Pioneer Summer

This star-crossed gay romance is a #1 bestselling TikTok sensation that took readers by storm,made international newsand catalyzed one of Russia’s largest-ever crackdowns on LGBTQ representation The year is 1986and Yurka Konev16has been sent off for another summer at Pioneer Camp. Impulsiveforthrightand unfairly branded as a troublemakerhe anticipates the weeks ahead of him with boredom and dread. But when he’s pushed into working on the camp’s theater productionhe meets seriousthoughtful troop leader Volodya. Yurka finds himself drawn to the slightly older boyandsurprisinglyVolodya seems to like himtoo. The two boys grow closer and closerand though both fear the consequences of their illegal attractionits gravity pulls them together. Now20 years laterYury 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 duoPioneer Summer became a runaway TikTok sensation and #1 bestseller in Russiareaching such heights of popularity that Putin’s regime stepped in to ban it. Nowthis swoony romance will transport American readers to another place and time and introduce them to one of the most memorable relationships of their lives.