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

Amra Sabic-El-Rayess · Laura L. Sullivan

Apr 2024 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess and Selma Ducanovic

About this audiobook

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.

About the author

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.


Laura L. Sullivan is the author of more than 50 books for children and adults, including the middle-grade fantasy Under the Green Hill and the young-adult historical romance Love by the Morning Star. She lives on the west coast of Florida.