The First Last Day

August twenty-sixth is Haleigh Adams’ last day at the beach, her last day with her new friend Kevin, and her last day before Kevin’s loving grandmother becomes terminally ill.

So when she finds a set of mysterious paints, she paints a picture of her last day of fun, wishing that she could relive the day forever. Unexpectedly, the paints transport her into a never-ending time loop of her seemingly perfect day.

As she relives her day again and again, Haleigh realizes that some things are supposed to end and sets out to discover the paints’ secret.

Although Haleigh, who tells the story from her perspective, is a well-developed character whose feelings are realistic, the storyline seems rather predictable and the ending not entirely unexpected.

Also, the story background seems rather strange; it assumes that Haleigh’s parents would allow her to spend her entire summer with a boy that she randomly finds on the beach. It also seems strange that Haleigh would actually use the set of paints, since she is clueless as to its origin.

All in all, The First Last Day is a fairly good story but still remains the typical middle-grade novel about friendship and contentment.