This coming of age story, by Michelle Buckman, is set in the South, in a quaint small town. The story grips us from the opening lines and won’t let go. The simple opening lines,: "My sister lay sleeping in the sun on the beach beside me." Savannah and Charleston, so close in age they’re practically twins, are named after towns that “epitomized the South and all a Southern woman ought to be, as if we lived back in some historic generation when women wore long gowns and went about with escorts to teas.”Narrated in hindsight by a heroine who’d give anything to rewrite a chapter in her life, “Turning In Circles” haunts us with what-ifs. Every decision we make has consequences, not just for us, but our loved ones, our neighbors, even our pets, and for the whole community. In an age when other teens are immersed in video games and cell phones, these girls are busy with chores on the family farm. Their best friend and neighbor is a hard-muscled, calloused guy named Ellerbe who rides a horse to school. Their sixteenth summer began so well, that day on the beach: “Right then, no one could have convinced me life was less than perfect or that heaven was more than a whisper away for either of us, and on that day I would have been right,” Savannah reflects.

One word to describe my reaction after finishing this book…Brilliant!

Honestly I didn’t know what to expect going into this story. The blurb on the cover of the book said, “ …a suspenseful and illuminating and unforgettable story…” and the book definitely delivered on that but what I didn’t expect was for it to pull at my heart strings so much.

Turning in Circles is about two sisters Savannah and Charleston growing up in a small southern American town. The sisters are so close in age everyone assumes they are twins. Being the same age the sisters are best friends and do and share everything together until one day Charleston meets Dillon, the town’s bad boy. Dillon is bad news and pulls Charleston into his destructive life. At a very fast pace Savannah is losing her sister and her best friend to his corruption and is ill prepared to pull her sister free from him.

I have a bad habit of judging books by their covers. This cover did not appeal to me in the least but what I mistake it would have been to pass on this book. I really enjoyed reading this book. I love how the author captured the voice of the south and the experiences of growing up and living in small town America. The story is told from Savannah point of view and my heart just ached for her infinite love for her sister and community. Some of my favorite parts of this book are the chapters with Ellerbe who is Savannah’s neighbor, second best friend (her sister is her first), and love interest. Ellerbe is this amazing boy that has you hoping one day your own daughters will find their own Ellerbe in the world. But back to Savannah and her sister. I was so immersed in Savannah’s story that I wanted to grab her sister by the shoulders and just shake some sense into her. I was so darn frustrated not only for Charleston’s selfishness towards her sister and loving family but also I was exasperated with the destructive path she was embarking on with help from her awful boyfriend Dillon. The wonderful way this book is written though it’s impossible to hate Charleston, frustrating she is but she has enduring qualities that come from out of nowhere that instead of hating her your heart cries for her. You want to just swaddle her up and show her some extra love she craves. The message delivered to me from this book is sometimes its impossible to help others that can’t help themselves no matter how much love and attention you give them. Sometimes people have to go through an experience themselves in order to learn from it as heartbreaking and frustrating as that is for their loved ones to watch.

Ultimately this story is about the relationship between two sisters but there is a smidge of sweet romance between Savannah and Ellerbe. I would recommend this book for anyone ages 16+. Any readers who enjoy coming of age novels will love this book. Readers of southern/women’s fiction will also very much appreciate.