One Summer in Savannah: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child death, illness, and rape.

Sylvia finds Sara curled up on the porch and again tries to convince her to stay in Savannah—both for her good and for Alana’s. One of Sylvia’s summer campers, Brixton, comes over, and he and Alana immediately bond over a Rubik’s cube.

Hosea has finished the renovation of his bookstore. The morning of the opening, Sara watches Sylvia, Hosea, and Alana have breakfast in domestic peace. Sara begins to wonder if Alana is better off in Savannah. At the bookstore’s opening, Hosea recites Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road” and “glows with happiness” at the success of the opening (108). Near the end of the day, Sara helps a customer find a poem based only on a single line. Sara smiles, reciting the next stanzas of the poem, and is surprised to hear a male voice, which turns out to be Jacob’s, finish the poem from behind her. Jacob almost leaves, but Sara stops him, asking about the poem. He’s wearing a hat that obscures his face, so she doesn’t recognize him as they talk casually and even begin to flirt mildly.