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  • Published: 30 May 2023
  • ISBN: 9781787636019
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $32.99

The Girls of Summer

The addictive and thought-provoking book club debut




The explosive and conversation-starting debut from a stunning new talent, exploring themes of consent and power, abuse and victimhood, memory and how victims can reclaim their voices.

Rachel has loved Alistair since she was seventeen.

Even though she hasn't seen him for sixteen years and she's now married to someone else.

Even though she was a teenager when they met.

Even though he is almost twenty years older than her.

Now in her thirties, Rachel has never been able to forget their golden summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island. But as dark and deeply suppressed memories rise to the surface, Rachel begins to understand that Alistair - and the enigmatic, wealthy man he worked for - controlled much more than she ever realized.

Rachel has never once considered herself a victim - until now.

The Girls of Summer is a compulsive and searching exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.

  • Published: 30 May 2023
  • ISBN: 9781787636019
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Katie Bishop

Katie Bishop is a writer and journalist based in the UK. She grew up in the Midlands before moving to Oxford to work in publishing in her early twenties. Whilst working as an assistant editor she started writing articles in her spare time, going on to be published in the New York Times, Guardian, Independent and Vogue.

Katie started writing The Girls of Summer during the first UK COVID lockdown, after becoming increasingly interested in stories emerging from the #MeToo movement. The novel is inspired by her own experiences of backpacking, and by her interest in how our personal narratives can be reshaped and understood in light of cultural and social changes.

In 2020, Katie moved back to the Midlands, and now lives in Birmingham with her partner. She is a full-time writer.

Praise for The Girls of Summer

Smart, tense and on-the-nose about shame and coercion and the way we force our own painful histories into a narrative we can live with.

Tammy Cohen, author of THE WEDDING PARTY

Such a clever, subtle, simmering read of a sun-drenched summer romance that is not all it seems. Timely, powerful, and must-read material around consent and buried trauma

Claire Daverley

Lures you in then shakes you up. A very timely read about consent and control. LOVED IT

Nikki May, author of WAHALA

Atmospheric and powerful, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is a propulsive examination of the line blurring trauma and love in a relationship, a distinction which - in a post #MeToo world - is more important than ever

Carola Lovering, author of TELL ME LIES

An absolutely scorching debut deftly mixing the glamour of an island holiday with shadows of coercive control. One of the best psychological thrillers I've read this year

Alice Clark-Platts, author of THE FLOWER GIRLS

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girlfriends pack for their holidays this summer

Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CASTAWAYS

A mesmerising, unsettling and gripping debut

Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of RUN TIME

Thought-provoking, timely and gripping, The Girls of Summer is the book of the summer

Sarah Turner, author of STEPPING UP

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is visceral, deeply sensory and urgent. An unsettling and vital book

Hazel Barkworth, author of SUNSTROKE

This promising first novel is a timely exploration of the way predatory older men seduce and manipulate young women...Bishop's unflinching dissection of male abuse and power and the strength of female solidarity deserves attention.

Publishers Weekly

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose

The Times

Reminiscent of HBO's hit The White Lotus... The obvious read-alike is My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell, and the plot-driven tension will appeal to fans of psychological suspense

Booklist

This debut should be on every summer reading list... THE GIRLS OF SUMMER explores consent, the power discrepancies in relationships, control, and the intoxication of lust in a gripping read that is visceral and raw. Buy it

Glamour

Dark, timely and thought provoking. It's a must-read

The Sun

Brilliant debut

Hello!

Pacy and readable, it's set to be a big summer hit

The Independent

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