One Summer in Savannah

"Nothing short of astonishing. The best writers are brave writers, and Harris has proven herself among those ranks." --Mateo Askaripour, New York Times bestselling author of Black Buck

Coming home means risking everything she's built and confronting everything she's survived.

Eight years after surviving a sexual assault, Sara Lancaster has rebuilt her life far from her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. She pours herself into her poetry and her daughter, Alana: a precocious eight-year-old with a brilliant mind and a wild imagination. But when her father suffers a stroke, Sara has no choice but to return to the place that failed her and the people who never believed her story.

Back in Savannah, Sara steps into her father's shoes at his beloved indie bookstore and tries to maintain a low profile. Her only priority is to keep Alana safe--and hidden--from the Wyler family, whose powerful, well-respected son is serving time for Sara's assault. What Sara doesn't expect is to discover that Jacob Wyler--her attacker's identical twin brother and once her teenage crush--has also returned to town, dealing with his own grief and shame. When the two reconnect, Sara and Jacob are drawn together by their shared losses, their love of language and science, and the ache of unresolved questions.

One Summer in Savannah is a powerful debut about confronting trauma, reclaiming agency, and discovering unexpected paths toward forgiveness.

"An unforgettable portrayal of familial tragedy, bravery, and redemption." --Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman's Daughter

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Published Jul 4, 2023

464 pages

Average rating: 7.67

169 RATINGS

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SunnE🌻

Apr 30, 2025

3/10 stars

Engaging enough to keep the pages turning but not quite the tone or storyline of my personal interest. Lots to follow, you can guess where it’ll end, colorfully written. Nice first novel by Terah Shelton Harris. Can’t wait to see where her growth takes her!

Melshizzle

Jan 11, 2025

9/10 stars

Great read, family, tragedy and growth .

Koriander

Jan 08, 2025

I read this for book club and an upcoming book fest - https://ameliaislandbookfestival.... February book club read, discussion questions were included in the hardback copy. I thought this was a very well done book on forgiveness and moving on from past trauma. Our main character Sara suffered a rape as a teen which resulted in a child, a child who's existence she hid from her home town of Savannah, GA, including the father and family of the child. Her rapist Daniel, who was from the wealthy powerful Wyler's family, went to trial and was sentenced for his crime but the town never forgot the case. When her father's health falters, she comes out of hiding to be with her father and reluctantly exposes her child to the family she is afraid will try to take her daughter from her. She develops a relationship with Jacob, the other brother of the man who raped her, and learns about his own struggle with his family and the repercussions of the events that happened to her in his own family. The author did a very nice job of developing relationships between Sara and Jacob, and all the family members including Sara's genius daughter Alana.

Tye Price

Dec 11, 2024

2/10 stars

All I got from this is that Jacob & Sara’s future children would be siblings/cousins.

I didn’t enjoy this book and was definitely not moved by the romance. It just wasn’t believable to me. In no world would a woman fall in love with her assaulter’s identical twin brother. She fears water because of the memory of that day but doesn’t speak of any fear of having her assaulter’s identical face over her/beside her during intimate moments. It’s one thing to be forgiving which was the main theme in the book but this just wasn’t it.

Also disliked that her father only spoke using poetry. Actually skipped any scenes with him in it because I was annoyed.

One last thing the assaulter’s family including love interest Jacob infuriated me. They continuously spoke about Daniel’s genius and how impactful he would have been in the world as a way to absolve him of his crime. One may argue his crime shouldn’t define him but it was a disservice to Sara to pretend like he didn’t commit the act. Plus I only believe he was remorseful because of his diagnosis.

This book wasn’t for me & I’m honestly confused by some of the raving reviews.

TBGRbookclub

Aug 13, 2024

9/10 stars

Reviewed by TyaNeka Edwards One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris is a beautifully written story. It follows Sara as she goes back home to care for her dying father, with an eight year old daughter that she has kept secret from the man who assaulted her and townspeople who didn’t believe her. What should have or could have be a drama filled book is instead a story of forgiveness, patience, and love. With her love of poetry leading the way, Harris weaves together a story about the power of family. Sara’s dad uses poetry as a means of a communicating and although this was annoying at times and even seemed jarring, it also served as a healing tool for Sara and Jacob. This book really surprised me because I was prepared not to like it…because how can a sexual assault victim fall in love with the twin brother of the man who assaulted her? Somehow, it worked here. Harris provides a bit of an epilogue at the end with the inclusion of “A conversation with the author” excerpt and it delivers a good ending to this story. I look forward to reading more from Terah Shelton Harris.