Ferragost Review

Ferragost by Melina Marchetta
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Published in: Review of Australian Fiction - Volume 3, Issue 4

"Lady Celie of the Lumateran Flatlands is visiting the Belegonian spring castle on the isle of Ferragost. Cut off from the rest of Belegonia by poor weather, she is confined to the island with four others, including the mysterious castellan of the castle. When the body of one of the guests is discovered on the rocks outside the east tower, Celie is not only considered a suspect, but finds herself embroiled in events that are entwined with her own kingdom's cursed history, as well as the future of the entire land of Skuldenore."

Every spring the King of Belegonia and his family stay at the Ferragost castle located off the coast of Belegonia. This year they invite Lady Celie of the Lumatere Flatlands to join them at Ferragost. While the arrival of the royal family is delayed by the weather, someone is murdered at Ferragost Castle and Celie decides to help the Castellan of the isle, Banyon, solve the murder. But it becomes tricky when Banyon suspects her of the murder and accuses her of being a spy for Lumatere.

Although it's a short story, Ferragost pretty much has everything I love to find in a Melina Marchetta story! There's always a surprise (or two or three!), something I never see coming. Even when I think I have the mystery solved, I never would have guessed the real reasons behind the characters' motives and actions. It tends to leave me in awe with my mouth hanging open and wondering how Melina Marchetta always manages to do this to her readers.

Melina's characters and the relationships in her stories are some of my favorites ever. Celie and her relationship with Banyon is no exception. On the outside Celie looks frail, but on the inside she's a total badass. I adored her! I also loved Banyon and Celie's interactions with him. Banyon doesn't seem to trust her and comes off as really rude, but there's an attraction there between them. So you can imagine the tension that builds whenever they're around each other. Celie will play a role in Quintana of Charyn, and I'm really really hoping Banyon will too! Even if it's a minor one, I don't care. He is up there with how I feel about the other male leads in the series. It amazes me how quickly and easily I can fall in love with Melina Marchetta characters. They are just that awesome.

According to Melina, Ferragost takes place around the same time as events in Quintana of Charyn but doesn't spoil anything. If you're a fan of the Lumatere Chronicles, I highly recommend you read Ferragost! It'll make you want the final book in the series even more, but at the same time it'll satisfy you and be the fix you need while you wait for QoC's release.

(Ferragost is featured in an issue of the online journal Review of Australlian Fiction. More info here. And it can be purchased here!)

Froi of the Exiles Reviews & Giveaway

If you're a regular on this site, then you've been privy to practically every news about our most revered author, Melina Marchetta. But this blog isn't only about the latest happenings with MM and her writing but as well as the latest wonderful reviews of her books in and around the book loving community.

This batch of reviews is about Froi of the Exiles.


Janina from Janina reads:
"This story has a very peculiar atmosphere. It is actually hard to describe: almost dream-like in some parts, but so very real in others - simply an extraordinary combination. Especially the scenes taking place in and around the Citavita induced the strangest feeling in me. This feeling is almost impossible to grasp, and I’m certainly not able to put in into words – but I loved the experience. It gave me chills, it was different and it is impossible to forget."


Rachel from GoodReads:
"Who would have thought that I would develop such a soft spot for Froi?! Froi, the thieving, spitting, contrary boy, that tried what he did with Isoboe, has experienced such growth in the three years in Lumatere. Being with people that show him love has turned Froi into a worthy person with a desire to be a better man. I love Quintana and Froi’s story. I hope with an anxious heart all turns out well for them."


Olivia from GoodReads:
"On the contrary: Admirable as Marchetta's stories are – fantastic or realistic with twists and turns and satisfactory solutions and all that stuff favorites are made of – their true, distinctive magic is hidden inside the characters. When it comes to Marchetta-made characters I feel like a snake dancing to an enchanted flute's song: My loyalty, my love and my repulsion place themselves at the author's whim."


A.J. from Collections:
"When I started Froi, I stayed up really late the first day because I just could not put it down! It's definitely the fastest I've read through a Melina Marchetta novel. I can't say that taking my time and savoring it ever crossed my mind. EVER. There was no way I would have been able to do that. It was my most anticipated novel of the year! [...] Everything you expect from a Melina Marchetta novel can be found in Froi of the Exiles."



To coincide with this post and Froi of the Exiles's North American release back on March 13, Melina Marchetta's US publisher Candlewick Press is providing a finished hardcover copy to one lucky reader! The giveaway is open to US/CA residents and ends April 11. Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Good luck and huge thanks to Candlewick Press!

Eva's Review: The Piper's Son

Today's review is from Eva at The Book Stoner!

"Thomas Mackee wants oblivion. Wants to forget parents who leave and friends he used to care about and a string of one-night stands, and favorite uncles being blown to smithereens on their way to work on the other side of the world.

But when his flatmates turn him out of the house, Tom moves in with his single pregnant aunt, Georgie, starts working at the Union pub with his former friends, winds up living with his grieving father again, and remembers how he abandoned Tara Finke two years ago, after his uncle's death.

And in a year when everything's broken, Tom realises that his family and friends need him to help put the pieces back together as much as he needs them."


The Piper's Son is a sequel (more like a companion novel) to Saving Francesca but I loved it more than the first one. While Saving Francesca deals with depression, The Piper's Son shows how death changes everything and that ruined relationships that seem hopeless can be rebuilt through forgiveness and acceptance, and when one finally decides to let go of grief.

I shed a bucket of tears because of this book. I did not look all too great after reading it. Dried tears on my cheeks and neck and snot all over.

Tom's favorite uncle, Joe, died when he was overseas for a job. Since then, his life has never been the same. His mother and sister moved away when his father, Dominic, turned to alcohol and left them. All too consumed with anger and grief, Tom turns away from his friends and the love of his life, Tara. Two years after, Tom's roommates kick him out so he he's forced to live with his aunt, Georgie. The thing is, Georgie has problems of her own. She's pregnant and Sam, her long time love, cheated on her. Since she ended their relationship, she thinks she's ready to raise the child alone but the problem is she's having trouble getting over Sam because he's always been there for her when Joe died. A few weeks after, Dominic comes back and stays with her and Tom but it's not always easy staying with people who are angry at each other.

So you see, this book is full of unhappy people. Their experiences are too painful. I don't think they deserve that much pain though. They're such good and likable people that I hoped things would get better for them. I wanted (a) Dominic to admit his faults and make an effort to fix his family, (b) Tom to get his shxt together, fix his relationship with his friends, and figure out what he wants in life, and get Tara back if he's sure about her, and (c) Georgie to figure out what she wants too - patch things up with Sam or move on.

Georgie, Tom, and Dominic living together may not be the best idea, but they find in each other what they need to see so they can get better, become better versions of themselves. Alas, the ending was a happy one and so my tears weren't for naught.

I remember thinking that exact moment, I want to change the world with her... That's a pretty powerful gift you have there, Ms. Finke. To make the laziest guy around want to change the world with you. So next time you remember standing in your bedroom naked, know that it is the most amazing view from any angle, especially the one where we get to see inside.

Love always,
Always,
Tom

Melina Marchetta, I love you. You're one of the best out there.

P. S. I want to know where Jimmy Hailer is.

A fitting song?

Original review can be found at Eva's blog The Book Stoner.

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.

-----

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.

Joy's Review: On the Jellicoe Road

My father took one hundred and thirty two minutes to die.

I counted.

It happened on the Jellicoe Road. The prettiest road I’d ever seen, where trees made breezy canopies like a tunnel to Shangri-La. We were going to the ocean, hundreds of kilometres away, because I wanted to see the ocean and my father said that it was about time the four of us made that journey. I remember asking, “What’s the difference between a trip and a journey?” and my father said, “Narnie, my love, when we get there, you’ll understand,” and that was the last thing he ever said.

We heard her almost straight away. In the other car, wedged into ours so deep that you couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. She told us her name was Tate and then she squeezed through the glass and the steel and climbed over her own dead – just to be with Webb and me; to give us her hand so we could clutch it with all our might. And then a kid called Fitz came riding by on a stolen bike and saved our lives.

Someone asked us later, “Didn’t you wonder why no one came across you sooner?”

Did I wonder?

When you see your parents zipped up in black body bags on the Jellicoe Road like they’re some kind of garbage, don’t you know?

‘Wonder dies'.

_______________________________________________

Have you ever been intimidated to write up a review of a book you just read?

Where you scramble to find the right words to best describe the full experience of what you just went through but come up with a page-full of inadequate sentences and ramblings that made little sense?  

This was how I felt when I read Jellicoe Road.

The first few pages of this book confused me. I remember thinking that maybe I was out of my depth and that I should stop and save it for a day when my mind wasn’t so full of cobwebs. But there was just something about Narnie’s silent tenderness that wouldn’t let me stop.

So I read; until the words off the pages became clearer and the characters of the book spoke with determined voices. I read until the book became a movie in my mind’s eye and the heartaches became so visceral that reading became a cycle of starts and stops. But no matter how much time I gave myself, the characters’ miserable plights became even more heartbreaking that I found myself tearfully wondering - why the heck was I putting my heart in an emotional blender?

I am one of those readers who steer clear of angst and reality fiction for the simple fact that I read to escape. My life is real enough. I’d rather read of rainbows and unicorns and slain dragons. But after reading Jellicoe, I couldn’t help but feel that I was missing a whole lot.

Before Jellicoe Road, I read Melina Marchetta’s Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son first. Don’t get me wrong, both books affected me in their own rights. But Jellicoe Road is something else altogether. Once I figured out the elaborate web of this novel, I learned to appreciate the overwrought and emotional journey that Melina Marchetta took me at the time.

I love the way Melina made me fall in love with a character that to some may consider flawed beyond redemption.

Take Tate Markham, for example. She fell apart because the love of her life died; so much so that she couldn’t even stay sober for her child. She abused her body by any means necessary to stay numb. I found her selfish and weak, neglectful of the single person who should’ve been her solace and salvation. But throughout the book, did I feel any contempt against her? The answer is, no. I found it difficult to get angry when all I could feel was her palpable loss. Melina Marchetta's writing is that potent.

I could go on and on about every character in this book, but I’d probably just end up repeating myself anyway.

I read On the Jellicoe Road last May and it’s taken me a while to actually write a proper review. I have been re-reading this on days when not a single book on my shelf looks enticing. I can honestly say that asking me to pick which of Melina Marchetta’s work is my favorite is like asking me to pick which of my two children do I love more. It’s just wrong.

This is an award-winning book that rightfully deserves all the accolades it’s been getting. As for this review, all I can say is, I tried my best.

- I rated this 5/5 Stars.