The Son of Poetry is a contemporary coming-of-age novel wrapped in folklore and urban grit. At its core, it follows Louis Song, a high-achieving and emotionally frayed teenager navigating high school in Edinburgh while being unwittingly drawn into a mysterious, supernatural conflict. The story spirals out from a single unsettling encounter with a trio of schoolyard bullies and unfurls into something deeper and stranger—intertwining ancient Celtic myth, school rivalries, emotional trauma, and questions of identity, fate, and power. With alternating character perspectives and a keen focus on inner conflict, Gill weaves together the ordinary and the uncanny until they’re nearly inseparable.

I didn’t expect this book to affect me the way it did. It starts like a gritty YA drama with sharp edges and painful truths. Gill doesn’t flinch from the ugliness of teen angst, class tension, or casual cruelty. But then something slips into the cracks of the real world—an invisible force, a memory that doesn’t belong, a tug of fate—and that’s when I couldn’t look away. The prose can be raw and jagged. But it’s also lyrical in strange, surprising bursts. I found myself drawn to Louis not because he was brave or brilliant, but because he was painfully human. His quiet ache, his confusion, the moments he second-guesses himself all felt real. His voice, at times, hit me in the gut. And Collin Gannet is one of the most sharply drawn, unforgettable characters I’ve read in a long time.

That said, part of the book’s charm is how it doesn’t rush to explain everything. The pacing takes its time, often drifting into rich layers of lore and dreamy, metaphysical turns that feel more like an immersive experience than a straight path. Some of the fantasy elements are elusive. It adds mystery and atmosphere, inviting the reader to lean in and wonder. A few of the side characters appear just briefly, like passing spirits, and it left me curious and hungry for more. These unexpected textures gave the story a raw, unfiltered energy. It didn’t feel like a polished fairy tale—it felt alive, and brimming with pain, wonder, and a quiet kind of magic.

I’d recommend The Son of Poetry to readers who love literary fiction with a supernatural bent—people who can sit with mystery and don’t mind feeling a bit off-kilter. Fans of The Secret History, Skellig, or The Ocean at the End of the Lane will find something here to love. It’s a story that haunts, confuses, and occasionally sings, just like poetry should.

Pages: 526 | ASIN : B0DBV9XM4J