Pioneer Summer - by Kateryna Sylvanova & Elena Malisova

Book Synopsis

Translated from Russian, this star-crossed gay romance is a #1 bestselling TikTok sensation that took readers by storm, made international news, and catalyzed one of Russia's largest-ever crackdowns on LGBTQ representation

This star-crossed gay romance is a #1 bestselling TikTok sensation that took readers by storm, made international news, and catalyzed one of Russia's largest-ever crackdowns on LGBTQ representation.

The year is 1986, and Yurka Konev, 16, has been sent off for another summer at Pioneer Camp. Impulsive, forthright, and unfairly branded as a troublemaker, he anticipates the weeks ahead of him with boredom and dread. But when he's pushed into working on the camp's theater production, he meets serious, thoughtful troop leader Volodya. Konev finds himself drawn to the slightly older boy, and, surprisingly, Volodya seems to like him, too. The two boys grow closer and closer, and though both fear the consequences of their illegal attraction, its gravity pulls them together. Now, 20 years later, Konev returns to the abandoned camp to reminisce on the relationship that changed his life forever--and discovers that not all history is destined to remain in the past.

Cowritten by a Ukrainian-Russian duo, Pioneer Summer became a runaway TikTok sensation and #1 bestseller in Russia, reaching such heights of popularity that Putin stepped in to ban it. Now, this swoony romance will transport American readers to another place and time and introduce them to one of the most memorable relationships of their lives.

Review Quotes

"Pioneer Summer is a slow-burn romance made for readers who want to immerse themselves in pining that stretches across decades, a tenderhearted love story that shows us love can bloom in nearly impossible conditions."-- "BOOKPAGE"

"[Pioneer Summer] sensitively charts the process of falling in love for the first time. The relationship between Yury and Volodya, blossoming in difficult circumstances, is tenderly described. It is, at heart, a classic story of young love triumphing, however briefly, against the odds . . . The book is more than a breakout hit. It is also the catalyst for the latest legislative assault on L.G.B.T.Q. rights in Russia."-- "NEW YORK TIMES"

"A decade-spanning, deeply felt romance set in an unlikely location, a Soviet-era summer camp . . . An impeccably crafted romance that has captivated readers."-- "PUBLIC LIBRARIES ONLINE"

"If you're up for a little romance this summer (and who isn't?), then look for Pioneer Summer."-- "THE WASHINGTON BLADE"

"The #1 bestselling TikTok sensation that sent readers into a frenzy, made international news, and catalyzed one of Russia's largest-ever crackdowns on LGBTQ+ representation is publishing in English for this first time this June. Pioneer Summer follows 16-year-old Yurka, who is sent off to a summer camp and finds himself drawn to an older boy who leads the theater department. The consequences of acting on their attraction to each other would be severe - but that doesn't change how they feel about each other."-- "QUEERTY"

"This tender gay love story from debut authors Malisova and Sylvanova explores illicit desire at a Soviet summer camp . . . As the story unfolds, it reinforces the message that there's nothing abnormal about gay desire, evoking the sweetness and innocence of young love as well as its emotional torments in ways that feel powerfully universal. It's a delightful tale of self-determination."-- "PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"

About the Author

Elena Malisova was born in a provincial Soviet town in the late 1980s, where she lived until she moved to Moscow in the late 2000s. Growing up, she wrote poems that were published in small local newspapers. Malisova and Kateryna Sylvanova met in 2016, and together began working on Pioneer Summer. In 2022, amid a wave of death threats both authors were receiving, Malisova left Russia. She currently lives in Germany. Kateryna Sylvanova was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. After graduating from university, she moved to Russia, where she worked in a shoe store and spent her free time writing. In 2022, after Russia began its full-scale war against Ukraine, Sylvanova left Russia and returned to Kharkiv. Anne O. Fisher's most recent translation is Ukraine, War, Love: A Donetsk Diary by Ukrainian writer, journalist, and historian Olena Stiazhkina. Fisher and her husband, Derek Mong, are the incoming coeditors of the literary journal At Length. Read more at www.anneofisher.com. She condemns Putin's ongoing war of aggression on Ukraine.