CW: death, cancer
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle is about Katy's grieving journey after her mother, Carol, dies from cancer. Carol and Katy were best friends, and before Carol passed, they had planned a trip to Positano, Italy together. Positano is a place that was dear to Carol's heart because it's where she went on a solo trip to find herself, and she wanted to show Katy how she made Positano her own. A few weeks after her mother's death, Katy makes the trip to Positano alone, after she told her husband that she's not sure if she wants to be in the relationship anymore, and she's enjoying herself. While she's at the front desk, she sees a 30-year-old Carol trying to send mail back to the United States, and that's where the adventure begins.
I was not sure how the magical realism element was going to take place before reading, but Serle makes it work extremely well. I thought that the idea of Katy seeing her mother as a 30-year-old and going on adventures with her was weird at first, but I grew to like it because it kind of allowed Katy to have one last adventure with her mom but also to learn the lessons Carol did at that age as an adult herself. Katy can seem unlikeable at times because she feels that her mom knew Katy better than herself, and she felt incredibly lost when her best friend was gone. I think, however, that a loss of that magnitude can be hard on anyone, and Katy deserves a little grace on that front.
I absolutely *loved* the scenery in this book. I have been to the Amalfi Coast before, and the writing made me feel like I was transported back to it and made me wish I could experience it in person again. The email exchanges between the author and the owner of the hotel which Katy stays in was an extra surprise that I enjoyed to see how the story of the hotel and Positano itself came alive. The cover is also extremely true to the Amalfi Coast, and I loved the gold outline around the buildings that seemed to glisten in the light, depending on the angle the light was hitting the book at.
Have you read One Italian Summer? Or have you read a book set in a place you've been to and found yourself longing to go back? I'd love to chat about it!
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