We are excited to share a giveaway for An Italian Summer (Gaia B Amman)!
Meet the Author: Gaia B Amman
Gaia B. Amman (they/them) is a Ph.D. molecular oncologist turned chart-topping author of The Italian Saga. Born and raised in the dichotomy of Northern Italy’s sensuality and rigid traditions, Gaia’s work explores the coming-of-gender journey with empathy, grit, and 80s and 90s nostalgia.
Their debut volume, An Italian Adventure, is a 5-star Readers’ Choice winner and a Kirkus-featured “astute and affecting” fictionalized memoir. Drawing from personal experience and a former career as a tenured professor and Nature-published researcher, Gaia blends scientific precision with soul and spice to discuss socially relevant topics with humor and heart. Whether navigating the 1990 World Cup or the complexities of love and nonbinary identity, Gaia’s stories provide an addictive roadmap toward the pursuit of happiness beyond gender.
The journey continues with the highly anticipated second volume, An Italian Summer, releasing May 5, 2026.
Website * Facebook * Instagram * Pinterest
About the Book: An Italian Summer
Puberty is a mess—messier when you’re a boy trapped in a girl’s body.
Italy, 1990. As the nation sweeps into the fever dream of the FIFA World Cup, eleven-year-old Lee (Leda Balni) feels the world splitting in two. While gaming, Lee is just one of the guys. Everywhere else, the world demands a performance of girlhood that feels increasingly nonsensical and irritating.
Lee has nothing against her anatomy, except that it’s the very thing casting her out from the guy gang she’s always belonged to. Then comes the ultimate crux: a crush.
Set against the dreamlike landscapes of Northern Italy and the rolling hills of Tuscany, An Italian Summer is a vibrant, bittersweet fictionalized memoir of the summer of a lifetime. From first kisses and secret longings to the search for a chosen family, this is a story for queer and straight readers alike.
“I’ll Give You the Sun” meets “Anne of Green Gables” in this second installment of the beloved Italian Saga (which can be read as a standalone) by nonbinary author Gaia B. Amman, Ph.D.
- Can a “tomboy” win the heart of her crush in a world that insists she stay in her place?
- Can Lee find happiness as her true self when the world only sees her as a girl?
If you loved the nostalgia of Call Me By Your Name and the grit of a true coming-of-age journey, discover this addictive, amusing, and deeply personal dive into 1990s Italy.
Experience the magic of Italia ’90—Enter the raffle today!
Title: An Italian Summer
Author: Gaia B Amman
Release Date: 5/5/26
Publisher: Kuki Publishing
ISBN-10: 978-1-971429-01-4
ISBN-13: 1-971429-01-4
Genre: LGBTQ+, memoir, coming-of-age, Historical Fiction, World Literature (Italy), Puberty
Age Range: 11+
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
Use the Rafflepress Form below to enter
*be sure to include complete mailing address for the second entry question to qualify to win*
One (1) winner will receive a signed hardback copy of An Italian Summer (Gaia B Amman) ~ US ONLY!
This sounds so good!!!