Last Year with Maddy
In Anna Rosner’s bittersweet novel Last Year with Maddy, a childhood friendship is tested by family challenges.
Twelve-year-old Aviva finds it difficult to keep friends other than Maddy. The girls are as close as sisters—best friends who share everything. But a traumatic night, unexpected diagnoses, and changing family dynamics drive the girls apart, leaving Aviva aching.
At her mother’s encouragement, Aviva writes down her account of the last year, alternating between the past and present. She recalls fond memories before snapping back to the reality of life without Maddy. The effect is haunting, adding intrigue about what really happened to Maddy.
Aviva’s “Missing Maddy Metaphors” and snippets of poetry throughout heighten the book’s emotional impact. The tone is somber, though Aviva’s blunt assessments and witty retorts infuse humor into her heartache, as when she declares that a sixteenth-century poet simply “had no luck with boys.” Even as she processes the year’s many changes, Aviva grows, befriending a boy at school who helps her better understand her younger brother.
Aviva and Maddy’s bond anchors the story, even as the girls drift apart. Myriad serious topics, including parental separation, mental health crises, and Autism Spectrum Disorder, are discussed through the lens of how they affect the girls’ friendship. For example, Aviva mourns that, in focusing so much on her younger brother’s challenges, she missed Maddy’s own. This approach keeps the girls’ friendship in focus while allowing Aviva to also explore her roles as daughter and sister. The sweet ending is fragile with hope as Aviva sends out her book and awaits an answer.
In the tender novel Last Year with Maddy, best friends grow apart and find their way home again.
Reviewed by
Vivian Turnbull
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
