Set in the monsoon season in Sri Lanka in 1980, the author recalls his own years growing up in that country with the coming-of-age story of Am rith, a young, fourteen-year-old boy living with his Aunty Bundle and Uncle Lucky and their two daughters. He had been a part of their family since the death of his parents. Amrith experiences the normal range of teen emotions as he copes with the anniversary of his mother’s death, the pressure to per form Othello on stage, the arrival of his cousin Niresh from Canada, and his increasing attraction for his cousin as the two boys get to know each other. Canada’s 2005 Governor General’s Literary Award finalist (Honor Book), CLA Young Adult Book Award 2006, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award nominee 2006. sc

Although life for Amrith in 1980 Sri Lanka seems rather uneventful and orderly, things change in a hurry when his male cousin arrives from Canada and Amrith finds himself completely enamored with his new visitor. The setting is Sri Lanka, 1980, and it isthe season of monsoons. Fourteen-year-old Amrith is caught up in the life of the cheerful, well-to-do household in which he is being raised by his vibrant Auntie Bundle and kindly Uncle Lucky. He tries not to think of his life before, when his doting mother was still alive. Amrith's holiday plans seem unpromising: he wants to appear in his school's production of Othello and he is learning to type at Uncle Lucky's tropical fish business. Then, like an unexpected monsoon, his cousin arrives from Canada andAmrith's ordered life is storm-tossed. He finds himself falling in love with the Canadian boy. Othello, with its powerful theme of disastrous jealousy, is the backdrop to the drama in which Amrith finds himself immersed. Shyam Selvadurai's brilliant novels, Funny Boy and Cinnamon Gardens, have garnered him international acclaim. In this, his first young adult novel, he explores first love with clarity, humor, and compassion.