Waiting For Pops by: John Philip Riffice

Summary (Taken from Back Cover)

Waiting For Pops is a tale of a young boy’s appalling mistreatment at the hands of his alcoholic mother. It is a tale of spousal secrets and parental lies. It is a tale of love, friendship, and, above all else, betrayal. Pops is seen through the eyes of an innocent boy growing steadily into manhood in 1950s Chicago. Johnny Ryba tells his story and transports the reader into his small, blue-collar existence—his mother’s alcoholism, his much-loved father’s sudden death in an auto accident, his beloved little sister’s autism. Later, as the reader accompanies Johnny into his teen years, they experience as well the painful heartbreak of his first love and loss.

The storyline rapidly evolves and ultimately centers on a mystery that Johnny attempts to solve as a mature adult, resulting in a shocking revelation that reverses almost everything he once believed about his mother and father, as well as his own harrowing past. He inadvertently discovers his parents’ role as accomplices in a lifelong conspiracy of silence, and also becomes aware of a misplaced affection for his deceased father. Johnny must finally come to terms with the most important aspect of his life: the truth about his parents, and about himself, too.

I loved that you get the story  through Johnny’s eyes. We are introduced to a family of deep characters. Johnny who is left to deal with the mess of his family (a mother who is an alcoholic, a father who was hard-working but killed to soon, and a sister with autism) is just trying to grow up and be a good man. We follow Johnny as he grows and matures he takes us on a journey of understanding.

Waiting for Pops is one of the most emotional stories I have read lately.  Johnny is a character that you can relate to on a variety of levels. I cried, it was so good. Mr. Riffice has done an excellent job of creating characters that you want so much to believe in and cheer for. They could be your neighbors or family. You don’t have to stretch your imagination  very far to envision the story as it unfolds. For me to be able to “see” the story within my mind’s eye is what reading is all about and I was able to it from page one.

Rita’s Rating: