-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A cool, contemplative spin on hot summer nights and the classic teen love story as two teens embark on a cross-country journey of the heart and soul.
The point of living is learning how to love.
That's what Gpa says. To Hendrix and Corrina, both seventeen but otherwise alike only in their loneliness, that sounds like another line from a pop song that tries to promise kids that life doesn't actually suck. Okay, so: love. Sure.
The thing about Corrina - her adoptive parents are suffocating, trying to mold her into someone acceptable, predictable, like them. She's a musician, itching for any chance to escape, become the person she really wants to be. Whoever that is.
And Hendrix, he's cool. Kind of a poet. But also kind of lost. His dad is dead and his mom is married to her job. Gpa is his only real family, but he's fading fast from Alzheimer's. Looking for any way to help the man who raised him, Hendrix has made Gpa an impossible promise - that he'll get him back east to the hill where he first kissed his wife, before his illness wipes away all memory of her.
One hot July night, Hendrix and Corrina decide to risk everything. They steal a car, spring Gpa from his assisted living facility, stuff Old Humper the dog into the back seat, and take off on a cross-country odyssey from LA to NY. With their parents, Gpa's doctors, and the police all hot on their heels, Hendrix and Corrina set off to discover for themselves if what Gpa says is true - that the only stories that last are love stories.
"Starred Review. Readers will be swept up in Kiely's musical prose as Teddy learns about love, romance, forgiveness, and reconciliation." - Kirkus
"A quirky, romantic, and satisfying story." - Publishers Weekly
"This bittersweet, sometimes humorous coming-of-age journey hits all the right notes, with its emotional language, vivid landscapes, and quirky characters…A good fit for new adults, graduates of Joan Bauer's Rules of the Road, or those who enjoyed John Green's Looking for Alaska." - Booklist
"The story seamlessly integrates family history and the present, creating a tale of love free from cheesiness. Raw, imperfect relationships will strike a chord with teenage readers. Part road trip, part romance, this story is the stuff of summer dreams. Recommended." - School Library Connection
"Brendan Kiely's writing soars off the page, ultimately landing someplace between heartwarming and heart-aching (but definitely somewhere in the heart)." - David Arnold, bestselling author of Mosquitoland
"As cool as it is tender, this poignant story about the power of love thrums with classic rock and aches with honesty. I was so moved by Hendrix's journey and, as a brown girl who loves music, I was completely invested in Corrina - one of my new favorite characters in all of YA. Authentic and beautifully written, The Last True Love Story will truly capture your heart." - Jasmine Warga, author of My Heart And Other Black Holes
"A beautiful, searing journey into the American heartland. This book, like an epic road trip, is full of difficult truths, great music, and deeply human companions." - Daniel José Older, award-winning author of Shadowshaper and the Bone Street Rumba series.
"Genuine, thoughtful, and heartbreaking, The Last True Love Story is the kind of book that kickstarts an awakening in your soul and will resonate with readers for years to come." - Julie Murphy, New York Times Bestselling author of Dumplin' and Side Effects May Vary
"Brendan Kiely manages, as always, to strike a skillful and delicate balance between deep, intellectual coming-of-age and poetic, emotional drama. The Last True Love Story stands in a league of its own both in regards to the way it portrays its teenage protagonists and the way it tells the very personal, tragic story of Alzheimer's." - John Corey Whaley, Printz and Morris winner, National Book Award finalist, and author of Highly Illogical Behavior
"The Last True Love Story is a tender multi-generational story that's as much about the meaning of family as it is about falling in love. There's plenty of delightful adventure, but what I loved most about this book is its respect for moments that can be both quiet and life changing at once." - Ava Dellaira, author of Love Letters to the Dead
This information about The Last True Love Story was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Pic by Gary Joseph Cohen
Brendan Kiely received an MFA in creative writing from the City College of New York. His writing has appeared in Fiction, Guernica, Big Bridge, and the journal Mikrokosmos Literary Journal, among other publications. Originally from the Boston area, he now teaches at an independent high school and lives with his wife in Greenwich Village.
If you liked The Last True Love Story, try these:
by Cynthia Weiner
Published 2026
A dazzling novel about one young woman's summer of infinite possibility...
by Courtney Summers
Published 2024
The next searing and groundbreaking queer young adult novel from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author Courtney Summers.
by Kevin Wilson
Published 2023
An exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever.
When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
