My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley - 9/10

When Megan convinces her parents to let her visit her childhood best friend in New York, she finds Cass completely transformed. Is this new world just what sheltered Megan always longed for, or will their differences push the friends apart for good?

This coming-of-age book explores friendship through the lens of art. The two bonded through art as children and each dreams of becoming an accomplished artist in her own right, but Cass's independence and connections in New York have allowed her to mature as an artist faster than Megan, who is still trying to convince her practical father to allow her to apply to arts colleges. When they meet again, Cass invites Megan into her new life, pushing her old friend to break out of her comfort zone and expand, not just as an artist, but as a person.

Apart from my interest in the artistic elements of this story, I was also struck by the fact that this story is distinguished from many others in its genre from its lack of romance. I don't think the ending was handled perfectly, but it had many powerful moments.

*The idea of nudes in painting plays a pivotal role in the plot, though it is depicted as a marker of maturity without being sexual, and the readers are never actually presented with any explicit images. There are also depictions of underage drinking in one scene.