Release Date September 3, 2024.
"The Summer Between is a riveting debut."
— Christopher Bram
So Much Can Be Lost And Found In One Summer…
Set against the backdrop of New York City’s vibrant Greenwich Village in 1978,
The Summer Between is the bittersweet, unsparingly honest coming-of-age saga of Andrew Jackson Pollock. Three days before high school graduation, Andy, a New Jersey teen who longs to break free of his suburban closet, confides in Elena Plesko, his ex-girlfriend, something he has suspected for a long time—that he’s gay.
Abandoned as a child by his father, Andy begins to trade his unconventional family of women for the hopes of finding love in the newly liberated culture emerging in Greenwich Village. One night, a tragically misguided encounter leads him to Ben Hoppe, a savvy peer who becomes Andy’s protector as he navigates the meaningful romances, the brief encounters, and the enduring friendships that shape one’s character. Andy’s story brilliantly relates the confining emotions, confusion, panic, heartache, and joy of a young person’s coming to terms with their sexuality and defining their identity.
About
Robert Raasch was raised in Northern New Jersey. He is a writer, architect/designer, and visual artist who is an active participant in 24PearlStreet and the Fine Arts Work Center (FAWC) in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
He divides his time between SW Florida, New York, and Copenhagen, where he is working on his second novel. The Summer Between is his debut novel.
Reviews
“Coming out is such a primal experience, but every coming-out story is different, each person’s awakening tangled up with family and friends in a particular time and place. Robert Raasch plunges us deep inside Andy Pollock’s world: New Jersey in 1978, with his best friend, Elena, and trips to gay Greenwich Village in its party years for rock concerts, sex, photo shoots, and love. Andy’s story is emotional and sexy, funny and tender, messy and real, like life itself. This fine first novel is full of gentle shocks of recognition.”
-CHRISTOPHER BRAM, author of Father of Frankenstein
(adapted into the Academy Award–winning film Gods and Monsters)
“In a world where the stories of our lives are often told in headlines, from triumphs to tragedies and back again, Robert Raasch breaks the mold by digging into the squishy stuff that gets us from here to there. Eighteen-year-old Andy Pollock’s journey in the summer of 1978, from suburban New Jersey high school senior to street-smart NYU undergraduate, will ring painfully and heartwarmingly familiar to anyone who’s had to rethink everything they know—and everyone they love—to grow into the person they’re destined to become.”
-JON BARRETT, author of Hero of Flight 93: Mark Bingham
Appearances
Contact
Publicist: Michele Karlsberg michelekarlsberg@me.com
Marketing: Madelyn Myers mmyers@greenleafbookgroup.com