Kristin Feliz's Review: The Piper's Son

Today's review is from Kristin Feliz @ GrowingUp YA!

Synopsis: Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it’s Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.

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I've been thinking...

I should probably change the name of my blog to: The Official Melina Marchetta Fan-Girl SQUEE Site.

No?

Well, it's either that or GrowingUp Marchetta.

Hmm...I like the sound of that *grins*

Seriously though, Melina Marchetta has easily become my FAVORITE author (If you couldn't already tell). And The Piper's Son? Let's put it this way, I was making plans to re-read it long before I was even finished.

But on to my review, which I promise won't get too crazy with fan-girl squee...

Maybe.

The Piper's Son takes place five years after Saving Francesca. The tables have turned and the novel's hero is now a 21-year-old Thomas Mackee. His world has turned upside-down and if you thought he was a hot-mess before...well, you just wait!

Now I don't know how Marchetta does it, but she has this way of making you feel for these characters. They're not just paper and ink! These characters come alive and you yearn for them. Your heart breaks for them. And once their stories have been told, it becomes incredibly difficult to let go.

I'll warn you, Tom Mackee was my real love going into this novel. I lusted over his eccentric swag in Saving Francesca and I was thrilled to finally get a glimpse at the inner workings of a complicated mind. What I never expected, however, was to fall in love with Tom's aunt, Georgie, who managed to pull me through the novel.

But why Georgie??

Well, I think it had everything to do with seeing her vulnerability as an adult. I tend to forget that adults are, in fact, normal human beings who can easily muck things up sometimes. Yes, they make mistakes and no, they don't always have all the answers. Georgie's story was full of those moments. Wonderful moments that made you reflect on your own experiences and familial relationships.

Don't get me wrong, Tom Mackee will always be my boo (behind Jonah Griggs, of course) but there was this magnetic attraction to Georgie that made her stand out and stick with me.

You know what else I loved about this book, and what makes Marchetta's novels so remarkable? The woman makes you work! She'll be there to set up the pieces, but it's up to you to put them together. And how she manages to successfully combine an honest narrative with touches of irresistible humor still boggles my mind. She's brilliant!

I never in a million years would have thought that I'd end up loving contemporary novels as much as I do. Yet, here I am, completely devoted to Marchetta's written word. The woman manages to grab me with honest and raw emotion, and I can't help but be inspired by it.

The Piper's Son is a lot of things, but most importantly, it's a story about life, second chances and that little spark of hope that remains long after the world has left you in the dark.

And to you, Melina Marchetta, I thank you.

From the bottom of my book-loving heart.

Your words have never failed to inspire

and for that I am eternally grateful.

Original review post can be found at Kristin Feliz's blog GrowingUp YA.