blue pierre press

In the summer of America’s Bicentennial, thirteen-year-old Mary climbs into the back seat of her father’s beat-up, baby-blue Peugeot, ready for the adventure of a lifetime. With her little twin sisters in tow, the family sets out across the country chasing promise and possibility-but the farther they travel, the more Mary begins to see her father, and the world around her, in a new light.

From roadside motels to sweeping national parks, Bicentennial Summer captures the spirit of a restless nation and the tender chaos of a family on the edge of change. Both nostalgic and deeply human, it’s a portrait of innocence lost, resilience found, and the enduring hope that love-however imperfect-can still bring us home.

Praise for Bicentennial Summer:

＂[An] intimate epic of a debut.＂ - BookLife by Publishers Weekly

＂Highly recommended reading, regardless of your favorite genre; it will stay with you for a long time.＂ - Readers’ Favorite

＂Berelson has a gift for dialogue that rings true to a child’s perspective.＂ - Seattle Book Review

For readers who loved The Glass Castle and The Secret Life of Bees, this heartfelt coming-of-age novel travels through the landscapes-both emotional and American-that define who we are and who we dare to become.