Sixteen-year-old Frieder’s plans for the summer are shattered when he fails two subjects. In order to move up to the next school year in the Autumn, he must resit his exams. So, instead of going on holiday with his family, he now faces the daunting and boring prospect of staying at his grandparents’ house, studying with his strict and formal step-grandfather.
On the bright side, he’ll spend time with his grandmother Nana, his sister Alma and his best friend Johann. And he meets Beate, the girl in the beautiful green swimsuit…
The next few weeks will bring friendship, fear and first love – one grand summer that will change and shape his entire life.
Heartbreaking, poignant and warmly funny, One Grand Summer is an unforgettable, tender novel that captures those exquisite and painful moments that make us who we are.
Ewald Arenz, born in Nürnberg in 1965, studied English and American literature and history. He is a teacher at a secondary school in Nürnberg. His novels and plays have received many awards. Ewald lives near Fürth with his family.
My thoughts: Everything feels so much more when you’re young, for Freidrich, having to spend the summer with his grandparents and resit two exams in order to pass the school year seems like a terrible punishment. But instead he gets to know his grandparents better – his stern Grandfather turns out to be more interesting and funny than he thought and his Nana is a talented artist and shares the story of her life, fleeing to West Germany with her two children and mother, then meeting Grandfather.
He also spends time learning to dive, with his friend Johann, sister Alma, and first love Beate. They might go very far, mostly hanging around their home town, but the four form a bond. When tragedy strikes one of them, the other three rally to support them as they struggle.
It’s a bittersweet and evocative read, summoning up all the feelings and intensity of youth. Beautifully written and translated, it captures a summer that will stay with Freider his whole life.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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