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karaklos 's review for:
Surviving Savannah
by Patti Callahan
3.5 stars
Surviving Savannah is an engaging, thoroughly researched read that had me googling places and events. Having recently visited Savannah, I was familiar with many of the sites mentioned and it made my reading more enjoyable.
There is a dual timeline and it’s done very well. I was never confused by characters or past/present. The book tells the story of the sinking of the ship “Pulaski” which I had never heard of. Callahan does a nice job unfolding the story and tying the story to the present. The sinking and attempt to survive was harrowing. Her physical descriptions of the characters were done well. I liked that Callahan let us see each character’s dark side. The idea of light vs dark in each person became an interesting theme.
I had a difficult time picturing what the ship looked like when it went down and where the characters were at the time. Also, I couldn’t quite picture what Augusta’s group was floating on.
I enjoyed the past story so much more than the present. The grief story that Everly was experiencing seemed made up and detracted from the overall story. Over the course of the book, I became more and more annoyed with her. I wish more time had been spent on her research and findings. I loved it when she was puzzling over the shipwreck instead of agonizing over Mora. She didn’t need to experience survivor’s guilt to curate the exhibit. I was really confused by Everly’s relationship with Maddox.
There were many little things in the book that bothered me…things that didn’t seem plausible (Priscilla was allowed to ride in a lifeboat, childhood friends Everly and Mora both end up working in curation at the same museum, a man “tosses” a baby to safety while swimming in the ocean). I ignored these annoyances for the greater good of enjoying the story.
My 2-person book club had a lot of discussion over this one.
Surviving Savannah is an engaging, thoroughly researched read that had me googling places and events. Having recently visited Savannah, I was familiar with many of the sites mentioned and it made my reading more enjoyable.
There is a dual timeline and it’s done very well. I was never confused by characters or past/present. The book tells the story of the sinking of the ship “Pulaski” which I had never heard of. Callahan does a nice job unfolding the story and tying the story to the present. The sinking and attempt to survive was harrowing. Her physical descriptions of the characters were done well. I liked that Callahan let us see each character’s dark side. The idea of light vs dark in each person became an interesting theme.
I had a difficult time picturing what the ship looked like when it went down and where the characters were at the time. Also, I couldn’t quite picture what Augusta’s group was floating on.
I enjoyed the past story so much more than the present. The grief story that Everly was experiencing seemed made up and detracted from the overall story. Over the course of the book, I became more and more annoyed with her. I wish more time had been spent on her research and findings. I loved it when she was puzzling over the shipwreck instead of agonizing over Mora. She didn’t need to experience survivor’s guilt to curate the exhibit. I was really confused by Everly’s relationship with Maddox.
There were many little things in the book that bothered me…things that didn’t seem plausible (Priscilla was allowed to ride in a lifeboat, childhood friends Everly and Mora both end up working in curation at the same museum, a man “tosses” a baby to safety while swimming in the ocean). I ignored these annoyances for the greater good of enjoying the story.
My 2-person book club had a lot of discussion over this one.