Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada, March 1, 2022

Format: ebook

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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: two weeks in Positano, the magical town 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.

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.

My Review:

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: books about self-discovery after loss, mother-daughter relationships.
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Katy’s mothers death hits her hard as her mother was her best friend. Katy decides to go on the trip to Italy that they had planned to go on together before her mom got sick, hoping the trip will help her deal with her mother’s death and bring her closer to her mother. What she doesn’t expect is to actually see the younger version of her mother- alive.
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I loved the exploration of the relationship between mothers and daughters. Katy thinks she knows her mother well but her death makes her realize this isn’t the case.
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I also loved the exploration of grief and loss after losing someone close to you.
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CW: death, grief, abandonment, minor sexual content, adultery.