Three Summers

Starred review from February 5, 2024
Collaborators Sabic-El-Rayess and Sullivan (The Cat I Never Named) tackle universal topics surrounding first crushes and bullying while also keenly depicting simmering ethnic tensions within communist Bosnia that would lead to war and genocide in this sensitively crafted and thought-provoking memoir. Set in the town of Bihać, the 1980s recollection begins when Bosnian Muslim, or Bosniak, 11-year-old Sabic-El-Rayess’s older brother dies. She’s struggling with grief and loneliness when her ebullient cousins Žana and Verdana come to visit for the summer. The girls soon become “the gang, the inseparables, the sisterhood,” and champion one another through the ups and downs of boy troubles and fashion disasters for three summers. Though centered on her loving family and these three seemingly idyllic seasons, Sabic-El-Rayess deftly foreshadows the cruelty she will experience later in life through instances of bullying and domestic abuse, and the growing prejudices against Muslims even within her own family. This searching, introspective work—a timely tale of resilience—presciently observes that “words, ideas, hate can kill people.” A section titled “After” covers the war and includes an author’s note, timelines, and an update on where the individuals described are now. Ages 8–12.

February 15, 2024
In this memoir, a young Bosniak Muslim girl comes of age with her larger-than-life cousin over three summers leading up to the Bosnian genocide. Amra's beloved older brother died from complications of Marfan syndrome, leaving a gaping hole in her family members' lives. Amra's mom tried in vain to help her make friends who might pull her out of her deep depression, but it was only when Amra connected with Zana, her estranged aunt's daughter, that she again felt a zest for life. Over the next three summers, Amra and Zana are inseparable, spending time with family and friends on the banks of the glistening emerald waters of the River Una. Zana truly lives out loud, and she inspires a confidence in Amra that she never knew she had. But their seemingly unbreakable bond of sisterhood is threatened by ethnic tensions and looming war: Zana's father is a Serb from a Chetnik family, a nationalist group who killed Muslims in Kosovo during World War II. Sabic-El-Rayess shared later parts of her story in her YA memoir, The Cat I Never Named (2020). This compelling volume runs the gamut of emotions--grief, humiliation at the hands of bullies, the rush of a first crush, and the devastation of being treated with hate. 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. (family tree, author's note, timeline, where they are now, sources) (Memoir. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2024
Grades 4-7 Set against the looming backdrop of the war in Bosnia, Sabic-El-Rayess' middle-grade memoir is a tale of sisterhood and the way in which politics, ethnic tensions, and Communism tangled up with the warm rays of the summer sun. Before the genocide and family loss that would come, Sabic-El-Rayess grips young readers with tales of family reunification as she spends three summers in the 1980s with her cousin Zana and her little sister. With a soft, nostalgic voice, Sabic-El-Rayess brings the reader into the vibrancy of this newfound sisterhood in an almost Judy Blume-esque fashion, but the atmosphere is also tinged with the effects of Communism and increasingly tense global politics, from the way their crushes are dictated by religion to the rationing of food at beach picnics. 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.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from April 1, 2024

Gr 3-7-Sabic-El-Rayess's memoir captures the lives of five cousins and the adventures they encounter over the course of three summers in 1980s Bosnia. Suffering the loss of her older brother, Amra slips into a womb of depression only to be revived by these glorious summers with Zana her sister-cousin; after all, cousins make the best sisters, according to Amra's mom. The turmoil of life in war-torn Bosnia is dismal enough compounded with memories of Amar, the brother who passed away from complications due to Marfan syndrome. Sabic-El-Rayess's prose transforms teenage memories into a unique multisensory experience filled with the awkwardness of first love, beach wake-ups, breakups, family indifference, and all the comfort of Bosnian food. The text leads readers over hills and mountains filled with loss, joy, and haunting tragedies that sought to destroy but only prove the resilience of hope and family. The author's note and time line of events documenting the history of war and genocide in Bosnia provide readers with background on the life and musings of a young girl. VERDICT An insightful and solemn yet hopeful memoir that will hook readers. Fans of Ji-Li Jiang's Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution will find this memoir just as remarkable.-Mitzi Mack

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2024
After eleven-year-old Amra's brother's death from complications of Marfan syndrome, her mother's remedy for Amra's grief is to arrange for her cousin Zana to spend summers with Amra in Bihac, Bosnia. This vividly told and moving memoir takes place over three consecutive summers in the years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide (preceding the events of The Cat I Never Named, rev. 1/21). The first summer of romantic crushes and days spent lazing on the banks of the River Una helps Amra to heal. "I am ancient in the ways of trauma...but [Zana] shows me another way of being." A sense of impending violence, however, undergirds the book's carefree summer setting as simmering political and sectarian tensions slowly heat up. Tata (her father) is detained, interrogated, and loses his job, while anti-Muslim sentiments become more freely voiced. An author's note provides a timeline for the Bosnian Genocide along with a "where they are now" update. The book smartly contrasts more lighthearted preteen drama with looming ethnic and religious tensions, resulting in an engaging reflection on disability and ethnic difference. Julie Hakim Azzam

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2024
After eleven-year-old Amra's brother's death from complications of Marfan syndrome, her mother's remedy for Amra's grief is to arrange for her cousin Zana to spend summers with Amra in Bihac, Bosnia. This vividly told and moving memoir takes place over three consecutive summers in the years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide (preceding the events of The Cat I Never Named, rev. 1/21). The first summer of romantic crushes and days spent lazing on the banks of the River Una helps Amra to heal. "I am ancient in the ways of trauma...but �Zana] shows me another way of being." A sense of impending violence, however, undergirds the book's carefree summer setting as simmering political and sectarian tensions slowly heat up. Tata (her father) is detained, interrogated, and loses his job, while anti-Muslim sentiments become more freely voiced. An author's note provides a timeline for the Bosnian Genocide along with a "where they are now" update. The book smartly contrasts more lighthearted preteen drama with looming ethnic and religious tensions, resulting in an engaging reflection on disability and ethnic difference.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)