Benjamin Roesch

Blowin' My Mind Like a Summer Breeze

Fifteen-year-old Rainey Cobb never thought meeting someone could actually change her life. But, then again, she’s never met anyone like Juliet.

It’s 1995 and The Cobb Family Band, led by Rainey’s rock star parents, has arrived for a week-long gig at the Midwestern resort owned by Juliet’s family. Dazzled by Juliet’s carpe diem attitude, DIY tattoos, and passion for grunge, Rainey falls hard. And when Juliet gives Rainey a mixtape that unlocks her heart’s secret yearnings, Rainey starts seeing herself—and her vagabond, show-biz life—through new eyes.

If Rainey quits the band, her parents’ fading career might never recover. But if she doesn’t leap now, she might be stuck forever in a life she didn’t choose… and always wonder who she could have been.

Publisher: Deep Hearts YA
Publication Date: July 22, 2022
ISBN: 9781777666835

"When it comes down to it, mixes are love,' 15-year-old Rainey Cobb schools us. Sure enough, Benjamin Roesch has crafted Rainey's coming of age story to be an unforgettable mix tape of teenaged angst, good-natured wit, killer tunes, and family drama. This book reads like an ode to love in all forms: from Rainey's love for her flawed girl-dad, to her burgeoning sexuality, to that triumphant moment when she's able to walk at her own pace, content to be out of sync. A tender and accomplished debut." - Celeste Mohammed, author of Pleasantview, winner 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

If you love music, quirky girls searching for themselves, oh, and loads of swoon, this is your next book. A great summer read. Impossibly fresh, funny, and full of humanity, Benjamin Roesch's debut will stay with you long after you close the last page. -A.K. Small, author of BRIGHT BURNING STARS

Available for order:

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BENJAMIN ROESCH is author of the debut YA novel, Blowin' My Mind Like a Summer Breeze. He has an MFA from Lesley University and is a writer, musician, teacher, podcaster, and award-winning essayist. For twelve glorious, exhausting years, he was a high school English teacher, and is now a full-time writer based in Burlington, VT, where he lives with his family. Oh, and his name is pronounced "Rush," like the band from Canada.

www.benjaminroesch.com

Tags: YA, Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Literary, Romance, Sapphic