Sara thinks that keeping her daughter Alana a secret will keep her safe But Alana is different. She is a genius. And she inherited it through a tragic event. She was conceived in a rape from a well born family from Savannah.
When Sara received a call to return to Savannah from her father, who is dying from a brain aneurysm, she panics. But does go home and helps at her father's bookstore. There she meets the rapists twin brother Daniel, she is scared. But grows to care for him. Can she trust someone who looks so much like her enemy? Can she keep the secret of Alana safe? Or is she finally able to face her past and make a future for herself and her family?

This book covers several very difficult and painful topics. The author begins the book with a content/trigger warning, and I would encourage readers to tread lightly if any of the topics listed are triggers, because the entirety of the plot is based on a sexual assault. I think the author did a masterful job of highlighting the emotional struggle of a woman who raises a child that is the product of assault. There are strong familial themes, redemption, and healing.

I did not connect with some aspects of the plot - they just didn't work well for me. Without spoiling, there is a love story that for me did not feel as authentic as I think it could have. I can see a lot of readers enjoying it, because it certainly makes the reader think and feel. Again, the author did a fantastic job of weaving the storylines together and making the reader dig deep inside themselves. What would I do in a similar situation? How would I really feel? Would I have made the same decisions as the characters? I think this book would be great for a book club, as there is a lot to discuss and very polarizing issues.

One Summer in Savannah is the debut novel for Terah Shelton Harris. This is a must read book, it has absolutely catapulted to my top read this year. This story was so heart-achingly beautiful and devastating at the same time and one that will stay with me for a long time, the end has absolutely wrecked me.

One Summer In Savannah explores the theme of forgiveness. Are some things too great to give forgiveness for? How does that change when it's family?

But, it's also a story that explores loss and grief, and not just in the traditional sense of a death of a loved one. But the grief over a life that once was and what could have been. And it's a story about strength, courage, and love.

The sweetest love stories develop in this book, one of first love, but also the love that develops between an uncle and his niece, a niece he didn't know he had. And it's the absolute sweetest thing.

As I said, this story was just so beautifully written. I didn't want to put it down. There was such an interesting element to it where the main characters father spoke in lines of poetry. And so there was quite a bit of poetry quoted throughout the book, and although I'm not a poetry reader, the poetry added so much to the beauty of this story.

Wow, is all I can say. I'm not sure I can write a review that truly captures my feelings for this book. You must read for yourself!!

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Sara must return to Savannah when her father falls ill. She hasn't been back since her beautiful and brilliant daughter Alana was born. This place has too many painful memories.

Alana was conceived when Sara was raped at a party. While Daniel Wyler, her attacker was put in prison, she couldn’t face the people in town and left quickly, leaving most people unaware she was pregnant from the assault.

Jacob Wyler, Daniel’s identical twin has also been called home to Savannah. When he runs into little Alana he immediately knows it must be Daniel’s child. Sara and Jacob connect, and although she cannot believe she would ever fall for a man related to her attacker - Jacob is not Daniel.

I cannot do this book justice in this small space. We are privy to both Sara’s and Jacob’s POVs. We see how Sara had to raise her daughter on her own, sheltering her daughter from the stigma and trauma of the past. But yet we see how Jacob’s family was ripped and torn apart by the action of Daniel - they all suffered because of the one.

The author brilliantly uses poetry like I’ve never experienced before. Sara’s father only speaks in poems. The story is filled with incredibly intelligent people - but hurting people, people who have hurt others, made mistakes - people who need forgiveness.

This is such a powerful story! It shows how we tend to see one side of the story - ours. I’m not a crier, but the ending had me choked up. Bitterness and hatred steal so much from us; forgiveness and love sets us free.

Thank you @bookmarked for a gifted book.

I enjoyed this one. Lots of trauma in the story so trigger warnings abound, but the author handles it well. Sara Lancaster left her home and her family eight years ago after finding out she was pregnant, at age 18, with a baby conceived by a rape. The boy who raped her, Daniel, was from a wealthy family, and she was basically run out of town. She hid the baby from his family and raised her daughter in Maine. Now, her beloved father is ill, and she has to head home to Savannah to help take care of him. She is terrified of running into the family. We also hear from the perspective of Jacob, the twin brother of Daniel. Jacob feels so different from his brother and his own family, who has had a lot of trauma themselves. Jacob meets Sara and her daughter, and slowly, starts falling for both of them. Will it work? Will Sara tell Daniel and his family who her daughter is? I liked this book, and I really liked the characters.

3.5

This a beautiful story about love and forgiveness. While a bit predictable, it was an overall enjoyable read. Definitely heavy subject matter so check trigger warnings.

Thank you to Sourcebooks, Terah Shelton Harris, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Inspired by actual events in a different context, One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris is a powerful story of family and forgiveness. Her debut novel tackles traumatic events with a very readable storytelling style.

At age 18, Sara is sexually assaulted by the son of a prominent family and becomes pregnant. When his trial ends, she leaves her family's home in Savannah to start a new life in Maine, telling only her family about the baby. Eight years later, Sara returns for the first time due to her father's failing health.

While working in her father's bookstore, she encounters Jacob, the twin brother of her attacker who's developed a unique bond with her father. Over time, her feelings toward him move from adversarial to neutral to friendship to more. Will Sara choose to rebuild her life in Savannah, surrounded by the people she loves most?

This contemporary character-driven plot has a lot going on, but that didn't bother me (like in another recent read). In addition to a deep exploration of forgiveness, another theme is motherhood and the lengths mothers will go to to protect their children. Sara's father has a very unique means of communication which led to many classic poems included in the prose. The forward movement of the plot relies on several convenient coincidences, especially at the end. This book is a meaningful illustration of the maxim that withholding forgiveness harms the "forgiver" far more than the "forgivee."

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for access to a review copy of this novel.

The message, the message, the message.

If someone asked me why I would recommend this book, I would simply say because of the message. This seems like a story about love formed from unimaginable circumstances, but it’s so much more. Loss, love, grief, forgiveness, family, etc.I can admit this was a slow read for me, but it was so worth pushing through for the author’s message about love and forgiveness. I was snotting and crying the entire last half of the book.

Given some of the things mention on the book, I would not recommend trying to read through this in one sitting. To protect your peace, please check the trigger warnings before reading as there are some heavy things discussed.

What an absolutely fabulous debut novel. This is a story about forgiveness and redemption with a touching romance and I loved it. I particularly enjoyed the character of Alana, an 8 year old genius, who while important to the plot, also served to cut through the adult worries and voice what is important. The writing is beautiful and author's trick of having one minor character only speaking in well known poetry was effective in adding to the depth of the story. I look forward to this author's next novel. 5/5

This one was indeed a very timely novel. I couldn't put it down. It was a slow start but it quickly picked up.

This story is beautifully written and you will fall in love with most of the characters, especially Alana and Jacob. The subject matter is incredibly difficult: child conceived by rape and raised in secret by the mother, returning to the hometown where the rape and public trial happened to take care of a dying father, and forming a complicated relationship with the rapist's identical twin brother. This book is ultimately about families and forgiveness and while the story kind of wrapped up in somewhat of a too-tidy bow, it did tackle a lot of incredibly big feelings with some nuance. Was I crying by the end? Oh yes. Did it feel a little bit manipulative in the realm of Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook? Yeah, it did. Did I care? Nope. I couldn't put this book down, despite some of the unrealistic dynamics in the story. That's how much you really appreciate the characters. There is a also a lot of poetry in the book, used as actual dialogue. I'm not a poetry person...at all...but it worked really well with the story and the characters. I'm not about to pick up books by Whitman or Tennyson, but I didn't mind their part in the story. I really loved this book despite its imperfections so the 5-stars are based mostly on emotion and because of the gorgeous writing!

What a thought-provoking, beautifully written story that tackles some heavy subject matter. Definitely check the trigger warnings before reading!

The premise is that Sara (MC) returns to Savannah after being away for 8+ years after being sexually assaulted. In the interim, her attacker’s been in jail and she’s been raising her daughter (the product of this assault) in secret.

I personally had to suspend my disbelief for this next part—Sara befriends her attacker's identical twin brother Jacob and allows him to tutor her genius daughter, as long as he keeps her existence a secret from the rest of his family. Then Sara and Jacob's relationship starts to grow into something more. Identical twin though? Not sure about that.

Kind of ignoring that piece, I still found this story to be equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful and I was rooting for both Jacob and Sara. They’re just such GOOD people you can’t help but want the best for them. Sara's strength as she balanced protecting herself from her trauma while being a good mother to Alana and Jacob’s struggle with his own broken family were very messy, raw, and real.

I found the use poetry in the book interesting and unique (Sara’s dad only speaks in poems) but it ultimately felt like it broke the flow of my reading. 9 times out of 10, i’m not choosing to read poetry just for fun so it just felt like extra work having to slow down and figure out what her Dad meant

All in all, Shelton did a beautiful job with an uncomfortable topic presented in a unique way. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc!

One Summer in Savannah is the debut novel by Terah Shelton Harris. Sara is faced with returning home to Savannah to care for her father. A place she said she would never go back to. Sara was raped when she was 18 by the son of a very powerful family. She decided to have the child and is keeping her daughter a secret. But she meets up with Jacob who happens to be the twin brother of the man who raped her. Can she trust him to keep her secret? This is a story of what it means to be part of a family through good times and bad. Also explores the power of forgiveness which at times may be a very hard thing to grant to someone that maybe doesn't really deserve it. One of my favorite books I have read this year! Highly recommend!

This is a beautifully written story about love, healing and the power of forgiveness. Some of the choices the main character makes are hard for me to imagine, like her decision to be with the twin brother of the man who sexually assaulted her. Yet I have never been in her shoes, so who am I to judge? The author writes in her note, "In writing this novel, my goal was to challenge readers on the definition of forgiveness and what it truly means to forgive." There is no doubt that I was challenged while reading and that is certainly the mark of a good book if you ask me. @terahsharris writes with compassion while tackling some truly difficult topics.

One thing to note is that the character of Hosea speaks only in poetry. At first this was a little frustrating as it broke up the flow, but as the book went on, I grew to appreciate it and it made for a very memorable read.

One Summer in Savannah is a must read., a thought provoking story of family, unconditional love, and forgiveness that will touch your heart. The main characters Sara, Jacob, and Alana are so well developed, they come alive on the pages.

One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris

This book dealt with themes of forgiveness and understanding that I really appreciated. I will say I almost didn’t pick it up when I saw that a major part of the plot is that the main character, Sara, was raped by a prominent person in her town. While the rape itself is mentioned, most of the book focuses on how both the person who is raped as well as the family of the rapist move on with their lives.

The story follow Sara and her daughter Alana, who was conceived from the rape, as well as Jacob, the brother of the rapist. As Sara moves back to the hometown she swore she would never visit again to help take care of her dying father, she comes to grips with how her life changed in ways both good and bad from her assault. Coming back home forces both her and Jacob to deal with issues that they had been able to keep buried when living other places. And in facing those issues head-on, they are both able to learn more about themselves and their capabilities for forgiveness.

A note that the father in the story only spoke in poetry – leaving the other characters to try and interpret his meaning. Sometimes this was a nice way to communicate but other times it was a lot.

#onesummerinsavannah #terahsheltonharris

This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. The powerful story of grief, trauma, forgiveness, and love. It was so deep and emotional and so well written. The characters were so deeply developed and I loved them all. I was both angry and sad and happy (at the same time) for each of the characters throughout.

When Sara was 18, she was raped by the son of a wealthy family in Savannah. He is sent to prison, despite his family's attempt to prevent this. She moves to Maine, to protect the child from the rapist and his family and to try to provide a normal upbringing.
However, when her father's companion calls her and tells her that her father may have a short time to live, Sara returns to Savannah to spend some quality time with him during his last few months.
The child, Alana, is a genius, who excels in math and who Sara tries to provide a normal childhood for her.
This is a love story - with unusual circumstances - and completely predictable. I felt that the family of the perpetrator were one dimensional.
It bothered me that Sara's father only spoke in verse -not his own words- and I never felt that he was a real person in her life with thoughts and feelings of his own. He never expressed his fear of dying (although he knew that it could happen at any time), nor did he have any interaction with the Alana.
I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinions expressed are my own. I would rate it 3.5 stars

✍️ BOOK / REVIEW ✍️

Gahhhh @terahsharris - why did you have to make me ugly cry like that?! 🥹 #onesummerinsavannah was an utterly AMAZING novel, and despite its length, I was able to read this one in less than 48 hours.

I simply adored everything about this book. The writing was absolutely beautiful. The characters were real, raw, and honest. The amount of love, respect, and forgiveness that was woven into these pages was a treasure. I can absolutely see why folks are RAVING about this book - it was such a well written and thoughtful read.

The reader is treated to both Sara and Jacob' POV - and while I normally prefer one protagonist over multiple, I found myself obsessed with each person's perspective. And while this lacks "spice," this love story was incredible. I think that writing it any other way would have ruined the purity.

I loved all of the poetic references in this novel, too - the fact that this was Hosea's way of communicating was absolutely beautiful.

Thank you, @bookmarked, for allowing me to be a part of the @booksparks #src2023 challenge - I am forever grateful for the opportunity 🙏. #booksandrec

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sara hasn't had an easy route in life. Raped as a teenager, she's left Savannah for Maine, where she's raising her daughter, Alana, the child born of the worst day of Sara's life. When she gets a call that her beloved father is dying, she hesitantly gathers Alana for the trip back to Savannah. Once home, Sara accidentally meets, Jacob, the twin brother of, Daniel, the man who raped her. Can Sara forgive and go on to lead a happier life? One Summer in Savannah is truly a beautiful book. The writing is beautiful, the poetry Sara's father communicate in is beautiful, the story of forgiveness and love is beautiful, and the characters are beautiful in spirit and physical being. This book will break your heart, while giving you joy as you finish it through your tears.