Three Summers: A Memoir of Sisterhood, Summer Crushes, and Growing Up on the Eve of War

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

An epic middle-grade memoir about sisterhood and coming-of-age in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide. Three Summers is the story of five young cousins who grow closer than sisters as ethnic tensions escalate over three summers in 1980s Bosnia. They navigate the joys and pitfalls of adolescence on their family's little island in the middle of the Una River. When finally confronted with the harsh truths of the adult world around them, their bond gives them the resilience to discover and hold fast to their true selves. Written with incredible warmth and tenderness, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess takes readers on a journey that will break their hearts and put them back together again.

Reviews

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

"Sensitively crafted and thought-provoking memoir...This searching, introspective work--a timely tale of resilience--presciently observes that 'words, ideas, hate can kill people.'" --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This moving and deeply personal story is framed in a way that makes the larger political, religious, and ethnic complexities accessible. Simultaneously candid and heartbreaking yet warm and engaging." --Kirkus

"With her deftly rendered memories, Sabic-El-Rayess transports readers into summers of a different era, which will be illuminating for some and resonantly familiar for others. Ideal for fans of Rex Ogle and Katherine Marsh or those not quite ready for Ruta Sepetys' YA historical fiction." --Booklist

Author Bio

Amra Sabic-El-Rayess grew up in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently she is a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College working on understanding how and why societies fall apart and what role education can play in rebuilding decimated countries. She is also the author of the critically-acclaimed memoir The Cat I Never Named. www.sabicelrayess.org Laura L. Sullivan is a former newspaper editor, biologist, social worker, and deputy sheriff who writes because storytelling is the easiest way to do everything in the world. Laura lives on the Florida coast.