The Loud Silence of Francine Green [Hardcover]

Karen Cushman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Francine Green doesn’t speak up much, and who can blame her? Her parents aren’t interested in her opinions, the nuns at school punish girls who ask too many questions, and the House Committee on Un-American Activities is blacklisting people who express unpopular ideas. There’s safety in silence. Francine would rather lose herself in a book, or in daydreams about her favorite Hollywood stars, than risk attracting attention or getting in trouble.

But when outspoken, passionate Sophie Bowman transfers into Francine’s class at All Saints School for Girls, Francine finds herself thinking about things that never concerned her before—free speech, the atom bomb, the existence of God, the way people treat each other. Eventually, Francine discovers that she not only has something to say, she is absolutely determined to say it.

Once again, Karen Cushman follows a young woman’s progress toward her true self, this time exploring the nature of friendship and the experience of growing up Catholic in an era that is both fascinating and relevant to today’s young people. Author’s note.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5-9–Cushman creates another introspective female character who is planted firmly in her time and who grows in courage, self-awareness, and conviction. This novel follows Francine's eighth-grade year, from August 1949 to June 1950, at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles, a year of changes largely inspired by a new transfer student, Sophie Bowman. While Francine is quiet and committed to staying out of trouble, happy to daydream of Hollywood movie stars and to follow her father's advice not to get involved in controversy, Sophie questions authority and wants to make a difference. Her questioning of the nuns' disparaging comments about the Godless communists frequently leads to her being punished and eventually to her expulsion from school. Francine begins to examine her own values, particularly when an actor friend of Sophie's father is blacklisted and Mr. Bowman loses his scriptwriting job. At the novel's end, Francine is poised to stand up to Sister Basil, the bullying principal, and exercise her freedom of speech. Cushman captures the era well, with references that range from Dragnet to duck and cover drills in schools and her father's aborted attempt to build a bomb shelter in their backyard. Francine Green is reminiscent of Jamie Morse, another 13-year-old and the protagonist of Ellen Levine's Catch a Tiger by the Toe (Viking, 2005), who is also coming of age in the shadow of McCarthyism and the beginnings of the Cold War. Readers will relate to the pervasive fear of the period as it resonates in our post-9/11 world.–Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 6-9. Set in Los Angeles in 1949, Cushman's latest historical novel captures the terrors and confusions of the McCarthy era. Eighth-grader Francine admires her outspoken, precocious friend Sophie, who was kicked out of public school for painting "There is no free speech here" on the gymnasium floor. Francine feels muzzled at home and at her rigid Catholic school, "the land of 'Sit down, Francine' and 'Be quiet, Francine.'" Her worries escalate as Communist scares in Hollywood grow, and Sophie and her playwright father fall under suspicion. Cushman adroitly transforms what could have been a didactic story about intellectual freedom into an integrated, affecting novel about friendship and growing up. Described in Francine's authentic voice, which is filled with period slang, the smoothly inserted historical details, from Montgomery Clift to backyard bomb shelters, personalize Francine's adolescent struggles rather than simply marking a place and a time. Readers will skip over unknown cultural references ("My heart pounded like a Gene Krupa drum solo") and savor the story of friends and family tensions, the sly humor, and the questions about patriotism, activism, and freedom, which bring the novel right into today's most polarizing controversies. Sure to provoke lively class discussion, this will easily absorb independent readers in search of a rich, satisfying story about early adolescence. For another young person's view of the McCarthy hunts, suggest Ellen Levine's Catch a Tiger by the Toe (2005). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 225 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; First Edition edition (August 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618504559
• ISBN-13: 978-0618504558
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois and lives now on Vashon Island west of Seattle, Washington. She received an M.A. in human behavior and one in museum studies. Ms. Cushman has had a lifelong interest in history. She says, "I grew tired of hearing about kings, princes, generals, presidents. I wanted to know what ordinary life was like for ordinary young people in other times." Research into medieval English history and culture led to the writing of her first two novels, the Newbery Honor book CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY and the Newbery Medal-winner THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. She is also the author of MATILDA BONE, THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE, RODZINA, and most recently ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Loud Silence of Francine Green, March 25, 2007

By 

Jordan K. Henrichs "teacher" (Cedar Falls, IA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Loud Silence of Francine Green (Hardcover)

Francine Green wishes she could be like the Hollywood movie stars she adores because "they always knew what to say." Francine however, never knows what to say and in Los Angeles in 1949, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. That's not to say Francine doesn't have "unplumbed depths". She has a lot on her mind, she's just learning how to put it into words, and when the appropriate time to do so is. Something her new best friend, Sophie Bowman, can't say for herself.

Sophie questions everything about the world around them from the teachings of their mean Catholic school teacher Sister Basil, to the "FBI" hunting down and questioning people based on their political beliefs. Sophie even dangerously questions the existence of God. Francine befriends Sophie when no one else will and the two form a friendship that forces Francine to search inside herself and stand up for what she believes.

Good news first. I don't know much about the 1950s. I learned some in school, I've seen films like The Majestic and Good Night and Good Luck, but upon picking up this book, when it comes to communism and the Red Scare, I was about as clueless as Francine. Ms. Cushman does as good a job as any in describing her era and painting a portrait of what life was like in Los Angeles in the 1950s. I honestly feel as if I understand what some of the people in that time period were going through after reading this and can make sense of some of their actions and fears. I did say "some" of the people though, and I'll get to that later.

The book is absolutely hilarious at times. I found myself laughing out loud quite often, like during Francine's theory on why nuns are bald, or when Francine's little brother Artie pees in her closet, or when Francine's father decides to turn Artie into a man and takes him fishing, or during Francine's mother's cemetery celebration on Mother's Day. But the book isn't all humor and it balances these scenes of comedy nicely with dark, complex scenes of Francine and her family living in fear of the world around them. Francine's father begins digging for a bomb shelter. The girls at school practice "duck and cover" drills in case a bomb is dropped. It's no wonder Francine is confused about the world she lives in.

Now the bad news. I found myself hating Sophie more and more as the book went on. Sophie is not half as clever as she thinks she is, the questions she asks are not even remotely as thought provoking as she'd like them to be, and her timing is selfishly horrible. She's a troublemaker and that's it. She's impulsive and in the worst kind of way. Sure there are some light, touching scenes that reveal there could be more to her, but in the end, there's not.

I've read some reviews that claim this book is not "preachy" (which was half the reason I decided to pick it up) and I would have to strongly disagree. I've already admitted that I have no real knowledge of the 50s and I have no strong opinions on McCarthyism, but I thought it was rather obvious that Ms. Cushman does. I feel it's this "one-sidedness" that causes this coming-of-age tale to lose most of it's appeal. For example, in a book about the effect of McCarthyism on Los Angeles residents in 1950, why does she fail to explain what communism really was? Could that discussion have been conveniently left out?

Lastly, I would strongly urge anyone wanting to read this to, or put this in the hands of a child to tread very carefully. I have no problem with Ms. Cushman's opinions or feelings on the Cold War (however you can't deny the fact that they are littered throughout the book) and I don't doubt that with careful structure, this book could provoke a great discussion about the 1950s if it's approached as a work of fiction depicting one author's point of view. What scares me is a different message lurking through the book that I think children could take away, the message that it's okay to be like Sophie. It's okay for children to ask questions, but Sophie doesn't just ask questions. Sophie provokes people for her own pleasure. I would hope that children would be able to distinguish between the way Sophie acted throughout the book with Francine's powerhouse of an ending. Francine chose an appropriate argument, with an appropriate setting, at an appropriate time. I was glad to see that she had grown from the beginning of the book and had learned from Sophie, that you don't always have to act like Sophie to stand up for what you believe in.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, October 22, 2008

By 

Adroit Librarian (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loud Silence of Francine Green (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this book particularly relevant for my library, which is housed within a Christian school. Children need to know that it is okay to ask questions, it is good to think for yourself, and it is not necessary to follow along blindly. A book like this makes them work out for themselves what they truly believe.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two Thumbs Up!, April 9, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Loud Silence of Francine Green (Hardcover)

The Loud Silence of Francine Green is a great story about a young girl named Francine and her friend Sophie who live blocks away from the studios of Hollywood. Personally, after reading every Karen Cushman book and disliking most of them, I was hesitant to read this new one. However, I was surprised to find that this book was very detailed, descriptive and most of all interesting! The Loud Silence of Francine Green was so good that in fact I finished it in one day. At the end of the book however, I was very disappointed. Karen Cushman threw in too many events that she did not clear up and left bold questions in my mind. She also left suspense at the end of the story where there could be a sequel but it would not have a point. Although the Loud Silence of Francine Green's ending was not impressive I still thought the book a friends who live in the world of Hollywood was an excellent story and I highly recommend for the [...] age.