Teddy Hendrix feels adrift with his grandfather, Gpa, in an assisted living facility slowly dying of Alzheimer’s. His dad is long dead and his mother is more concerned with traveling for her job which leaves Hendrix alone to watch Gpa’s deterioration.
Hoping to appease Gpa and ease his own anxiety about his condition, Hendrix makes a promise he isn’t sure he can keep. He promises to bring Gpa across the country, east, to Ithaca where he first met and married Gma. Hendrix has no idea how his driver’s license-less self is going to do that until everything starts to gel on an unlikely summer night.
Hendrix has been watching Corrina play all summer. Corrina is a talented musician chafing under her adoptive parents’ strict rules. Adopted from Guatemala she feels at a remove from her family and her supposed friends. She wants to get away from town and try to jump start her music career.
Realizing they can help each other, Hendrix and Corrina decide to take a chance on each other. They take a car, grab Hendrix’s dog Old Hump, and pick up Gpa to start heading to the east coast. Of course, nothing else goes exactly to plan in The Last True Love Story (2016) by Brendan Kiely.
The Last True Love Story has been the subject of much buzz and critical acclaim. Which it absolutely deserves. Kiely’s writing is smooth and lyrical while also being straightforward. Hendrix and Corrina are interesting characters who are vibrantly portrayed in Hendrix’s first-person narration.
At the same time, The Last True Love Story is a difficult book. Gpa (why is he called Gpa?) and his struggles with the progression of Alzheimer’s is hard to read. Hendrix’s grief over losing the man who raised him long before he dies is painful. Because of that, this book isn’t going to work for everyone.
Readers who can deal with the inherent melancholy and sadness will be rewarded with a surprisingly optimistic and humorous book. Like all good road trip books The Last True Love Story is filled with excitement, adventure, and introspection. The addition of Kiely’s thoughtful prose and distinctive characters further elevate this novel. Recommended.
Possible Pairings: Pirouette by Robyn Bavati, Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen, But Then I Came Back by Estelle Laure, Be Good Be Real Be Crazy by Chelsea Philpot, An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes by Randy Ribay, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Miss Print 