The First Last Day

THE FIRST LAST DAY

By Dorian Cirrone

Published by Aladdin

I received a complimentary of The First Last Day through The Children’s and Young Adult Book Review Board of Missouri.

Haleigh and her friend, Kevin, have had a wonderful summer watching movies, hanging out on the boardwalk, eating G-Mag’s delicious cannolis and playing on the beach. Why does it have to end? When summer is over, will Kevin continue to be Haleigh’s friend? The last day of summer, Haleigh finds a strange oil painting set in her backpack.  There is a piece of paper in it that reads, “Paint Your Heart’s Desire.” What is Haleigh’s heart’s desire? That’s easy...endless summer with Kevin.

When Haleigh wakes up the next day, to her surprise, it is yesterday all over again. She must be dreaming, right? Sad to say no, Haileigh is stuck in an endless cycle of the last day of summer, which includes the good and the bad. This is exactly what she wanted, isn’t it?

The First Last Day is a middle school version of the movie Groundhog Day.  I really liked the book, but like the movie, I got a little bored with reading about the same day over and over and over. Once Haleigh enlists Kevin’s help, the story goes a little quicker. It does have a sad ending, but the characters handle it well and explain why it must end the way it does. I think middle schools will like this book because it offers a great storyline, fun characters, mystery and humor.