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The Loud Silence of Francine Green

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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.

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.

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.

A teenager, Francine, befriends a boisterous teenager, Sophie, who does not want to conform to what everyone else wants. Francine knows that Sophie's way of asking questions and annoying others is not right, but she also realizes that the adults are not always right either. She also starts seeing that making waves is sometimes necessary in order to do what is truly right. Through the book she slowly forms her own opinions and matures.
I am not old enough to have lived through the time of the Red Scare, but mainly the book is not inaccurate from what I have read of the time. It indicates that as a teenager, Francine, is confused about communism and would like to get answers. The book does not make light of any danger that may have existed back then, it just shows the confusion of one girl. The ill-behavior of people toward a nicer older couple because of their Russian background just adds to the girl's confusion.
I enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it.

One day the materials specialist of my library system hands me an uncorrected proof of, "The Loud Silence of Francine Green". "Read this", she says. "You weren't alive at that time so we'll see what you think". A quick glance at the author and I am stunned. First of all, Karen Cushman's back, baby! Until this book came out we hadn't heard a peep from her after she wrote "Rodzina". Secondly, this book does not take place in the distant past. Cushman's always been most comfortable with books set in a medieval or pioneering historical time. This book takes place in 1950s L.A. It's still the past, but not so very distant. Now I am not exactly an unbiased reviewer of this title. I want to be clear about this from the start. I'm married to a man who wrote a film that takes place in 1950s Hollywood and that discusses the Red Scare at length. This book does the same thing, only in a way that informs kids without "teaching" them in a deeply dull didactic way. It's also directly in line with my own personal politics. Discussions of communism in children's books.... well it's never really come up. So how far have we come as a nation? A read of this book is all you need.

"I just want to live my life without any problems, without getting into any trouble". So sayeth Francine Green. She's attends Catholic school, is living in Los Angeles in 1949, and the two together can mean only one thing. She's gaga over Montgomery Clift, of course! Of course, 1949 can be a disturbing time for a girl to grow up in. Francine has also just become friends with the irrepressible and outspoken Sophie Bowman. Sophie's the kind of kid who has always been encouraged to seek out the truth and to ask questions. Needless to say, such actions aren't exactly smiled upon at All Saints School for Girls. Sophie needs Francine because she's humorless, earnest, and uninterested in basic things like dancing and movie stars. Francine needs Sophie because Sophie is brave and always does what she thinks is right while Ms. Green would prefer to hide under a desk and remain invisible until all conflict has swept past. Together they face the times in which they live. The Red Scare is heating up, good people are getting blacklisted, anyone with a Russian accent is fingered as a communist, and Francine's dad is digging a fallout shelter in the backyard. This is the world in which Francine lives and a world that is becoming more confusing and unintelligible the more she learns about it. Welcome to the 1950s!

The thing about this book is that I was Francine Green when I was a kid. Granted, I didn't have nuns beating the notion of unquestioning obedience into my head. I didn't need to. I followed the rules and didn't make waves and basically was dull dull, deathly deadly dull. So when I realized that Francine had the same problems I did as a kid, I was delighted. My husband, in contrast, was exactly like Sophie Bowman. He was the kid who got reported to the principal by a bus driver for saying he didn't believe in God when he was eight. So you can see how close to home this book hit. I should note that this may mean I view it was a heavily prejudiced (in its favor) eye. I don't think so, though. You can't fake good writing, and Cushman has that talent in spades. The book simultaneously teaches kids about the not-so-distant past while also making the characters completely identifiable. Francine is from a nuclear family in the strictest sense of the term. Her parents have 2.5 kids, the mom stays at home, and the father works and drinks martinis after dinner. Sophie is from a more contemporary home. Her dad talks big issues with her, it's a one parent household, and she knows more about the state of the world than the nuns who "instruct" her. It came as no surprise to me that Ms. Cushman attended a Catholic school of her own and that this book draws heavily on her own past. You're not going to find any historical inaccuracies in this story either. For example, when people fear they're being investigated, they think it's the FBI. Cushman could have slipped up and said the CIA but the CIA hadn't officially come out to the public yet and its existence was discounted as a rumor. So Cushman is accurate at all times, historically as well as emotionally.

This is not the first book for kids and young teens to talk about the palpable fear of bombs after World War II. There is David Almond's accomplished "The Fire-Eaters" which concentrates on the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. But Cushman picks a particularly prickly and precarious time period with "Francine Green". A time when, as she so deftly puts it in her Author's Note, "Fearful of becoming victims [of McCarthyism], Americans became increasingly conformist and conservative in manner, dress, and politics". It probably never occurs to Francine's tow-the-line father that his staunch pro-union tendencies would be seen as left-wing in America in years to come. I'd just like to say that the Author's Note of this book is probably worth the price of the title alone. Kids today know next to nothing of the Red Scare. They certainly have no idea what communism is or was and probably have a vague sense that it was something that disappeared in 1989. Francine and her friends don't actually know what communism is either, of course. And while the book isn't about to go explaining the difference between Stalinists and Trotskyites, neither is it going to let you get away with thinking that McCarthyism was a positive influence on this country.

I loved the little details in this book too. For example, when Francine and Sophie go to a Hollywood premiere to see Montgomery Clift walk by, he turns and looks at them not because they're yelling the same "look this way" stuff as the other ladies, but because Sophie bellows out a raucous "Ban the Bomb!". Cushman also perfectly captures what it feels like to be a young adolescent. Nothing's in black and white anymore. The world is disappointing and adults are letting you down left and right. Francine has the added distraction of knowing that she's just learned what irony is in school all the while living in a singularly un-ironic age.

Any children's book that talks about a girl getting her monthly period (as Francine does here) ends up getting banned in some podunk town somewhere. "The Agony of Alice" does, after all, so maybe "The Loud Silence of Francine Green" will too. Between the anti-McCarthyism and menstrual cycles there'll be plenty for uptight parents to faint over. I just hope it gets into enough young hands before that happens.

To the best of my knowledge, Cushman has never been inclined to write a sequel to any of her books. You're not going to find "The Midwife's Apprentice II: This Time It's Personal" on your bookshelf anytime soon. Still, "Francine Greene" ends on an ellipses if ever there was one. Spoiler alert for the rest of this paragraph, people! Sophie and her father have disappeared without a trace and Francine has told off the boy she likes without actually disliking him all that much. And then in the last scene there's a kind of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" moment where instead of throwing a drinking fountain through a window Francine throws a wastepaper basked into a furnace and then goes to confront her own version of Nurse Ratchet. Heck, this book is VERY much like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", now that I mention it. Questioning authority in a time and place when such an action was severely frowned upon (as opposed to today HAHAHAHA!). In any case, the book ends on a kind of high note but with the reader perched precariously on the edge of their seat. If Ms. Cushman has any pity in her heart, she should hear the cries of her readers and write a sequel to this book. There is still much to say.

So I loved it. Loved it loved it loved it. Will kids love it? Well, if it comes down to them having to read historical fiction for class and they have to read this or "My Brother Sam Is Dead", I think I know which way they're going to incline. I personally am going to do everything I can to get kids and parents both to read this book in their spare time. It's a wonder, a marvel, and a mighty good read. Cushman is stronger than ever and her writing has all the humor and intelligence her fans have come to expect. A great new direction from a master of kiddie lit.

Author Karen Cushman gently guides readers of "The Loud Silence . . . " through the 1949-1950 school year of affronts to youthful idealism, and a teacher who is border-line frightful. Even more scary, though, is the situation of parents who fear loss of jobs & neighborhood approval ratings when the shadow of the Cold War & its terminal ironies invaded their Peace. When ration coupons were no longer being counted, people settled into more 'normal' lives - WHY were those lives made wretched by politicians hoping to piggy-back their way to power via blacklisiting & innuendo?

The world expands in our teen years and we don't necessarily welcome the intrusion of that world's problems in our personal struggles for friendship & status. We may wring all the importance we can from our parents' status but our belly-aching over kitchen chores & annoying siblings never wanes. That is the status quo we want to hang on to. Francine was the "careful" child who obeyed rules to earn approval. She lived in times which allowed her mother to send her off with grocery lists & much younger brother Artie. Delores, the superior older sister, was a plague many teens will recognize. Ironically, in a Catholic girls' school where astrology would be frowned on, Francine Green and Sophie Bowman were destined to become 'best friends' because of their differences. To this reader, who also enjoyed both parents with their differences, and Francine's mother who could make a birthday treat out of a trip to Forest Lawn cemetery, both girls were happy reminders of past friendships & struggling with issues.

In class, Francine learned about things 'ironic' . . . her Christmas thank-you notes should make even *Miss Manners* smile. My oldest sister 'saw to it' that I was raised on sarcasm, so I suppose I didn't need irony but I greatly appreciate how it is used as a leitmotif in Cushman's story. Students were taught to be "proud when ... able to use what we learn in class in our real lives!" The spoken word also had appeal for Francine; she might become an actress & someday co-star with Montgomery Clift.

Reading Cushman's deft tale is good for today's 13-year-olds, who are also learning about the dissolving stage lights of "peacetime" & the threat of darkness. Freedom of expression can be lost in many ways. How could people who were just getting their lives 'put back together' after WW2 allow the accusations of "pinko" or "commie" to be flung about, and other liberties to be snatched away? Those should have been peaceful days of recovery, with flowers replacing Victory gardens, & with movie stars smooshing any raw edges. Instead, Francine muses that "Fear had come into the Bowman's house like fog, silent and clammy, making me shiver."

Author Karen Cushman is skilled at weaving this tapestry of those deeply interred days. June 1950 was too early to recognize the ultimate sainthood of Army counsel Joseph Welch who brought down Senator Joe McCarthy in congressional hearings. McCarthy spoke with an insinuating voice that still raises hairs on the back of my neck. Many lives were shredded by his grim righteousness. The tentacles of over-reaching hubris can turn 'milquetoast' citizens into dispirited, fearful people. "The Loud Silence of Francine Green" by Karen Cushman is a story that evokes the cold shivers of McCarthyism. You didn't have to witness firsthand the curled lip & accusative words to experience bone-chilling fear.

Today's kids will learn that the loss of liberty is not ironic but a 1950s version of the Reality Show. This book deserves enthusiastic responses from middle-school readers - - and thoughtful use in classes. It is important that these issues be discussed so that young people today know something of the tensions that pervaded those years. Reviewer mcHaiku is grateful that although society was hammered, it did survive.

Francine Green is an eighth grader who is coming of age in the McCarthy era. Her Catholic school and strict father do not permit her to challenge authority, at least not until new student Sophie Bowman comes along. Sophie has been raised in a more liberal family, and has a strong nonconformist streak. If she was a character in "Dead Poets Society," she'd probably be the first to leap up on her desk. Not having the luck to have a teacher like Robin Williams, she is frequently punished by the nuns and shunned by the other students, even those who rebel in their own way. However, she and Francine become fast friends and together, they practice dance steps, skip school and attend a movie premiere in hopes of seeing their crush, Montgomery Clift.

When Sophie's father's friend, a Hollywood actor, is blacklisted, Francine
begins to seriously question some of her previously held ideas. As the adults around her worry about nuclear war and Communism, it is left up to her to find her voice on more personal matters. Recommended.

Francine Green, rule-following, trouble-phobic, nearly invisible good girl meets Sophie Bowman, anarchistic, vocal, free speech advocate, and... they become best friends. Karen Cushman places these girls in a Catholic School setting, in Hollywood, California, from 1949-1950. It's a time of paranoia filled with blacklisting and accusations of spying for the Russians. With her typical humor and grace, Cushman helps readers see both girls thinking about who they are and what they believe. Francine, for one, learns that you speak as loudly by remaining silent in the face of bullying/injustice as you do by taking a stand. This book presents a nasty, embarassing time in America's history with great insight and wit. I loved the characters, the dialogue, and the writing of this book.

Karen Cushman's new historical fiction book is modern compared to her other novels. The Loud Silence of Francine Green takes place in 1950's Los Angeles during the height of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Thirteen year old Francine attends All Saints School for Girls, and is constantly being told, by her parents, her teachers, and her confessor, to keep quiet and do as she is told. On the other hand, her new best friend, Sophie, encourages her, by example, to speak out against what is wrong and to question authority. Francine is both embarrassed and inspired by Sophie's fearless antics, which often lead to Sophie's standing in the waste basket, Sister Basil's favorite form of punishment. Francine's friendship with Sophie causes her to wonder if the advice of the adults in her life to "keep quiet" and "don't get involved" is really the best advice. We see Francine mature in this book, but not too much - the scene where Francine decides to call the Pope for advice reminds us that she is very much still a child.
Cushman endows Francine with a genuine and endearing voice. It sometimes feels like Cushman is trying too hard to illustrate the effects that the fear of Communism had on people, with Francine's father building a bomb shelter in the backyard, and a family friend of Sophie's being blacklisted for his political beliefs. Altogether though, the book works, and by novels end we see a more mature Sophie that has grown in courage and self-confidence.

"One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side."
--Bob Dylan

"We closed our books and knelt down in the aisles next to our desks. After a quick Our Father and Hail Mary, Sister Basil said, 'Our Lady, holy Mother of God, we humbly beseech you to intercede for us with your divine Son that we may be with Him forever in Paradise. Ask Him to halt the Red Tide pouring out from Russia and lead the Godless communists to the True Church, for only then will there be Salvation for the Russian people and true peace for us all. And, if it be His will, may we be victorious over Saints Peter and Paul today on the volleyball court.'
"I knew Saints Peter and Paul was a school, like All Saints, but still Iimagined two old bearded saints in robes playing volleyball. I gurgled in my throat at the picture but didn't dare laugh out loud. Sister Basil would tie my tongue to the flagpole or something.
"Sophie gave a muffled snort. It was not muffled enough.
"Sister Basil rose from the ground like a column of smoke. 'Stand up,' she commanded. We stood.
" 'Not all of you,' Sister said, grabbing her pointer and smacking it on the floor. 'Just Miss Bowman.' The rest of us knelt down again. I leaned back against my heels. This could take awhile.
" 'You have a comment, Miss Bowman?'
" 'It just seemed silly, Sister, praying to win a ball game. Does God really care who wins?'
" 'That will do, Sophie.'
" 'And what if students at Saints Peter and Paul School pray too? What will God do?
" 'That's enough Sophie.'
" 'And why are we praying to win a volleyball game anyway when there are real problems in the world?'
"Sister Basil banged her pointer on the blackboard. 'Blessed Harvey, patron saint of croaking frogs, save me from this child!'
" 'And...'
"Sister lunged at Sophie, grabbed her by her hair, and pulled her to the front of the classroom. 'Enough! Enough of your interruptions, your blasphemy, and your impertinence! Here,' she said, pointing to the wastebasket in the corner, 'stand here where everyone can see you. And think about your sins.' Sophie stood next to the wastebasket, but Sister grabbed her hair again. 'No, Miss Bowman, in the basket. And don't slouch.' "

Francine Green is an eighth-grader at All Saints School for Girls (aka the Sinless Academy for the Maidenly). Francine is a middle child who has never questioned authority or even contemplated such a concept until she becomes friends with Sophie Bowman, a motherless, only child, whose father is a Hollywood scriptwriter. Sophie, who lives in Francine's neighborhood, is enrolled in All Saints after being expelled from the local public school for writing, "There is no free speech here" on the gymnasium floor in red paint.

In 1949 Hollywood, Francine and Sophie are living through a time of tremendous fear as Russia has just tested its first nuclear weapon, and President Truman has called for development of the hydrogen bomb.

"I knew what atomic bombs could do. I had seen Fox Movietone newsreels of Japanese cities turned to rubble, of exploding buildings, children on fire, piles and piles of charred bodies. And the world was getting more dangerous. I pulled the blankets over my head."

THE LOUD SILENCE OF FRANCINE GREEN is a tale of repression, Reds, blacklistings, and bomb shelters during the opening days of the Cold War. Francine is to be forever transformed through her friendship with Sophie, who questions everything including the existence of God and Hell, the wisdom of the arms race and of those responsible for it. Of course, for Sophie to do so makes her the ultimate nail sticking out, just begging to be hammered back into place.

"I looked at the statue of the Virgin Mary in the corner. Her face was gentle but sad, not only for her son, Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross, but for poor Sophie in the wastebasket, the pagan babies in Africa, and all the rest of us, wondering about Hell and communists and bombs."

"How can I save my little boy
From Oppenheimer's deadly toy
There is no monopoly of common sense
On either side of the political fence

"We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too"
--Sting

One of the most revealing aspects of the story is the manner in which each member of Francine's family reacts to the threat of nuclear war: from her father with his "martoonies" and his confidence in the government, to her little brother, Artie, who begins having nightmares and sleepwalking episodes, to Francine, herself, who has seen the newsreels and thus knows very well that crawling under her classroom desk ("Stop, Drop, and Cover") is not going to do a damned thing to save her if a nuclear bomb really falls on LA.

What is happening elsewhere in Francine's community of Hollywood is brought home through the darkly absurd scenes in which the Petrovs, a nice old couple who escaped Russia, have their little grocery store repeatedly trashed for their crime of being from Russia, and with the introduction of Mr. Mandelbaum, through whom the reader can get an understanding of what blacklisting really meant.

" 'If there is no God,' Sophie said, 'there is no Hell, so I'm going to pray there is no God.'
" 'Who are you going to pray to?'
"She shook her head. 'I don't know. It's very puzzling.' "

Everything that Karen Cushman can do right--her substantial abilities as a writer that have brought her both a Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor for her work--is present in THE LOUD SILENCE OF FRANCINE GREEN. But, for the first time, Karen Cushman has not only written entertaining historic fiction with great female protagonists, she's written something that has both made me angry and has made me cry.