Last Dance - Softcover

Cooney, Caroline B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590427881 ISBN 13: 9780590427883

Publisher: Scholastic, 1987

Synopsis

In the second book of Caroline B. Cooney's bestselling Night to Remember series, five high school juniors get ready for the most important night of their lives--a dance that will bring happiness . . . or heartbreakFor Kip, Anne, Beth Rose, Emily, and Molly, it's the perfect end to their junior year. The night they've been waiting for--a night to wish upon a star.Kip just got the ultimate Her boyfriend, Mike, suddenly wants to be "just friends."At the start of junior year, Anne and Conrad were Westerly High's most popular couple. Now everything's different, and Anne wonders if the whole school knows her secret.Beth Rose was a perennial wallflower before she met Gary. She's crazy about him, but he's never once said the L-word.Emily's life just fell apart, and all she wants is for Matt to make the pain go away.Molly's furious that Con is taking Anne to the dance when she knows he really loves "her." She's about to plot the perfect revenge . . .For five very different girls, it's a dance they'll always remember. Will it be a night of love--or loneliness? An ending--or a new beginning?

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Those who admire Cooney's deft weaving of plot upon subplot exhibited in her other novelsincluding this book's predecessor, Saturday Nightwill be entertained by this sequel, though not completely satisfied. The five girls who starred in the last book are back, with romances going awry or not going anywhere at all. It's the Last Dance of their junior year: one has had a baby, one has terrible family problems, etc. The names become a muddle, there is a now-predictable disaster theme (last time: flood; this time: fire), and the girls' lives are open-ended enough to leave room for, perhaps, another episode. Better-than-average romancing is going on here, but not up to Cooney's usual much better-than-average standards. Although this book still has the froth, it isn't as fun as the first one. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

The last dance of the year provides only a temporary lull in the battle of the sexes. ``As always, the girls seemed to be at one event, and the boys seemed to be at another one altogether.'' The main theme is the vast distance between girls and boys; this gap is patched over at the end with a haze of romance. But in the meantime, there's a raging fire, a nasty troublemaker in a tight purple dress, and problems far heavier than usual, like unwed motherhood and ugly divorces. The boys and adults in this book are many times more developed than is usual, but the view of romance is decidedly jaundiced. Complicated, fast-moving, and an ultimately depressing book.

Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590427881
• ISBN 13: 9780590427883
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback