlled apartment. They have been known to throw dinner parties, and this book revolves around their last one. Last because their grandma sold the apartment and is moving to Paris, so this is the final opportunity.

Sam and Ilsa, though twins, are very different. Ilsa is outspoken and bitchy, where Sam is more level-headed. Sam plays piano and cooks like a chef, and Ilsa is a dancer. Sam is unequivocally their grandma's favorite, and this bothers Ilsa. She hates that he can do no wrong.

For this dinner party, Ilsa and Sam each give out three invitations, but they don't tell the other who they've invited. Sam invites his best friend (and Ilsa's ex-boyfriend), Parker, his own ex-boyfriend, Jason, and Johan, a guy from the subway he is attracted to. Ilsa invites KK, the bitchy girl who lives in the penthouse of the building, Liane, a girl from school who always brings exquisite chocolates, and Freddie (and by extension, Caspian), a boy she thought was hot when he was playing basketball.

The evening is spent with everyone exploiting each other's insecurities and inadequacies. Through this, and the alternating viewpoints, we see the people Sam and Ilsa are, and what their relationship is like.

This was a fun read, but I mostly felt sorry for Ilsa and Sam because they were twins but didn't have the typical twin relationship.