Last Dance

Saturday Night #2

by Caroline B. Cooney

Eight months have passed since that special, memorable Saturday Night. Now it's June, time for the last dance of the school year. For the five girls of Last Dance, it will be romantic, heartbreaking and wonderful—a dance they'll always remember.

Advertising in Seventeen and Young Miss.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult Romance, Ebooks, Young Adult Contemporary

248 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

About the author

Caroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com

Reviews

[Alaina]

Again, I'm so happy that I found this series. I never would have known how great these books were if it weren't for my reading challenges.

Again, there are the five girls getting ready for a dance. Their last dance of their junior year. A lot has changed for these five girls, like: one has had a baby and one has terrible family problems. There's still some sort of disaster in this book - not water, just fire.

I still liked the 4 out of 5 girls - I'm sorry but Molly just doesn't do it for me. I really want more for her in the next book. I can't wait to read it either. Bring it on New Year's Eve!

[Minty McBunny]

Growing up, Saturday Night was one of my favorite YA books. there are quotes from it I still use in day to day life even. It wasn't until I was in college that learned there was a follow up series. This being before the Internet, I was only able to find New Years Eve. Recently something made me think of these books and I decided to buy the two I hadn't read before on Amazon. I knew about events from this book since they are mentioned in the following book, but it was interesting to read what actually happened. This is not fine literature in any sense of the word, but it is certainly entertaining. The 80s fashion details make it extra special, not to mention the desperation to win a VCR!

[Mona Bradley]

I can't get enough of these 80s gems. The funniest thing is that the big prize of the dance is a VCR. Of course the book pub date was 1986.

[Beth]

Really enjoyed this, but my God, the boys are awful.

[Hope Broadway]

I read this series years ago, when I was in high school. I read this one first, before the first in the series. So I was a tad confused at the backstory of the girls. Kip should have told Mike to take a long walk off a short pier after the way he treated her before she organized the fire brigade. Beth Rose should have told Gary to stuff it. Anne and Con definitely needed to talk, they didn't need their first moment back together to be at a school dance. They should have gotten together beforehand. Gah, Molly deserved the dunking in the pool, but as someone else said, should have been arrested for starting that fire. And poor Emily.
Seriously though, I hope girls don't think they need to be nice to people like Emily did with Christopher (at first) or Beth Rose did with Gary and the boys. They had no business going in that night hike. Fools.
Anyway, I enjoyed this story. Looking forward to rereading the other two.
You know what we need? A high school reunion novel about these kids.

[Julia]

I enjoyed Beth standing up for herself a bit more, and I enjoyed Lee, and basically… this is a fun little series. I'm enjoying it. Classic Cooney, as always. Kip is a great character. All the girls are great, basically, although I'd like a little more… something for Molly.

[Emma Beckett]

'Anne found her tears strangely strengthening.
What chemical property could tears have, lying there on her cheeks, that absorbed agony?
How could sobs that wracked her chest become peace that lay on her heart?'

[Jennifer Sherwin]

A great book.

[Rayjan Koehler]

I was glad when Molly got partially what she deserved by being pushed into the pool, but she needed to be arrested for full justice(starting the fire of course). It doesn't fully go into her back story, but having not read the first book yet I cannot say if it is previously given. She seems to be a very vile sort of character.

Conrad and Anne shouldn't have gotten back together I think(though probably a lot of other people wouldn't agree that's okay just my personal opinion). Mike didn't deserve Kip either...I am not saying the female characters were perfect- no real person is either.

The emotions of this soap seemed realistic enough, but I couldn't see this actually playing out this way in real life(fire aside).

[Louise]

This is the most enjoyable in the series so far. I actually read book 3 first, so I'll reread that one as it might improve now I know the backstory.

Cooney manages to explore some heavy themes without dragging the book down. Some parts of the story stretched credulity, but it was a good read.

[Sarajevo Ramsler]

It's what I expected, 80's themed teenage romance.
What a shame I am to myself, because I read this one without knowing this was the 2nd of a 4 part series.

[Olana Owen]

Nostalgia

[Kim]

I haven’t read these books in years - I think the last time was when I was a teenager.

I still like them 😃

[Melanie Wissel]

Second in series to Saturday Night. If you liked the first book, the second continues in the same manner.

[Joanne]

Again great eighties fashion choices by the characters, especially the red trousers and cream shirt with red stripes combo made by Gary. And, he was the cool one.