The Piper's Son

Oh. My. Stars. This book. Wow. Just... wow. It was painfully beautiful. Literally painful. It hurt my heart so much that I don't know if I can ever read it again. And yet, it was beautiful... the writing, the relationships, the healing. I want to read it again. How does Marchetta do it? The characters are so broken and the story could easily have become cliche and well.... drivel. It didn't. It was real and at times heartbreaking and hopeful and humorous and just so incredibly emotional. I'm fairly sure that I cried for each character at some point in the novel.

The story is mainly about Tom. His life has fallen apart since we last saw him in Saving Francesca. (Note: If you've not read Saving Francesca you will not be lost in this book but it enhances the story. I would recommend reading it first.) Basically, at the story open, he has hit rock bottom and has no where to go. the piper's son follows Tom and various members of his family as they try to heal and move on from tragedies and hurts. It's told in the present as well as through memories and flashbacks. The characters are all incredibly flawed and do so many things that make you want to shake them yet you're rooting for them throughout the book.

I spent at least the first half of this book taking one hit after another to my heart. It got to the point where I almost didn't want to learn more about any of the characters because I loved them and knew that there was something that was going to blindside me and make me break for them. Then there were about 20 or so pages where I was laughing out loud and thinking, "Ah! Here is where it turns around." As we used to say in the 90s... NOT!
As I reread that I realize that it makes it sounds all doom and gloom-y. It's not. There are very funny parts. I love Tom and his crazy mixed up family and friends. They remind me of my own. Still, as I said before, Tom is at a very low point. As readers we go through that with him before the healing really starts. And the thing about healing? It can hurt too.

This was a beautiful story of life, love, healing and loyalty. Marchetta builds real, complex relationships. Not everything is tied up in a nice neat bow, but there is hope in the end.

A few of the random things I loved:
*Music... it's important to many of the people in the story and I loved the way it was used.
*The names/insults Tom and his friends/family banter around.
*Tom's silly side... we don't see it all that often in the first 2/3 of the book but Tom can be very silly. Also, witty.
*The friendship between Francesca, Justine, Siobhan, and Tara.
* Seeing the crew from Saving Francesca a few years down the road. They're no longer teenagers.

My favorite book. A hopeful (but not trite) depiction of grief and depression. Melina Marchetta is a master of creating complex, utterly human, delightful characters who interact with each other in the most lovely ways. Wonderful dialogue, wonderful plot. Never over-the-top and always very real. I laughed, I cried, I read it four times. A joy to read.

GAHHHHH I NEED A BREAK FROM MARCHETTA SINCE I READ 2 BOOKS IN A ROW THIS WEEKEND AND THIS WAS TWO BOOKS TOO MUCH BECAUSE THESE FEELS ARE TOO MUCH TO HANDLE! HOW DOES ONE COPE???

Thomas and [insert name for the sake of spoilers?] is my fav ship so far. Ofc I shipped these two stupid and incredibly lovable kids since Saving Francesca and I seriously bawled over almost everything in TPS. All the ships? The problems? The deaths? The families? EVERYTHING HURTS.

I love the friendships in this particular Marchetta world (fingers crossed they're just as amazing in Jellicoe and Lumatere) and the family relationships and the way different generations came together in a difficult time, the complicated and problematic relationships and THIS WHOLE CAST IS MY FAV TBH.

YOU GUYS I WANT A JIMMY BOOK. LIKE I LITERALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT EVERYONE WAS GOING ON ABOUT THAT CHARACTER WHEN I FIRST STARTED SF AND JUMPED INTO THIS WORLD BUT IT'S ALL I CAN THINK NOW EXCEPT WHERE CAN I GET MORE OF EVERYTHING? Jimmy's book is my #1 priority of Marchetta wishlist with lots of Frankie, Will, Thomas, Tara, Siobhan, Justine, Luca, Anabel and everyone. I BEG.

Can't wait to have this book in physical form someday, because it's a story that will stay with me for a long, long time.

The thing I loved about this book was the complicated plotline. Think about it. If she wanted to, Melina could have had this be a simple love story between a boy and a girl, and it wouldn't have been half as good.(Although, this is Melina Marchetta we're talking about, so it wouldn't be too bad either.) Instead, It's a love story about all of the characters. A love story between the Mackees, a love story between Tom and his true friends who he hang out with in high school, a love story between Georgie and Sam, Dominic and Jacinta, Francesca and Will, Tom and Tara.
Let me take a moment to quote from the book.
"He taught me the chords to that song, you know," Tom says. "'It's a love story, Tommy', he told me. 'It's a love story between Dan and Joe and every member of their family.'"
There are so many raw moments in this book that made me want to cry. ***SPOILERS AHEAD***
"'Take care of Bill,' Nanni Grace said. 'Take care of Bill because he's falling apart without his boy.'"
"Because five minutes before he rang Tara Finke, he had made a call to london. To his dead uncle."
"Those poor bastards never got over leaving Tom Finch behind. Tom had met them. They'd told him to his face when he was twelve years old that you never leave your mates behind."
"He'd be angry with us, Tom, for crying so much when all he did was laugh."
***NO MORE SPOILERS***
I loved the main character, Tom, even though he was so different than who he was in high school. It made me a little sad to see how far he had
distanced himself from his real friends. My favorite side characters were probably Dominic, Ned, and Callum. Oh, and Moshin the Ignorer. And of course Anabel Georgia Finch Mackee. I loved how close she was with Tom. Actually, the whole family was really close, except for Tom and Dominic.
Two complaints. First of all, WHERE WAS JIMMY? He "Doesn't want to be found just yet"? Whaaaat? Jimmy was one of my favorite characters in SF, and I really wanted to know what happened to him. I did like that Tom tried to contact him, and that Jimmy's story could definitely be a third book. Hint, hint. My second complaint was that it ended too soon.
One more thing. Did anyone else notice that a) Tuba Guy is out of the picture and b) Ben the violinist sounds a lot like the character Ben in Jellicoe Road, who also plays the violin and is named Ben. Is that a coincidence, or does Melina often use characters from her other books in writing?
Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who has a pulse, especially if you have read Saving Francesca.

Why did I want to read this book?

I’ve read Saving Francesca and then later discovered that it has a sort-of sequel featuring one of the secondary characters, Thomas MacKee and I was immediately on board. Add to this the many high praises I’ve heard about it and I was definitely eager to read the book.

What worked for me?

This was another book perfection for me and with this goes another failing attempt on my part to translate my utter and complete love for this book into a review.

Thomas MacKee has finally hit rock-bottom. After getting injured and not remember so much of a wild, drunken, and maybe high night, he’s brought himself to the lowest of low. He’s not speaking with his dad, his parents might or might not be getting a divorce, his beloved aunt is pregnant and the father might be her ex-husband, his best friends, his true best friends want nothing to do with him, and the one girl who ever made him feel deeply is miles away and possibly with a boyfriend.

There are so much FEELS in this book, it’s crazy and yet totally right. If you could see the page post-its I have on my copy, you’ll understand my sentiments a bit. This story about grief and its reaching, clawing, and pulling fingers that can still wreak havoc to a person and to a family even years after the death of a loved one is just about as heartbreaking as it is inspiring and hopeful. This story about deep and abiding love, about forgiveness, about friendship will keep you glued to its pages, never once letting these characters out of your sight for fear of missing just one single moment.

Everything, everything about this book worked for me, from the prose, to the plot, to the issues that the characters faced, and to each and everyone of these characters. But mostly especially because of Tom. His thoughts became my own, at least in the duration of my reading and sometimes even beyond, and I just felt for him. His grief became my own. His longing became my own. His emotions too. And this book was sooooo good, I tell you.

What did not work for me?

Not. A. Thing.

My over-all take on it?

This was another very powerful and soul-stirring novel, with epic proportions of genius and talent from a veteran writer. Tom, the rest of his gang as well as his family will tug at your heartstrings like no one else’s business and you never want to pull back but only hold on tighter and never let go.

My rating:

5 stars+

Pretty good read. Good book club book.

READ IT AFTER "Saving Francesca" OR YOU'LL BE MISSING OUT

I don't think the plot even matters. It could go on about the characters having breakfast and I would still read it. It's pretty clear has Marchetta's writing has evolved (in comparison to the previous book) into something that can beat your heart with so much precision you won't even care.

I don't know how to talk about my feelings for this book. Because I still don't know how I felt about it. I just finished it, and I think my last feeling is of hope. Because it is a good ending. But it is also very sudden, to be honest, and I wanted to much more. Because there is so much heartbreak in this book. And I just needed a bit more of happiness. Still, it's amazing.

The Piper's Son is the sequel to Saving Francesca. But told from another person's point of view, and it's set five years later, when the characters are 21 years old. It still felt like a young adult book to me, and that is why I like these kinds of books. This book is told from two different point of views, Tom, Thomas from book one. And his aunt, Georgie. I loved both.

I loved getting to see all the characters from the first book in this one. I loved getting to read from Tom. Although he mostly just broke my heart all the time. But I still loved it. I loved reading about Francesca and Will. Although I wish we had seen a bit more of Will.

I love Thomas! Out of all the boys in Saving Francesca, it was definitely Thomas who stood out to me. I was really happy to know more about him and his situation, including the rest of his family's. Melina Marchetta is always so great with family and friend dynamics.

Parts that I loved the most were the ones where Thomas was with the other characters from Saving Francesca like Tara, the girls, and Will Trombal. Awesome friends and hilarious moments. The new characters were great as well. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the Jellicoe Road characters that made cameo appearances. I was fangirling like crazy every single time they were mentioned! I could not help myself!

As with every Melina Marchetta novel I finish, I wish it didn't have to end. But I love that there's always hope in the end and that you just know it will all eventually work out for the characters. I seriously can't wait to read Marchetta's next book. Love them all!

I was very excited to read this book after loving Saving Francesca (SF) and being very interested in the hidden depths of Thomas Mackee. I loved the glimpses we got of Tom in SF and The Piper's Son took him was beyond what I expected of him. I just wanted to give him a big hug. I was surprised by the amount of stuff going on in this book, the levels of pain and heartache surrounding this family. Thomas' world and the world of his family was rocked with the death of his uncle.

I didn't know when I started the book that we'd have alternating views of Tom and his Aunt Georgie (though not first person dialogue) - but it made a lot of sense to the continuity of the book and really helped round out all that was going on. Both of them are going through their own personal struggles and coping mechanisms, as well as dealing with family things together. The addition of Georgie's perspective takes this book beyond the YA we started with in SF, and to a greater depth that Melina is so good at writing. But I think the alternating perspectives are key and I can't imagine seeing the story in any other light than with both Tom and Georgie.

I loved this broken family and was cheering for them the entire time. I also loved seeing the girls and guys from SF return, along with their loyalties to Tom and to their friendship, even when it was hard. This novel is full of heartache, sorrow, regret, turmoil, mistakes, unforeseen accidents, but also love, understanding, loyalty, redemption, forgiveness, and hope. It was a touching, beautifully written journey. This is yet another book demonstrating why I love Melina Marchetta's writing. If you have not read anything by Melina Marchetta yet, you are missing out.

*Now we need a story about Jimmy, please*