Tiny Pieces of Us by Nicky Pellegrino

Synopsis
My heart is only a tiny piece of me, yet it’s the part everyone finds most interesting.

Born with a heart defect, Vivienne Palmer’s life was saved by a transplant. Now a journalist, she doesn’t allow herself to think about her donor, the boy who died so she could live. Then she meets his mother, Grace who hopes for something in return: Vivi’s help to find all the other people who have tiny pieces of her son.

Reluctantly, Vivi agrees to help Grace trace the other recipients. One by one she brings together a small group of strangers, bound by a unique moment in their pasts. As their lives entangle, becoming friends, enemies, even lovers, Vivi finds herself at the centre of a a very special family.

And soon she discovers that she might just be braver than she ever imagined…

Review

Tiny Pieces of Us is the new novel from Nicky Pellegrino. Nicky is well known for her romance novels set in Italy, but this new book is a move in a slightly different direction to contemporary fiction. Tiny Pieces of Us is an emotional but heartwarming read about a group of strangers all linked through organ donation from the same donor. Vivi Palmer has spent her life being careful, born with a heart defect but was lucky enough to get a transplant. She now has a job as a journalist and when her boss, and boyfriend Dan, finds out about the transplant he wants to use her as a poster girl for a transplant donation campaign. From this article Vivi comes across Grace, the mother of the teenage boy whose heart Vivi has. Soon Grace has Vivi using her journalistic talents to find the other four recipients of her sons organs. These strangers soon become like a second family to Vivi, and through them she is able to make some brave decisions.

I have been reading Nicky Pellegrino’s books for about ten years after falling in love with her books set in stunning Italy, I think there are only two I haven’t read but they are on my bookshelf in my bedroom. As I mentioned previously Tiny Pieces of Us is a new direction for Nicky and one that she has taken with great success. The central theme of organ donation, from the viewpoint of both the donor family and the recipients and their family is handled with sensitivity, understanding and obviously a lot of research. This is such an important issue and one we may not want to face but maybe will at some point in our lives. Nicky captures the many different emotions around this subject perfectly, from Grace’s grief at the loss of her son, to her joy at meeting those who keep part of him alive in themselves to the constant worry of the recipients and their families as to how long the donor organs will last and living with a life limiting illness.

As a central character Vivi is complex, vulnerable and trying to live her best life, even if those around her disagree. Being a sick child and having a life limiting illness she spent her life wrapped in cotton wool by her parents and sister, and wants her independence. This is why she lives in a small bed sit, writing social articles to fill space in the newspaper and dating her boss. Her parents, and sister, who are rich, want more for her and they get their way when she feels taken advantage of by Dan, her boss and boyfriend. I loved her sister Imogen who supports her in everything she does, even if she thinks it’s wrong, and has a total unconditional love for her sister. She is the one who supports her in her quest to help Grace find the other organ recipients and accepts them as part of Vivi’s life. She certainly adds humour to the plot with her observations and terrible cooking. I did like the fact that Nicky Pellegrino included a holiday to Italy for Imogen and Vivi, to the beautiful Villa Rosa which appears in a couple of her previous books.

Tiny Pieces of Us is an emotional , heartwarming and thought provoking read. Nicky Pellegrino is a natural storyteller who really gets to grips with her characters and their experiences and brings them to her readers hearts. As beautifully written as her previous books this new trajectory in her writing is very exciting and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.