Tom’s Song is a heartfelt story taking place in the early 20th century. We follow Tom, a talented musical boy who wants to sing, yet is constantly thwarted and belittled by his father and grandmother. They keep telling him singing is for women. Yet, one day, Tom accidentally meets Sebastian, a retired opera singer, which changes his life forever. Sebastian is everything Tom’s family isn’t: he is kind, supportive and knows the singing industry. He takes Tom under his wing and teaches him to sing professionally. Tom starts to get notoriety with some performances, but it comes crashing down when his father eventually finds out.
It was painful seeing Tom so mistreated and mousy at the beginning, but he really comes into his own strength personally and musically as the book goes on. Sebastian is a caring father figure and his dialogue flowed fairly well. The interactions with Tom are what make this book such an emotional read. Tom’s love interest, Catherine, is an interesting character, and seeing their issues added needed conflict to the story. However, her speech and the other ancillary characters’ all started to sound the same at times.
The book progresses at a steady pace. All the scenes are engaging and add character growth. Some of the notable ones are the confrontations with Tom’s father, or when Tom performs in public and the audience reacts to him. The jumps in time feel smooth and well thought-out. My only minor quibbles are that some of the dialogue occasionally doesn’t read like a 20th century novel; and the ending felt a little rushed. The scene with the father at the end felt too quick and neat, considering the stakes set earlier in the book. Occasionally there are some editing errors, but not enough to spoil the reading experience.
Tom’s Song is a good read that teaches about resilience and hope, in a backdrop of opera music. I award 3.5 stars.
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