Savannah from Savannah (Denise Hildreth)

Rating: [rate 3.5]

Savannah from Savannah by Denise HildrethI’m coming home to prove something..to my city, my mother, and myself.It is a place known to most as Savannah. It is a place known to me as home. I wish I could tell you it was my love for this city that precipitated my return. But I did not return out of a mere longing for home. I returned because I have something to prove to home. I am Savannah…from Savannah.

Savannah from Savannah is the first part of the trilogy of Savannah Phillips, a twenty-four year old woman who has been named by her mother after their beloved Georgia town, Savannah. Savannah had just finished graduate school when she learns two things: 1) her favorite newspaper writer back home passed away and 2) her novel was chosen by a New York publishing house and it will be considered for publishing and she should go to their awards night. After a bit of squealing and all, she notices that the letter has her mother’s name. She puts two and two together and realized that her mother Victoria (Vicky) pulled some strings to get her there. She decided to go home and apply at the newspaper to continue the legacy of her favorite writer and to show her mom just who she is and that she doesn’t need any help — especially her’s — to reach her dreams.

Or does she? Savannah goes back home ready to prove things to her mother, but it turns out she has a lot more to find out not only about her mother but also about herself. (What a cheesy way to put it. :p)

Savannah from Savannah is a good first novel for a trilogy. It introduces a lot of the characters that would make up Savannah’s world and you know from the ending that there would be more stories for Savannah to come. Savannah seems like a bright young girl who has a knack for making fun of her mother, and her mother is a dignified woman who seems like a flake at first but turns out she really is not.

The story is very entertaining and even if the novel’s length is quite okay, there are a lot of parts in the novel that can be removed and the story will still remain intact. Though these removable parts of the novel add a bit more information and funny memories for you to share with the protagonist, I don’t think they made much significance over the entire storyline. They weren’t hanging subplots; they’re just little stories that seem to be thrown there just so there’s more to tell about the characters.

It’s a good read though. Savannah is someone to look out for. :)