"Savannah from Savannah" by Denise Hildreth

{{This is an updated review. Originally posted June 14^th, 2013, it was updated on February 24^th, 2020 to the Official Rating System.}}

About this book:

  “I'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.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Savannah” trilogy.


Spiritual Content- Prayers, Blessings over food, & Thanking God; Church going; Sermons & Talks about God; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles, those in the Bible, & Bible studies; Mentions of churches, church going, sermons, & pastors; Mentions of a Methodist evangelist & Catholics;

             *Note: A mention of a family being like gods in their city; A mention of a judge referring to himself as a god of the pageant; A mention of Hades; A mention of a sin city; A mention of a ghost.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a cut-off ‘sucks’, a ‘wimpy’, two ‘oh my word’s, two ‘screwed up’s, two ‘shoot’s, four ‘dumb’s, six forms of ‘stupid’, and eight ‘idiot’s; A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Mentions of slaves, slavery, & racism in current America; Mentions of criminals & burglars; Mentions of jail & breaking and entering; Mentions of alcohol, being drunk, & singles’ bar; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of a murderer & murders; A few mentions of killers & possible killers; A few mentions of a drunk who beats his wife and children; A few mentions of blackmail; A few mentions of cigarettes; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of (teasingly said) killing someone; A mention of wars; A mention of a wife leaving her husband; A mention of a woman who cusses like a sailor & smokes like a forest fire;

             *Note: Mentions of TV shows, celebrities, & politicians (including a mention of a biography of Hillary Clinton that Savannah’s mom wouldn’t let her keep and a George W. Bush one she bought to replace it); Mentions of movies, books, characters, & authors; Mentions of singers & songs; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of designers, brand names, & stores; A mention of a football team’s cheerleaders; A mention of Girl Scouts.

Sexual Content- a ‘floozy’; Savannah comments on her ex’s fiancé negatively (such as calling her a floozy once and mentioning that she must has fake beauty); Mentions of dates, dating, guys, & an ex; A couple mentions of a first kiss & a first love;

             *Note: Mentions of pageant girls making snide/rude comments about others (we see that a bit from different side characters); Mentions of pageants where girls prance around in their skivvies, swimsuits, & cleavage; Mentions of behinds & kicking butts (including a hint about where to pull something out of); A few mentions of the birds-and-the-bees talk & behavior; A few mentions of plastic surgery; A couple mentions of a clothing store called ‘Jezebel’; A mention of the Lord knowing what goes on inside a massage parlors; A mention of adult entertainment; A mention of a hickey; A mention of men’s boxers; A mention of Savannah commenting that it was sick of a man (23-years-old) to snatch up a 17-year-old as his wife in the 1950s.

-Savannah Phillips, age 24
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Savannah
                                                        324 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

When I first read this book in 2013, I enjoyed “Savannah from Savannah” for its wit and southern charms all throughout the plot. It’s overall pretty clean for older high school girls, but I do remember not enjoying the rest of the series as much as this first book. It is quite nice though that it is not romance based! Savannah mentions her former boyfriend and we see him a bit, but a romance story is definitely not the point of this book and I so appreciate that. I wish there were more stories in the Christian Fiction like this book in that regard. Some readers might find this book a little slow/not interesting due to this fact, though. While I enjoyed this novel, it did feel a little long at some points.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.