Great Grandmas Last Hurrah

Great Grandma's Last Hurrah. By Lee Goldwasser. Tweet Great Grandma's Collection of Poetic Confection. $ Great Grandma's Collection of Poetic.
Table of contents

But all that work! My job is planning fabulousness, not catering it.

A one-act musical. | 2W, 1M

I should have been the gay man, not my twin brother. I hand Sam the spoon spatula. Did you notice how. Then I get to be the queen of her castle, and not have to share Sam with her. She never takes Mom and Dad anywhere. That, and we both look good wearing almost any shape of hat. I aspire to be more like Czarina in ways other than being wrathful.

The boss of any situation.

Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah

Like Czarina, I want to travel the world and have wild affairs, but with the security of a grand Manhattan apartment as home base. Sam counters my sigh with his own. It might be our only twin thing: Our grandmother lives in a gorgeous apartment in a historic building called the Stanwyck, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Czarina has experienced a good but not lucrative career, so no way has she had the income to support this type of Manhattan real estate.

And she never left. Her building is now basically 99 percent rich people, and Czarina. After twenty years of buyout offers, Czarina finally agreed to leave her palace. She basically just won the lottery. The story was fun and exciting throughout but also delved into some coming of age and family issues.

I really liked the way that identity was explored throughout the book. But as they interact with their dinner guests, some of whom are exes or complete strangers, they start to learn a little bit more about themselves and who they have the potential to be. However, they also learn that they need each other and respect each other deeply. I really liked both Ilsa and Sam in the novel. They were great characters and I immediately connected with Sam because I felt like his personality was a little bit like mine. Ilsa took slightly longer to warm up to but I ended up really empathizing with her and understanding where her struggles were coming from.

There were only 8 other characters that made an appearance in the novel, including a sock puppet called Caspian, and I thought that they all had their unique personalities and enjoyed what they brought to the story even though they might not have been my cup of tea. I thought he was sensitive and caring, and I wanted to read a lot more about him. I enjoyed the romance aspect of the book and the fact that it was there as a bridesmaid to the other issues rather than taking over.

The thing that I loved most was that it was subtle and really well incorporated into the story. It tackled issues of identity and family very well and I enjoyed every last bit of it. I absolutely cannot wait to read more from Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, having also really enjoyed the two books about Dash and Lily.

Mar 01, Katie rated it liked it. I was sent a copy of this book by Netgalley to review. So, with that in mind I was interested to get started on this one. The story is set inside the apartment of Sam and Ilsa's grandmother, Czarina.


  • Pàgina no trobada - Ceràmica Sa Teulera;
  • Tokyo Lives.
  • Blogs I'm Following?
  • Your Card Declined: How To Recover Credit Card “Declines” In Today’s Economy… Even If You’re A Small.
  • Denice's Photos!
  • Real Cav.
  • See a Problem?;

We never meet her but we learn a great deal about her - she sounds amazing. Sam and Ilsa are twins and are holding a dinne I was sent a copy of this book by Netgalley to review. Sam and Ilsa are twins and are holding a dinner party with the weirdest group of guests you could ever imagine. This being their last hurrah together you would imagine it would be close friends only. Instead we get Parker, Ilsa's ex; Jason, Sam's ex; KK, a vain and spoilt girl who I actually loved; Li, a friend who lives in the apartment; Johan, a guy Sam has seen on the subway over the course of a few months and decides to invite; and finally Fredrick, who comes with his sock puppet Cornelius who is the one that does all the talking.

Quite possibly the strangest group of people you could ever put together. Over the course of the evening we learn a little more about each character. Parker and Ilsa used to be dance partners as well as in a relationship; Jason hates Ilsa as he blames her for his and Sam's break up; Li and KK both arrive dressed as French maids for some reason Sam has always been favourite in the family and the underlying issues that come from that seem to spill out slowly through the course of reading. The dual narrative that swaps between Sam and Ilsa provides some insight into their thoughts and feelings about each other; as well as their fears of change and wanting to move away.

What annoyed me about this book was that you were given hints of issues and problems and jealousies but they never came to full fruition. It felt like something was going to come to a head, and it didn't. It felt like some big revelation would come out, and it doesn't. Sam and Ilsa were actually the least interesting characters in the whole story. KK and her obnoxious nature and brutal honesty were very entertaining, as was the sock puppet which at first seemed ridiculous but after a while it just seemed fine!

Fredryck was clearly using this sock puppet to cover up certain issues and it made him quite endearing. Him and KK making out was just hilarious as the logistics are mind boggling Over the course of the book the characters go to the roof, break into the empty apartment next door, dance, drink champagne, play the piano, dance again It felt like any old story in this sense.

Why does there always have to be a rooftop? Why do they always have to have a dance? What is it with soul singers coming on at some point? But I will be honest, it has left me feeling a bit "meh" by the end. I won't necessarily be in any rush to recommend this but I am still going to add Nick and Norah to my playlist to read at some point in the future. I wasn't blown away, I found it all a bit trite and I just didn't really like Sam or Ilsa. As a twin myself you always wonder if your parents have a favourite, but the resentment that is felt between these two wasn't really interesting enough.

You have a pair of spoiled teenagers who continue to be so and just get a bit narked off with each other. It was a quick read. I liked the claustrophobia of the setting but by the same token there seemed to be an infinite amount of space between the characters as well! They could all get privacy when they needed it somehow. Johan was interesting, the sock puppet was entertaining and Czarina sounds like an epic grandma.

But otherwise I don't think it's hugely memorable. Jun 29, Karyn Silverman added it Shelves: I think that the time for this This was So basically Sam and Ilsa would want this story; my readers who match that demographic seem way more into window reading — they are looking for something new to them. All that said, it was relatively painless and actually if it were a play it might have real potential, the dialogue is pretty zingy and the characters would translate well onto stage, and all that in-the-head narration could be minimized and made into action. Mar 05, Lizz Axnick rated it really liked it.

This one, however, I did not hate. I looked forward to picking it back up to read. While the book follows a little of the Dash and Lily formula one character is strong, one is weak and obnoxious the characters were not as annoying as those of the prior book. I saw one reviewer let her year-old read it.

While the book says it is for readers "12 and up" I heartily disagree with that. This book is full of rude language, implied sex and other things probably not suitable for middle schoolers. I think this book is more suitable for high school juniors and seniors. I like that while it is a last hurrah before graduation, the characters come to important realizations at the end that most high school seniors are exploring themselves. My favorite character, besides Johan, is the one we never meet. Sam and Ilsa's grandmother, Czarina. If this were a movie, she would be played by Helen Mirren or Judy Dench in flashbacks.

I would read a book that was just about her. Overall, I think this was a fun book to get lost in after reading my nursing textbooks. I might even read it again. I would strongly encourage the publisher to re-think their target audience. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan come together once again to create the newest coming of age book for They each invite three guests a piece, the other twin unaware of each other's picks.

When these eight people come together for one final night, they each find themselves growing as people, sharing their hopes and dreams, and realizing what the next step in their life will be. Thi Rachel Cohn and David Levithan come together once again to create the newest coming of age book for This book is just over pages and a super easy read. It's fun, it's light-hearted, and perfect for that high school senior who is unsure where they are going next on their journey. The contrast between the twins is perfect for such a short story that does not have much linear movement within the plot.

I also enjoyed that each extra guest that the twins brought added a certain dynamic to the novel with their peculiar antics. I will say that this book is not some ground-breaking novel. It doesn't have much to the plot. But the underlying story is enough to win your heart over. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. Apr 27, Katie Hurse rated it liked it. This book was SO bizarre and random and manic, I can't even describe it properly. The plot, in theory, is really, really cool - I feel like it has SO much potential, but unfortunately the execution just wasn't the style I enjoy.

I should say though that I did find this book really, really funny. Some of the characters, KK for instance, are pretty hilarious, if strange. The hand-puppet thing just had me so confused, I don't even know what else 2. The hand-puppet thing just had me so confused, I don't even know what else to say about it.

Parker and Ilsa had great chemistry, and their history was really interesting the ball room dancing bit confused the heck out of me again, though, can't lie but there was nowhere near enough interaction between them, for my interest. Sam's anxiety about the future was really interesting to me but the way it was written about just felt so complicated and confusing, so I never really felt like I understood what he was going through or thinking.

Same for Ilsa's worries about the future. The final chapter, 10 years in the future and a joint perspective, was kinda cool, though.

Lifestyles of the Crazy and Insane: The Last Hurrah!

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Rachel grew up in the D.

Ups, Aquesta pàgina no s'ha trobat!

Even though my winter break was a month, the time went by so quickly. The last hurrah though was my 20th birthday, which turned out to be the definition of perfect. Everything just worked out. It was, per usual, superb. Hydrangeas were in bloom everywhere, and we had to snap a few pictures.

We were off to Fashion Island next, one of my favorite outdoor malls.