One Summer In Savannah.

 

 

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It's been eight years since Sara Lancaster left her home in Savannah, Georgia. Eight years since her daughter, Alana, came into this world, following a terrifying sexual assault that left deep emotional wounds Sara would do anything to forget. But when Sara's father falls ill, she's forced to return home and face the ghosts of her past. 

While caring for her father and running his bookstore, Sara is desperate to protect her curious, outgoing, genius daughter from the Wylers, the family of the man who assaulted her. Sara thinks she can succeed—her attacker is in prison, his identical twin brother, Jacob, left town years ago, and their mother are all unaware Alana exists. But she soon learns that Jacob has also just returned to Savannah to piece together the fragments of his once-great family. And when their two worlds collide—with the type of force Sara explores in her poetry and Jacob in his astrophysics—they are drawn together in unexpected ways. 

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Heart Wrecking. Powerful. 

Some individuals find it difficult to forgive. One Summer in Savannah was a book about forgiveness. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to forgive something like what happened to Sara. I stumbled upon this powerful book in my library's digital collection. I felt the book would be powerful, but I didn't realize its true impact. One Summer in Savannah is a book that evokes strong emotions from the characters' experiences. I should have known the impact this book would have on me. I still can't get the story out of my mind. 

You can't help but love Sara and empathize with her. I can't even begin to imagine how she felt upon her return. I did wonder if Sara would return to Savannah if it wasn’t for her father. After returning to Savannah, I had a feeling she wouldn't go back to Maine. I knew she was struggling with her emotions regarding what to do when she met Jacob. I wondered what David would think of his brother’s relationship with Sara. 

Alana was one of my favorite characters. I couldn't help but love the little girl and the bond she shared with Jacob. Although he wasn't her father, he treated her as his own. I wonder if Alana's perception of Jacob would change if she knew about his relation to the person who mistreated her mother. I couldn’t help but wonder how the story would end if the three of them would become a family. My favorite part of the story is the fact that Sara's father spoke in poetry, which I love. 

I enjoyed the story and found myself frequently thinking about it. However, the ending felt incomplete and left me wanting more. I can't believe that One Summer in Savannah was the author's debut novel. I'm eager to see what the author has in store for us next.