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The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik
April 22, 2014
Harper Teen
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Anna Eliot is tired of worrying about what other people think. After all, that was how she lost the only guy she ever really liked, Finn Westbrook.
Now, three years after she broke his heart, the one who got away is back in her life.
All Anna wants is a chance to relive their last kiss again (and again and again). But Finn obviously hasn’t forgotten how she treated him, and he’s made it clear he has no interest in having anything to do with her.
Anna keeps trying to persuade herself that she doesn’t care about Finn either, but even though they’ve both changed since they first met, deep down she knows he’s the guy for her. Now if only she can get him to believe that, too….
With her signature wit and expertly authentic teen voice, Claire LaZebnik (the author of fan favorites Epic Fail and The Trouble with Flirting) once again breathes new life into a perennially popular love story. Fans of Polly Shulman, Maureen Johnson, and, of course, Jane Austen will love this irresistibly funny and romantic tale of first loves and second chances.
First sentence: “On nights when I’m honest with myself, I can admit that Finn Westbrook was the best thing about my ninth-grade year.”
I am a big sucker for Persuasion. It is one of my all-time favorite Jane Austen books, and it never fails to gut me, but The Last Best Kiss was just—ugh, I just want to erase it from my brain.
The Last Best Kiss is essentially a retelling of Persuasion. It tells of Anna Eliot, who breaks the heart of the boy she really likes, Finn Westbrook, because she’s worried about what people think of her. Then, a few years later, Finn returns to Anna’s life, and Anna can only regret the decision she made as her friends welcome Finn into their group, not realizing the two have a history. It’s a story that speaks of first loves and regret; one that failed to gain any of my sympathy and failed to connect me with the characters.
