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heidirgorecki 's review for:
Surviving Savannah
by Patti Callahan
Surviving Savannah had the potential to be a great book but I felt like, at least for me, the story of the Pulaski was ultimately dwarfed by the present day story of Everly and the grief that she felt over the death of her best friend. The historical fiction portion felt like a minority of the book in comparison.
While grief is certainly a heavy and difficult thing to wade thru, and the correlation was made to what the survivors of the Pulaski experienced with so many lost loved ones, it was just a constant battle portrayed that felt more the focal point than the Pulaski or the stories of Lilly and Augusta that were also highlighted. At times it felt like beating a dead horse, so to speak, when that’s not really what I wanted to read about when I picked the book up. The author did do a good job of the back and forth that come with situations of grief and that envelope an individual, and how each person can ultimately choose how they respond to it - either for the better or the worse. Going thru difficult things is sort of like squeezing a soaked sponge. It only shows you and exaggerates what was already there to begin with. That was a very valuable observation and thought process she went thru, it was just not the focal point I had expected or what was advertised when I chose the book.
As a side item, I did also enjoy the historical and geographical descriptions, being that I live in NC and have visited Charleston and Savannah, and actually grew up in Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa in NY.
While grief is certainly a heavy and difficult thing to wade thru, and the correlation was made to what the survivors of the Pulaski experienced with so many lost loved ones, it was just a constant battle portrayed that felt more the focal point than the Pulaski or the stories of Lilly and Augusta that were also highlighted. At times it felt like beating a dead horse, so to speak, when that’s not really what I wanted to read about when I picked the book up. The author did do a good job of the back and forth that come with situations of grief and that envelope an individual, and how each person can ultimately choose how they respond to it - either for the better or the worse. Going thru difficult things is sort of like squeezing a soaked sponge. It only shows you and exaggerates what was already there to begin with. That was a very valuable observation and thought process she went thru, it was just not the focal point I had expected or what was advertised when I chose the book.
As a side item, I did also enjoy the historical and geographical descriptions, being that I live in NC and have visited Charleston and Savannah, and actually grew up in Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa in NY.