One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

“As I gradually restore Words Like Silver to its archive of reviews written between 2011 and 2024, I'll aim to first and foremost make my reading history explorable by publishing the blurbs and short reflections as books cross my mind, with the goal of eventually transferring and fleshing out the original WLS content. For now, please enjoy this brief spotlight.”

When Katy's mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn't just Katy's mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy's father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother's spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

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And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn't understand what is happening, or how--all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

Rebecca Serle's next great love story is here, and this time it's between a mother and a daughter. With her signature "heartbreaking, redemptive, and authentic" (Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author) prose, Serle has crafted a transcendent novel about how we move on after loss, and how the people we love never truly leave us.

Rebecca Serle is great. I love her young adult series Famous in Love for its high-low balance: indulgent genre conventions coupled with piercing moments of reflection. This read has a similar proportion and I adored the atmosphere, but I found it to be less effective because you’ll probably dislike the narrator for being an absolute narcissist.

The plot itself actually reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation, in which not a lot happens and the climax is like two pages; there are some similarities, although each book has qualities it does better than the other.

I ultimately seek a rare, holistic sense of place in what I read, and One Italian Summer excels in transporting you directly to Positano. Never have I been so tempted to buy a plane ticket based on a book—very Mamma Mia, which is an automatic “yes!” for me. The lazy, dreamy tone makes it easy to suspend disbelief and roll with its blankness in other areas, so it fits with Serle’s often-interior writing style.

Essentially, One Italian Summer is a grieving woman just eating out and talking in Italy. Not much else happens. The main character is grating the entire way through; she rarely gives thought to her father or husband, both affected by the loss and her rudeness, but instead the plot revolves around her having an emotional crisis about being the center of her mother’s life.

The emotion didn’t feel powerful enough to carry the pace. On that note, perhaps her (I forget her name already) self-absorption was necessary to the plot because otherwise the entire premise, which we find out near the end, would have fallen apart. Spoiler note for those who choose to click: In fairness, I have realized I hate time-slip narratives, and just never have patience for that as a plot (with the exception of and which are two of my favorite movies.)

There were good lines, nothing earth-shattering, but it was thoughtful. I just couldn’t really get past how little she thought about others.

Still, it has a hazy, vivid beach read feel that many will love, and I will absolutely read again for the sheer power of its transportation to coastal Italy if craving that specific location.