THE SUMMER OF ‘86

SOMMAREN 1986 – THE SUMMER OF ’86

By John Ajvide Lindqvist

The summer of 1985 was the summer of Live Aid. The summer of 1986 is the summer of Chernobyl.

ON SÄRSÖ, PREPARATIONS are underway for the Midsummer celebrations, but no one has forgotten what happened the previous year: Helena’s death, and the mermaid the teenagers brought back to the island and hid in the boathouse.

THIS SUMMER, WE follow eleven-year-olds Lovisa and Melinda and their close friendship in a mysterious childhood realm. They have their routines and rituals, and their secret hideout.

NEW THIS YEAR is that Melinda has a small dinghy. The sea beckons – especially the forbidden island of Svärtan, where the mermaid was found. They have to go there.

BUT EVERYTHING HAS become more serious. Can you still play when you’re eleven? Melinda’s parents are forcing her to study over the summer so she can skip a year in the autumn. She and Lovisa are to be separated – the worst thing imaginable.

CAN THE SOLUTION be found on Svärtan? Or in the older teenagers’ séances in the boathouse? What effect is the fallout from Chernobyl having on the sea people who may lie beneath the surface?

LOVISA AND MELINDA are forced to cross dangerous boundaries in search of answers. Their friendship and courage are put to the test as love and death become realities in their lives.

THE SUMMER OF ’86 is a heartwarming tale of two resourceful, wise, and brave girls who realise that something terrible is about to happen – and who are willing to do anything to stop it.