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That Last Summer
Susan M. Toy captures the magic of the summer of ’65 in this tale of love and loss of innocence. The lake is alive with boys and girls, skiing and romancing. Rachel constantly spars with her younger sister, neither girl realizing the extent of life-changing problems that float below the surface for both a friend’s family and their own. Toy writes with confidence and elegance in That Last Summer and, as Juliet says in a famous scene performed around an August bonfire, “Parting is such sweet sorrow … ”
In the summer of 1965, Rachel Wainstaff is uprooted from her life in Toronto and her boyfriend to spend a reluctant summer with her family at their secluded cottage at Lone Pine Lake. In this story of self-discovery and young love, Rachel’s joys and disappointments are inextricably tied to making new friends and meeting a special boy, all while dealing with the irritation of her younger sister. Still, the true heart of this piece lies in the complicated relationship the teenaged Rachel has with her mother and father. That Last Summer is a poignant love letter to the lazy, sun-soaked days of an Ontario summer at the cottage.
~ Kim McCullough, author of Clearwater
Susan M. Toy spent all the summers of her youth at the family cottage near Minden, ON. During that time, she was a voracious reader and always dreamed of becoming a writer of her own stories. That Last Summer was originally written as an entry for the 3-Day Novel Contest, and it is the third eBook to be published by IslandShorts, an imprint of IslandCatEditions.
In the summer of 1965, Rachel Wainstaff is uprooted from her life in Toronto and her boyfriend to spend a reluctant summer with her family at their secluded cottage at Lone Pine Lake. In this story of self-discovery and young love, Rachel’s joys and disappointments are inextricably tied to making new friends and meeting a special boy, all while dealing with the irritation of her younger sister. Still, the true heart of this piece lies in the complicated relationship the teenaged Rachel has with her mother and father. That Last Summer is a poignant love letter to the lazy, sun-soaked days of an Ontario summer at the cottage.
~ Kim McCullough, author of Clearwater
Susan M. Toy spent all the summers of her youth at the family cottage near Minden, ON. During that time, she was a voracious reader and always dreamed of becoming a writer of her own stories. That Last Summer was originally written as an entry for the 3-Day Novel Contest, and it is the third eBook to be published by IslandShorts, an imprint of IslandCatEditions.
82 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2013
20 people want to read
About the author
Susan M. Toy
4 books92 followersI have been a bookseller, an award-winning publishing sales representative, a literacy teacher, and a promoter of fellow authors and their books through my company, Alberta Books Canada. I have written and published one novel (print and eBook) and a novella (eBook) and I am a publisher, under my imprints, IslandCatEditions and IslandShorts. Through Alberta Books Canada, I represented authors directly, helping them find promotion for themselves and their books, sought out new readers, and assisted them in making wise career decisions. I created the writing contest, Coffee Shop Author, have sat on the Board of Directors of the Fernie Writers’ Conference, served as a member of the Calgary Distinguished Writers Program steering committee, and was a member of the board of directors for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. I lived in Calgary for a number of years, but have moved my Canadian residence to Newfoundland, and currently spend half the year there and the other half at my home on Bequia in the Caribbean.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 1, 2016
A stylish and compelling coming of age story
April 1, 2020
I liked this. A short novel, it’s a coming-of-age story set in Ontario in the 1960s. A Toronto family – a mother, her two daughters, and at the weekend their father – goes to spend the summer at a lakeside cottage. The older daughter, Rachel, a teenager, is constantly annoyed by her kid sister and believes her mother hates her. But during the summer on the lake, she will slowly be forced to understand the world of adults, and learn that it is not as simple as it seems.
Author Susan Toy is good at showing us a typically self-absorbed teenage girl, her mind on love, boys and herself, and blind to the stresses and strains for the adults around her. It’s a stage in life a lot of us look back on with embarrassment. She’s also very good at setting her story in its time, 1965. I’m not Canadian but spent a year in Ontario as a child myself, at about that time, and can see the lake, the typical lakeside cottage with its bug screens, the trees and the boats and the water. It’s exactly how many Canadians spent weekends and the high summer, and I’m sure still do. Toy also gets the atmosphere at the time – the boy Rachel likes who is a US national and might be sent to Vietnam, the father who does something unspecified for the US government, the wife who has been dumped by the lake for the summer and turns to drink. And the family secrets that Rachel will only find out as an adult.
A likeable read, nostalgic but also a great snapshot of a time and place – and a nice picture of adolescence with its thoughtlessness and self-absorption.
Author Susan Toy is good at showing us a typically self-absorbed teenage girl, her mind on love, boys and herself, and blind to the stresses and strains for the adults around her. It’s a stage in life a lot of us look back on with embarrassment. She’s also very good at setting her story in its time, 1965. I’m not Canadian but spent a year in Ontario as a child myself, at about that time, and can see the lake, the typical lakeside cottage with its bug screens, the trees and the boats and the water. It’s exactly how many Canadians spent weekends and the high summer, and I’m sure still do. Toy also gets the atmosphere at the time – the boy Rachel likes who is a US national and might be sent to Vietnam, the father who does something unspecified for the US government, the wife who has been dumped by the lake for the summer and turns to drink. And the family secrets that Rachel will only find out as an adult.
A likeable read, nostalgic but also a great snapshot of a time and place – and a nice picture of adolescence with its thoughtlessness and self-absorption.
April 5, 2015
Canadian teenager Rachel is reluctant to spend the whole summer at the lake with her parents and younger sister. How dare they drag her away from her boyfriend, who she’s going to write to every single day. The new friends, new experiences and life-changing events of this summer in the mid-1960s result in a holiday to remember. Its echoes will resonate down the years.
From the first page the author brings Rachel and her family to life. The siblings squabbling in the car, Rachel’s teenage self-obsession, her sister Rebecca’s love of books, her good-hearted father, her somewhat distant mother. What is particularly striking in this opening scene is the father’s almost desperate attempt to make everyone enjoy themselves. Despite my own struggle to remember which daughter is Rachel and which is Rebecca, the family dynamic is intriguing.
Rachel’s responses to all that happens to her at the lake feel genuine, so the reader feels sympathetic and critical at the same time. With my own teenage years far behind me, I can’t help but wonder what a younger person, or my younger self, would make of her.
Finding out how the holiday pans out for each family member is really enjoyable, and even more satisfying after the introduction of Ben and his mother, which brings wider social and political issues of the era to the story. However, the last chapters that jump forward in time feel a little too hurried. In a way I wish the author hadn’t filled in all the blanks, but had perhaps given more clues as to the future in the main part of the story, leaving the reader with hints rather than answers. I see elsewhere that readers enjoyed the closure, so maybe it’s just me. This novella has certainly made me want to read more of Susan Toy’s writing.
I’d like to thank the author for sending me a free copy of this book via Sally Cronin’s wonderful blog.
From the first page the author brings Rachel and her family to life. The siblings squabbling in the car, Rachel’s teenage self-obsession, her sister Rebecca’s love of books, her good-hearted father, her somewhat distant mother. What is particularly striking in this opening scene is the father’s almost desperate attempt to make everyone enjoy themselves. Despite my own struggle to remember which daughter is Rachel and which is Rebecca, the family dynamic is intriguing.
Rachel’s responses to all that happens to her at the lake feel genuine, so the reader feels sympathetic and critical at the same time. With my own teenage years far behind me, I can’t help but wonder what a younger person, or my younger self, would make of her.
Finding out how the holiday pans out for each family member is really enjoyable, and even more satisfying after the introduction of Ben and his mother, which brings wider social and political issues of the era to the story. However, the last chapters that jump forward in time feel a little too hurried. In a way I wish the author hadn’t filled in all the blanks, but had perhaps given more clues as to the future in the main part of the story, leaving the reader with hints rather than answers. I see elsewhere that readers enjoyed the closure, so maybe it’s just me. This novella has certainly made me want to read more of Susan Toy’s writing.
I’d like to thank the author for sending me a free copy of this book via Sally Cronin’s wonderful blog.
September 19, 2014
This is a wonderful coming-of-age story about the turbulence of the teenage years, young love, the complications of family relationships, and how life can change in an instant. Rachel is young woman who, like most teenagers, is very self-centered. She resents being stuck by the lake all summer with her family, when in her opinion, she should be spending time with her boyfriend, Sam. Rachel has a flair for the dramatic and fancies herself a victim of hatred from her mother. As the summer progresses, friendships are forged, secrets are revealed, and everything changes. Many summers will pass before Rachel truly discovers the truth about that summer and the value of that family vacation.
The author truly captures the magic of summer vacation and the multitude of joys and heartaches that can occur over such a short period of time. For a teenager, disappointments can seem like insurmountable setbacks and true love can be found and lost within days or weeks. Rachel, like most teens, feels emotions very strongly. She’s often on her worst behavior around her family, but can also show maturity. The adult perspective which is offered at the end of the story brings everything full circle and offers closure not only for Rachel, but for the reader as well.
I dare you to read this and not think about it for days after. I finished the story several days ago and it’s been on my mind ever since.
The author truly captures the magic of summer vacation and the multitude of joys and heartaches that can occur over such a short period of time. For a teenager, disappointments can seem like insurmountable setbacks and true love can be found and lost within days or weeks. Rachel, like most teens, feels emotions very strongly. She’s often on her worst behavior around her family, but can also show maturity. The adult perspective which is offered at the end of the story brings everything full circle and offers closure not only for Rachel, but for the reader as well.
I dare you to read this and not think about it for days after. I finished the story several days ago and it’s been on my mind ever since.
November 24, 2013
I grew up in London, England so we didn’t do things like spend the summer outside the city. I have an older brother but we didn’t fight. That withstanding, I love Susan Toy’s account of summer up in Minden with family. It fills me with nostalgia for a summer that I might have had if I lived in Ontario. I can even sense the heat of an Ontario summer, feel the cool breeze off the water and smell the gasoline from the boats used to travel between cottages. I feel engaged with the story right from the beginning. What starts as sibling rivalry between and older and younger sister, widens to tell the story of the young friends they meet.
It is 1965, and young Rachel doesn’t want to leave the city to spend a summer away from her young boyfriend or be removed from news of her favourite group, the Beatles. However, she soon finds a romantic attachment, and the story build from there.
Perhaps it is her experience from writing her mystery novel, “Island in the Clouds,” but I like the ability of Toy to subtly weave detail into the story. It’s not just mere biographical background information used to embellish the characters and pad the story. It has relevance that becomes apparent at the end. In parts I was moved to tears by some of the events that unfold.
The denouement is interesting and I am looking forward to reading more from this writer.
It is 1965, and young Rachel doesn’t want to leave the city to spend a summer away from her young boyfriend or be removed from news of her favourite group, the Beatles. However, she soon finds a romantic attachment, and the story build from there.
Perhaps it is her experience from writing her mystery novel, “Island in the Clouds,” but I like the ability of Toy to subtly weave detail into the story. It’s not just mere biographical background information used to embellish the characters and pad the story. It has relevance that becomes apparent at the end. In parts I was moved to tears by some of the events that unfold.
The denouement is interesting and I am looking forward to reading more from this writer.
May 19, 2015
I enjoyed this story. It's an engrossing read. It's the tale of one family's summer spent away from home on holiday in 1965. The references to historic events of the time help to evoke a nostalgic feeling and make the story seem true to life. I found all the characters to be interesting and realistic and I'm sure many people will be able to relate to the ups and downs that many of the characters face in the book.
We mainly follow Rachel's story. She is away from home at the age of 15 with her younger sister and their parents. Rachel find's her younger sister annoying as they don't share the same interests. Rachel is also upset because she's been forced to spend the summer away from her boyfriend.
Things take an interesting turn when Rachel meets a group of teenagers who are also on holiday with their family nearby. They soon become friends.
There are just enough twists and turns to keep the story flowing nicely.
The main story revolves around the events of the summer of '65, however, the last part of the book takes us forward into the future so we see how Rachel's life has turned out. We meet her again at a time when she is looking back at that particular summer. The ending is quite poignant.
This is an insightful and captivating look at one family's story. Well written and well worth a read.
We mainly follow Rachel's story. She is away from home at the age of 15 with her younger sister and their parents. Rachel find's her younger sister annoying as they don't share the same interests. Rachel is also upset because she's been forced to spend the summer away from her boyfriend.
Things take an interesting turn when Rachel meets a group of teenagers who are also on holiday with their family nearby. They soon become friends.
There are just enough twists and turns to keep the story flowing nicely.
The main story revolves around the events of the summer of '65, however, the last part of the book takes us forward into the future so we see how Rachel's life has turned out. We meet her again at a time when she is looking back at that particular summer. The ending is quite poignant.
This is an insightful and captivating look at one family's story. Well written and well worth a read.
October 16, 2013
Susan Toy's novella is set in Ontario's cottage country during the 60's.
The story centers on the Wainstaff family upon their arrival at a lakeside cottage where they will spend the summer. They bring with them secrets, sibling rivalry and a healthy dose of teenage angst.
Toy presents an array of family personalities; a subdued mother, a somewhat nerdy father, a disgruntled teen and her bratty younger sister, and many others contending with their own trials, whom they encounter at the lake.
It is a summer when love is tested and innocence slips away. The narrative takes us on a nostalgic journey with all the sights, sounds and dilemmas that readers may remember, and will most certainly relate to from that time in their own lives.
A truly enjoyable read.
The story centers on the Wainstaff family upon their arrival at a lakeside cottage where they will spend the summer. They bring with them secrets, sibling rivalry and a healthy dose of teenage angst.
Toy presents an array of family personalities; a subdued mother, a somewhat nerdy father, a disgruntled teen and her bratty younger sister, and many others contending with their own trials, whom they encounter at the lake.
It is a summer when love is tested and innocence slips away. The narrative takes us on a nostalgic journey with all the sights, sounds and dilemmas that readers may remember, and will most certainly relate to from that time in their own lives.
A truly enjoyable read.
April 20, 2015
Another great story from Susan. A great story about a family's last summer together. Story had a great flow I was never bored with it.
March 14, 2014
We all read for different reasons and I ask myself what do I take away from a book and what is left long after I’ve forgotten the plot and the details?
In an interview with Isabel Allende, students explained to the author the meaning of her book. From that we learn that a work of art does not just come from the author alone, but is the intermingling of the author’s with the reader’s experience.
For a modern young reader, “That Last Summer”, dealing with the idyllic cottage life of central Ontario in the 1960’s, might be the backdrop for a horror story. Who can fathom being without a computer, cell phone or even TV? Everyone had a radio at the cottage which could get at least one station, but even phones i.e. landlines were not the norm.
The frustration of a young person in love, separated from her boyfriend and practically held incommunicado, results in anger and resentment which very nicely introduces us to the family dynamics of the time, and all that really reflected the power structures of society at large. Communication between parent and child was one directional – as it was between employer and employee; there was a great deal of secrecy –children, women, and sick people were not deemed strong enough or mature enough to deal with the truth; decisions were made on your behalf without your input. (Funny that English doesn’t have a word for “bevormunden”, “tenir quelqu'un en tutelle”)
Having grown up during this time, “That Last Summer” stirred up a few memories, some pleasant, some unpleasant. It feeds my curiosity about sociology because it is like studying another society but with an uncomfortable feeling of déja vù, and rightly so because I have seen it before, in fact lived through it.
But most important for me personally is that this novel made me review the interactions I had with my own parents. It made me realize that they were not particularly beastly, but were themselves victims of the times and their surrounding culture. May they rest in peace. ☺
Thank you Susan Toy.
In an interview with Isabel Allende, students explained to the author the meaning of her book. From that we learn that a work of art does not just come from the author alone, but is the intermingling of the author’s with the reader’s experience.
For a modern young reader, “That Last Summer”, dealing with the idyllic cottage life of central Ontario in the 1960’s, might be the backdrop for a horror story. Who can fathom being without a computer, cell phone or even TV? Everyone had a radio at the cottage which could get at least one station, but even phones i.e. landlines were not the norm.
The frustration of a young person in love, separated from her boyfriend and practically held incommunicado, results in anger and resentment which very nicely introduces us to the family dynamics of the time, and all that really reflected the power structures of society at large. Communication between parent and child was one directional – as it was between employer and employee; there was a great deal of secrecy –children, women, and sick people were not deemed strong enough or mature enough to deal with the truth; decisions were made on your behalf without your input. (Funny that English doesn’t have a word for “bevormunden”, “tenir quelqu'un en tutelle”)
Having grown up during this time, “That Last Summer” stirred up a few memories, some pleasant, some unpleasant. It feeds my curiosity about sociology because it is like studying another society but with an uncomfortable feeling of déja vù, and rightly so because I have seen it before, in fact lived through it.
But most important for me personally is that this novel made me review the interactions I had with my own parents. It made me realize that they were not particularly beastly, but were themselves victims of the times and their surrounding culture. May they rest in peace. ☺
Thank you Susan Toy.
June 25, 2016
Brings Back Memories
That Last Summer was recommended by a friend, and now that I’ve read it, I see why. Anyone who grew up with the experience of a summer cottage will relate to this novella. And if your parents never dragged you away from your friends, and off to a cottage, consider a summer home without television, cell service or Internet. Throw in a lake, siblings and endless summer days, and you’re almost there.
That Last Summer is Rachel Wainstaff’s coming-of-age story. It unfolds over the summer of 1965 during the Wainstaff’s annual holiday in Ontario’s cottage country. Toy sprinkles teenage angst and sibling rivalry over a deeper story of love, family and inevitable, heartbreaking change.
Toy does an excellent job of reeling the reader into Rachel’s orbit. You feel her hope, her heartache, her sense of adventure and the sharp sting of betrayal. That Last Summer, has a nostalgic feel to it, and in a nice touch, Toy ends by bringing us up to date with the characters.
That Last Summer was recommended by a friend, and now that I’ve read it, I see why. Anyone who grew up with the experience of a summer cottage will relate to this novella. And if your parents never dragged you away from your friends, and off to a cottage, consider a summer home without television, cell service or Internet. Throw in a lake, siblings and endless summer days, and you’re almost there.
That Last Summer is Rachel Wainstaff’s coming-of-age story. It unfolds over the summer of 1965 during the Wainstaff’s annual holiday in Ontario’s cottage country. Toy sprinkles teenage angst and sibling rivalry over a deeper story of love, family and inevitable, heartbreaking change.
Toy does an excellent job of reeling the reader into Rachel’s orbit. You feel her hope, her heartache, her sense of adventure and the sharp sting of betrayal. That Last Summer, has a nostalgic feel to it, and in a nice touch, Toy ends by bringing us up to date with the characters.
January 17, 2014
If you have ever wanted to return to the days of hot summers by the shore, and revisit the time of your youth with all the ups and downs that being a teenager in love brings with it, then you will enjoy That Last Summer by Susan Toy. With an easy to read style of writing, Toy delivers a look at family life that we all can remember, in her timeless trip down memory lane. From sibling rivalry to tear jerking family realism, this story will leave a lasting impression on readers of all ages.
November 29, 2014
This was a charming story about a family in Canada. There are secrets and untold events during that summer. It all came together years later with a bit of a surprise ending. Not really as much of a surprise as unexpected. I think I related to Rachel so I was drawn into her world. It's a short story so it can be read in about an hour. But what an hour it was. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Toy
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews