Wayward Saints

by Suzzy Roche

From a folk-rock legend comes a tender, comic story of family, music, and second chances. Mary Saint, the rule-breaking, troubled former lead singer of the almost-famous band Sliced Ham, has pretty much given up on music after the trauma of her band member and lover Garbagio's death seven years earlier. Instead, with the help of her best friend, Thaddeus, she is trying to piece her life together while making mochaccinos in San Francisco. Meanwhile, back in her hometown of Swallow, New York, her mother, Jean Saint, struggles with her own ghosts. When Mary is invited to give a concert at her old high school, Jean is thrilled, though she's worried about what Father Benedict and her neighbors will think of songs such as "Sewer Flower" and "You're a Pig." But she soon realizes that there are going to be bigger problems when the whole town -- including a discouraged teacher and a baker who's anything but sweet -- gets in on the act. Filled with characters that are wild and original, yet still familiar and warm -- plus plenty of great insider winks at the music industry -- Wayward Saints is a touching and hilarious look at confronting your past and going home again.

Genres: Fiction, Music

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2011

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the very first words of Wayward Saints, Suzzy Roche had me laughing- irreverently. This singer/songwriter/guitarist from New Jersey-turned author lets her main character, Mary Saint, generously throw out F-bombs and other obscenities as if they were confetti. And this is on stage, where Mary is performing as part of a band called Sliced Ham. Strange name? Yes, and the songs she sings are stranger yet. Obnoxious and offensive, yet brutally honest.

Mary is from a small town called Swallow, where she lived with her straight-laced parents Jean and Bub. Jean is still a practicing Catholic. Bub, once very abusive toward his wife and daughter, is now a milder, much lower –functioning version of his former self. He resides in a care center, where Jean visits him on a weekly basis. Mary has very little contact with her mother and none whatsoever with Bub.

I have to admit that while I was quite amused early on by some of the outrageous things that came out of Mary Saint’s mouth, I had a hard time engaging with this book early on. Some of the characters in this book are tea drinkers, and so am I, but this particular fable did not seem to be my cup of tea. Here’s what Suzzy Roche says in her “Special Thanks”:

I like to think of Wayward Saints as a fable. Not only is it totally fictional, it is practically fantastical. I wanted to write about faith and art, how it manifests differently in everyone. I also wanted to write about the absurdity and dangers of the music business, the consequences of violence, the power of forgiveness, and the possibility of the miraculous.

It was during this portion of the book that I began to see Mary as more than a caricature. There is a point where she recalls confiding to her mother an event from her childhood when she was about seven. She feels it was real; as a reader, I wondered if it was her imagination or what exactly happened. Faith? It certainly affected her mother. And it was so profound that Mary only told two other people, it seems. It made me think of this song that Suzzy performs with her daughter Lucy Wainright Roche, Mary, written by Patty Griffin.
https://youtu.be/i-rBc-L8IS0.

I’m not certain that Mary has a religious conversion, but after a tragedy touches her life, Mary tries to change her life. Once a troubled young rebel, she now seeks stability and meaning. With the help of her “chocolate tranny” friend Thaddeus, she is starting to get her act together. Imagine her surprise when out of the blue her mother calls with news that a high school teacher wants her to return to Swallow to give a concert! How will her songs be received? She hasn’t performed in years. She hasn’t even been on a plane!

I don’t know much about the author’s background performing with her sisters in The Roches beginning in the 1970s. I have heard her sing with her daughter. As she states, her background in the music business undoubtedly forms the basis for this story. I would imagine there is some Catholicism in her upbringing as well. I can’t say that I loved this book. I confess to skimming through some parts, in fact. After I settled in and began to focus on the characters rather than the noise that surrounded them. Mary describes her experience with “Other Mary,” this way: ...the noise of the silence was like a symphony. Music of birds, of wind, of leaves, music of sticks and rocks, music of smelling and seeing and touching; the music of kindness, Ma. Music everywhere! I loved the reverences to Paul McCartney’s Let It Be.

As it took Mary years to feel comfortable in her own skin, it took me a while to feel comfortable in the pages of this book, but I did get there. I was expecting a disaster at Mary’s concert, and I got some surprises. I did enjoy seeing relationships develop and change, and it was interesting to watch Mary’s self-awareness grow over time. That made the third part the most satisfying section for me.
It pulled the whole book together in a way that felt redeeming.

3 stars

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought wayward Saints Row was a cute book and it made me laugh

[SheilaRaeO · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a fan of the sister group The Roches, I was excited to dive into this book by Suzzy Roche, the youngest of the three sisters. Expecting a light fun read with the clever wit of a Roches song, I found instead, a darker story of a woman lost and damaged by life. A story of broken relationships. A story of the fickle world of the music business. A story of mothers and daughters. A story of redemption. Mary Saint is a washed up punk rock star living a quiet, unassuming, unnoticed life in San Francisco. Still grieving after almost a decade, the loss of her lover/bass player in a tragic accident, she gets a call from her mother relaying a request from a teacher at her old high school in Swallow, New York, to come and play a concert at the school. What follows is a rocky road back to Swallow on which Mary faces old demons and finds new strength. I did find some beautiful writing with profound observations which I found inspiring and thought provoking. The only thing that I would say was a drawback (and I have to admit it was kind of a big drawback for me) was the utterly ridiculous names she came up with for the bands and some of the characters in the book - I mean really- “The Tennessee Twinsters”; “Sliced Ham”; “Snarkle Rot” ?? I understand that there are some crazy band names out there - but not every band you encounter has a name that’s practically laughable. It was more than distracting for me. Especially in the first third of the book, before the story really had it’s hold on me, I almost couldn’t get past the “stoopid” names. But trust me fellow readers, it’s worth the effort. This is a respectable debut by Suzzy Roche, and I would look forward to reading her next effort which I understand will be a children’s book.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/...

p. 194: Jean's feelings, like old rubber bands, had lost their elasticity. They were not able to hold anything in place; no longer did anyone require them to, and she wasn't sure what use they had anymore...
...For a moment, she saw herself as a dust mote floating through a ray of sunlight - weightless - freefalling and unencumbered, like all the other nonspecific particles; a tiny piece of anything. But as she passed by the mirror in the front hall, she came eye to eye with herself. Oh come on, she thought, I've never seen a speck of dust with a face like that.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, probably a 3 1/2 star book. The story is an out the two Saint women..Jean the Mother, and Mary the daughter and how they come out of the shadow of a violent man, Bub. Mary runs away from home to be a grunge/punk rock singer and Jean stay at home with her husband, Bub until he hades to be committed to a nursing home. The two women have been estranged for years, and Mary gets asked to come back to her home town, Swallow, NY to do a concert. I liked the characters and the story...but what drove me insane was the stupid names the author picked for the bands and the musicians in this book! Sliced Ham? Really? It took away from the story for me. Otherwise it would have been a good novel about two women who love each other finding their way back to each other.

[Dave Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite songwriters has gone and written what is one of my new favorite books. Smart, funny, and she uses the F word on the first page. Firing on all cylinders.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Advice for beginning writers is always "write what you know." Suzzy Roche's first book has the music world and an abusive home as the backdrop and how two women, Jean and Mary Saint, deal with the abuse. Good job on the book. Interesting.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 3.5, rounded down. This is a fine first book from Suzzy Roche and I think she hits it on the nail narrating from the 60-something mother and 30-something daughter. Don't you ever wonder how Marilyn Manson or Alice Cooper's mother reacts to their child, music and all? I think that I would be the same if my daughter were in a heavy metal band, I don't know if I'd ever really listen to anything they wrote! The view from the down-but-not-out daughter rings true too. There's a great quote about what being is loser is--"someone who's lost something".

Interesting too, were the religious beliefs of both mother and daughter. This is probably the first book I've read that the Catholic church is painted more honestly, when a priest really doesn't know what to do. And this is the anti-Disney book in that the mothers don't get killed off or injured, but the fathers do.

I'm assuming Roche has written songs so that may explain why the book is on the smaller side--she gets her point across clearly and in few words.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

A respectable debut novel.

[Meg]

I tried, but the writing was just too rough for me.

[Owlsinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A morality play: escape, dissolution, rehab, recovery, redemption. The story has it all, told with sincerity and humor. I don't think I'd like Mary's music - unlike Suzzy's - but her lyrics are dragged from deep inside.

[Poptartk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an unexpected find, discovered at Armadillo's Pillow in Rogers Park in Chicago. I wasn't sure about it at first, but the first few pages intrigued, so I decided to give it a try. I'm really glad I did. It was funny, snappy, and full of heart. I'm glad I stumbled onto this!

[Hank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if I'll think about this book all that often, but I did enjoy it. A good story told well.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just miss those Roches.

[momo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hope the backstory of the singer in this book by a singer is all fiction!

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and sour, a “punk”-ish musician’s life.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Suzzy Roche
Hyperion, 259 pgs
978-1-4013-4177-0
Rating: 3

(Aside: This book was shipped to me with Wayward Saints as the addressee, causing my stepmother and sister to inquire as to whether I'd joined a cult.)

Saint is the surname of the principle characters in Wayward Saints: Bub, Jean and Mary. Bub and Mary are definitely wayward, while Jean is just painfully inhibited and scared witless. They live in a small town called Swallow which is painted as a stultifying cliche of a hide-bound neo-con backwater. Bub was frequently unemployed and fond of knocking around his wife and daughter. Jean was thoroughly cowed and unable to protect her daughter. Mary, understandably, became a teenager full of rage directed at everyone and everything, eventually high-tailing it out of Swallow at seventeen. Who could blame her? Not me.

Mary went on to form a very successful "alternative" band called Sliced Ham. She found a socially acceptable way to misbehave: rock star. And she lived up to the reputation, forced into rehab after a tragedy, both professional and personal. Mary leaves rehab to find a disbanded band, her manager drops her, royalties are drying up, so she aimlessly withdraws from the planet. Mary's redemption and resurrection happen, of course, in Swallow, where she agrees to play a concert for the high school. She has not set foot in Swallow since she was seventeen, nor has she seen her mother or father. So we come full circle.

My favorite character was Jean Saint, Mary's mother. She began this tale as a beaten and abused mother and wife, always trying to placate a husband who couldn't be. She was bound by convention, scared of the "shoulds," frankly she got on my nerves. Although some of the titles of Mary's songs, such as "Sewer Flower," are not something I would want to discuss with my grandmother. But never mind. As Mary must journey, methodically re-entering the world, Jean is on her own journey but she's on rollerblades. She transforms herself, becoming a smart, independent, funny woman and is such a joy by the end of the book. I love her.

I wish I loved this book. The characters are well-drawn and the story heartfelt. There are a few too many cliches. The plot sort of meanders around, decorated by specimens as opposed to people. There are no "regular" (cannot for the life of me come up with a better term) people outside Swallow, they are all trying too hard to be strange. I was not invested in this one. It's a nice little book, nothing much really wrong with it. I do want to say that Suzzy Roche has potential. I will gladly take a look at her next work. I expect it will be much improved. However, I cannot recommend a book if it doesn't elicit more enthusiasm than this. What would be the point of reading?



Suzzy Roche is a founding member (with her sisters) of the Roches, a best-selling folk band whose first album was named Album of the Year by the New York Times in 1979.

http://www.roches.com/suzzy/index.html

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wayward Saints by Suzzy Roche is a novel about love, spirituality, loss and redemption. It tells the story of singer Mary Saint who once was in an alternative rock/grunge band called Sliced Ham. After the tragic death of her lover and band member, Garbagio, the band does not perform again. When the novel opens, it is seven years after Garbagio's death and Mary has not picked up a guitar in that whole time.

Mary comes from a small town named Swallow in upstate New York. An English teacher from the local high school approaches Mary's mother, Jean, with the idea of Mary performing in the local high school - the very same one that Mary attended. When Jean asks Mary about performing, Mary says yes, as much to her own surprise as to her mother's. Mary and her mother have a complicated relationship. It is loving but there is a lot of baggage. For years, Mary's father, who is now in a nursing home due to a stroke, abused the both of them physically. Mary can't figure out why her mother didn't leave him. Due to the extent of the abuse, Mary left home at sixteen, angry and despondent but filled with hope to make something of herself.

Mary is now living in San Francisco with her friend Thaddeus, a `chocolate tranny'. Mary met Thaddeus in her church when he was homeless and offered him a place to stay in her apartment rent free. Mary's heart is big and bold and she holds nothing back. Her songs are like that as well - fierce, strident, loving, independent, and not of the mainstream.

Jean is a religious catholic and is concerned about Mary's upcoming performance. She herself is unable to listen to Mary's music because of the lyrics and the dystonic flavor of the songs. Some of the titles are `You're a Pig' and `Sewer Flower'. Jean worries about what the regular folks of Swallow will think of Mary, especially the local priest. How will Mary's performance reflect on Jean?

The author of this novel, Suzzy Roche, was once in a band with her sisters. It was called The Roches and, to be quite honest, I had never heard of it before I read information about the author. This band, like the one in the novel, was alternative and not in the mainstream. It had its own following and still does till this day.

This is a debut novel and has many of the problems that come with first novels - incomplete characterization, repetitiveness, and thematic issues. The focus on spirituality seems to be a priority but it is never fleshed out enough to give it real form. Some of the writing is very poetic and reads like song lyrics which are quite beautiful. However, this is not enough to give the book the cohesiveness that is missing. Ms. Roche has a definite talent and I look forward to her future writings.

[Aimeekay · Rating 5 out of 5]

*sigh* What a beautiful story. I wasn't sure at first. Almost like a song that you've never heard before. It comes on the radio and the beginning is slow and sort of halting, but by the end you just want to hear it over and over again...


The beginning of Wayward Saints almost put me off. The flips between the past and the present and then back again made it hard to connect at first. Then it got set in one time frame and went forward from there and wow, just wow.

The story is full of broken families, broken hearts, broken lives, and how no matter how broken something is love seems always able to pull it back together. Maybe not always in the same way as it was before but in the end it is just as good if not better than before. If only because one can appreciate the joy even more after having to taste the sorrow.

I was irritated by Mary at first. She seemed so arrogant and out of it. But slowly as the book progressed so did she. I felt the same with her mother. Numerous times I just wanted to slap them both for their self absorption. But then characters like Thaddeus and Vincent were introduced. Both had souls just as broken as Mary and her mothers, and they both seemed to be the "other Mary's" that were needed to bring each woman back into a world they had both in separate ways walked away from.


I loved the way the story portrayed real life people struggling through real life emotions. There were many parts that almost brought me to tears. However there were also many clever parts and even some that had me laughing out loud.

While I wouldn't have said this at the beginning of the novel by the end I gladly recommend this for a great read this summer. Whether at the beach, in the car, or simply sitting at home. I also definitely recommend that when you read it, plan to sit down and read it all the way through. Make sure you set aside the time, because you won't want to put it down.

Amazing, really amazing.

[Silvio111 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much a perfect book. I read the entire 259 pages in one day (practically in one sitting.)

Since Suzzy Roche is herself a songwriter, singer, and musician, I briefly succumbed to the pitfall listeners of compositions fall into, namely, "How much of this story is autobiographical?"
Novelists can escape this more easily than songwriters can; after all, they are writing FICTION.
Besides the obvious departure from fact (Suzzy's performance has always been acoustic; the novel's heroine is a rocker...), I quickly perceived that this author has artfully taken characters and extrapolated their stories in a creative yet truthful manner.

I would say that the most striking element of this story was the empathy it exhibits not only to the young punk rock and rock protagonist, but also to her mother. It is unusual for a story about a young person and their pain and turmoil to actually let us see the inner workings of the parent in this situation. Suzzy pulls this off in a magnificent way, and she creates diverse characters, none of whom come off as mere foils or caricatures. Even her phonetic spelling of the quirky speech of her agent from the United Kingdom (Scot? Brit? I admit I have no clue) does not obscure the humanity of the fellow.

The trajectory of the plot rolls right along to a satisfactory conclusion. This book has moments that evoked for me some other rock and roll fiction favorites: Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY, Bill Flanagan's EVENING's EMPIRE, and even that episode from the public television's MYSTERY! series, LEWIS when the detective meets up with his long lost favorite rock band from 25 years back. (I am not saying Suzzy's writing is derrivative; I am merely adding it to my personal Greatest Hits list.)

I am really pleased with this book, and I hope that Suzzy will write another soon.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has so much going on that it should have been longer - there's the music part, the recovery part, the faith part and the family part and all are done well, but I just wish we could have had more of each.

There's a band, Sliced Ham, that was an alternative/grunge/punk type band, with relatively obscure lyrics and a lead singer who wears ripped stockings and combat boots. That part of Mary Saint's life ends when her friend/lover/bassist Garbagio (aka Anthony Calabrese, from a small town near to hers) dies. Then there's her recovery, coming to terms with her past and her music and her life - and her faith. Both collide when she's asked to do a solo concert at her old high school. This isn't just Mary's story, though, it's also her mother Jean's, and how Jean's life in Swallow has unfolded since Mary left years before.

There are some interesting questions about faith raised here, and not nearly enough time spent on them (particularly at the end). What family is and means, and what fame is and means is also explored. Since the author is a member of The Roches, it's clear that she's writing from experience, albeit in a different genre than her folk music roots.

This will definitely appeal to those that question fitting in and how to survive their teens, let alone their early adulthood, with some sense of sanity intact. It may also appeal to alternative music lovers, although we're more in the group's aftermath than spending time with the group itself.

ARC provided by publisher.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

A snarky, original tale woven from an amazing songwriter, Wayward Saints was a quirky novel of forgiveness and miracles. Told from various POVs, Wayward Saints pushed my feelings of the norm and ridiculousness beyond my former borderlines. Wayward Saints opens one's eyes to a different reality that is rare to find in the world of fiction.

Wayward Saints starts out at the height of Mary Saint's fame, 1994, showing how powerful of a stage presence Mary Saint had. However, the rest of the book has a completely different aura. Instead of one of power, each chapter's POV deals with a person's regrets and all of the regrets are artfully tied to Mary Saint and her return to perform a concert in her hometown of Swallow

A heartwarming novel, Wayward Saints was an intoxicating read. Mary was a fascinating story of love, heartbreak and forgiveness. Her mother, Jean, was the average woman who is still trying to reach the happiness she never did with her husband. Their stories were the heart of the novel and made it all worth the time and effort.

However, Wayward Saints could be appalling to some readers. The first scene was provocative; filled with cursing, sexual hints and totally atrocious behavior. I was first hesitant to continue reading. It took many days to push myself to continue reading. I always give up on a book if I dislike the first 100 pages, not the first ten. The rest of the book was a clear improvement compared to the first chapter. Suzzy Roche created an out-of-this-world novel that is one of its kind.

[Jessica at Book Sake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wayward Saints is a mix of weird and wonderful characters spanning time together. From the broken Mary Saint to the likable chocolate tranny Thaddeus at God’s Kindness Church, I wasn’t expecting much beyond a simple quick read but found myself pausing to reflect on the many themes in this book. Suzzy Roche combined music, faith, family and recovery, directing the reader to love and forgiveness through angst-ridden lyrics and musings of a tormented protagonist that I found at times to range from poetic to depressing.

With a story heavy on wavering faith, many of the whimsical characters were interesting, but others were not as developed. The reoccurring themes of violence, self-destruction, and faith through me off and I was left wondering who the real Mary Saint is. She’s so damaged that you want to empathize her, but Mary’s resolution feels awkward. Perhaps this is intentional as there is no perfect conclusion to existential matters.

It’s amusing that a punk rock text brought me back to folk rock jams. I was unfamiliar with the musical repertoire of The Roches prior to this book; however, I enjoyed the mellow musical companion “Song for Wayward Saints”, a duet with daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche available
online. As this is Suzzy Roche’s first novel, I admire her versatility and promising talent as I look forward to her future works.

Reviewed by Rosa for Book Sake.

[ILoveBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Saint is the main character and very interesting. She is not your typical lead singer or musician. She marches to the beat of her own drum. The author provides the reader with details from Mary's past, including her touring and band experiences, as well as her current turmoil. What do you do after you are a lead singer? Mary still deals with the death of her boyfriend, Garbagio, and the disbanding of Sliced Ham (her former band).



Mary's character was memorable and enjoyable. She seems so raw and real in the novel. Thaddeus, her best friend, is a compassionate character. The reader will be able to tell that he clearly cares for Mary and wants what is best for her. Jean, Mary's mother, comes off as a bit cold. She doesn't seem to have her daughter in mind most of the time and doesn't appear to care overly much for her. The other secondary characters were kind of just there, they didn't add much to the story.



Mary's story is interesting and fun to read. If the reader enjoys musician stories, band stories, etc... this is a book that he/she will love. The author herself writes from a knowledgeable base, the reader can believe much of Mary's story. The book can be comical as well as serious. The events are well-written and flow perfectly. This novel is recommended to adult readers.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel was pretty uneven, but the author managed to hit her stride in the second half of the book. I had to force myself to keep reading this book. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the novel could've been cut-- in fact, I think if it had been edited a little more severely, it would be a better book. The author does a lot of telling instead of showing, or a lot of telling AND showing, where only showing is necessary. This is the author's first novel, though, and I feel confident that subsequent publications will be better.

For all of it's unpolished qualities, there's plenty to like about it. The author raises some significant and pertinent questions about how our contemporary culture interacts with the Divine and with religion. Roche addresses issues of abuse, transgression, and other-ness in relation to belief. I think there are some really excellent themes in this novel. A little more revision might have been able to highlight these themes instead of leaving them to be mere suggestions. As it is, this novel tends to plod. It's ok, but it could've been better.

And I should note that I read a review copy of this novel, provided by the publisher, so it's possible that the problems I have with this work have been addressed in the final published version.

[Gerry Garibaldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book; insightful, funny, detailed about the backstage world of music as only a real musician could have observed it, the details plucked out like pearls as only a poet could. Every character is fleshed out, fully human; you watch their interactions like you would your own family.

The plot in brief; a wild child at 18, rocker Mary Saint has gone through the show business mill on her way up and back down from stardom. Now she's on the verge of - well, she's not quite sure. But she's going home, where her estranged mother and a host of other characters await, to sing a concert at her old high school. Her mother, the patient and long-suffering Jean, wonders uneasily how the little town will react to her. Are they ready for the rough grunge rock songs that her band, Sliced Ham, made their reputation on? Will it exacerbate the already fraught relationship between them?

The book is playful, moving, sharply-observed, deeply humane; very like the songs of the Roches, the sister band that Suzzy is and was a member of. I loved it, read it in a long gulp, and was left wanting more.

[Hope Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because my brother is a HUGE fan of the Roches. He really wanted me to read it and I was happy to oblige.

It was an interesting take on the burned out, bummed out, dropped out rock star story. I especially enjoyed the small town scenes, as I grew up in one and could relate to the realism and the inherent quirkiness that you find in any small town. The friends from San Francisco, especially Mary's best friend Thaddeus is another great addition to the character circus of this book.

What I did not like so much was the actual song titles, and lyrics of the former band ( a little too raunchy for me) ....and also the Nashville promoter character and his school teacher friend. But I think perhaps we're not supposed to like them, so if that was the author's goal - it works!

The Catholic part of the story from the mystical visitor in the woods to the priest's initial reaction and then his final comments was all pretty good. I was raised Catholic (in that small town near the woods!) so I enjoyed the author's take on the lessons "of our youth"....and how they colored Mary Saint's view and visions for the rest of her life.

A good read with a satisfying conclusion.

[Danna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Saint is a washed-up rock and roll legend living in San Francisco with her chocolate tranny best friend, Thaddeus. She has had her share of ups and downs, including struggles with drugs and the death of her best friend and drummer, Garbagio. Her mother, Jean Saint, is still living in Mary's hometown, Swallow, which is a quiet suburban town in upstate NY. Jean is approached by a Swallow high school teacher, Bill De Sockie, to get Mary to agree to playing a show at Swallow high. After some hesitation, Mary agrees to return to Swallow for the first time in over 10 years--she fled as an adolescent to escape her father's violent fists.

I loved all of the characters in Wayward Saints. Each one touched my heart. Roche captures the difficult relationships between parents and their children, as well as the challenges of friendship. Mary is a vulnerable and lovable protagonist; her mother is equally intriguing. Definitely recommend!

Favorite quotes:

"What if she were the one to cause trouble, to make a scene, to die, to love, to be rude, strange, and unruly?" (106)

"You can trust me, I'm kind of a good person" (119)

[Sariah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a kind of hard one for me to review. On the one hand, I really liked the plot... a washed-up rock star gets the opportunity to perform a concert for her small-town high school... and since it was written by someone who's been in the business she really knew what she was talking about. But there were so many flashbacks and they were all out of order. I found myself confused at times. And then Mary (the rock star) really wasn't that likable to me. I expected her to learn something and grow by the end of the book, and I just don't think she did. Same with her mother (who we also read a lot about). It was like they were still stuck in their little worlds and nothing really happened. The side plot with the high school teacher who set the entire concert could have been great, but it was just lacking. Overall, it felt like the book had a lot of great starts, but never went anywhere and had really weak finishes. Also, there is a LOT of bad language. But hey, sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. What did I expect?