{"product_id":"2940169182835","title":"Summerlings: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Cold War coming-of-age story in which three best friends confront their fears of the Bomb, Russian spies, bullies, and their role in the tragic event that ushers them into adulthood.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's the summer of 1959. For the families who live on Connors Lane in Washington DC, life is still defined by what one did during WWII. Behind each door lives a possible spy or Nazi sympathizer, the family of a foreign diplomat, or someone who escaped the conflagration in Europe just in time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut it is also the summer of an inexplicable spider infestation amp;mdash; surely evidence of \"insect warfare\" by the Russians, thinks our young narrator John, and his best friends, Ivan and Max. When a rare, scorpion-like vinegaroon is discovered and sequestered for museum study, the boys, along with their tomboy accomplice, Beatriz, hatch a risky midnight plan to steal the poisonous creature for their own devious purposes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the same time, under the tutelage of Ivan's glamorous aunt Elena, they plan to forge a spirit of bonhomie in the neighborhood by throwing a party in John's grandparents' backyard. Fueled by punch the boys doctor with a jug of Brazilian rum, the adults let down their defenses until Elena, already a lightning rod for her Ukrainian birth, swinging social life, and outspokenness on behalf of refugees, roars off with a stranger on his motorcycle. What happens next will change John's life forever.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47114173907184,"sku":"2940169182835","price":17.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169182835_p0.jpg?v=1763674716","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169182835","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}