—Book Review— Title: One Italian Summer Author: Rebecca Serle Publisher: Atria Books @atriabooks Genre: Contemporary Fiction + signature splash of magical realism
’ve been shouting from the rooftops to anyone who will listen to do the audio of this book. It’s narrated by actress Lauren Graham and she really brings to life this story, especially Katy’s grief. I know some reviews and readers have stated they had trouble with with this part of the plot and felt Katy’s grief and relationship with her mother was other the top; But I felt like the audio made this make sense. It was perfectly executed and brought Rebecca Serle’s beautiful words flying off the page.
Katy’s mother, Carol was her best friend and anchor in life. When she dies after a battle with illness, Katy is left reeling. She is lost. No one can get through to her. Not even her husband. Her mother was truly her north star. Her everything. Katy is already on a leave of absence from work as her mother’s caregiver, so not knowing what to do next, she throws caution to the wind and decides to go on the mother/daughter trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy they were supposed to go on. Her mother wanted to show her places she went as a young girl.
Katy arrives to Italy jet lagged but can’t deny the beauty of the cliff-sides and the vintage charming hotel her mother booked for them. Between that and the amazing food and drinks she starts to feel her mother’s spirit. But then she sees her mother in the flesh tanned, beautiful and only thirty years old…what the heck!?! <— Heck, yeah. Enter Rebecca Serle’s signature magical realism. Katy then gets to know Carol the real Carol, not the Carol she thought she knew and this begins to help her heal and on a journey of maybe who SHE wants be not who other people want her to be.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ For the audio, book, and cover. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. This is going on my favorites and re-reads shelf. At only 250 pages I think this is worth a try for everyone. Even if the story doesn’t work for you, I guarantee you will appreciate a trip to Italy via the pages.