Saving Francesca [Paperback]

Melina Marchetta (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 9, 2006

A compelling story of romance, family, and friendship with humor and heart, perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Lauren Myracle.

Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastian’s, a boys' school that's pretends it's coed by giving the girls their own bathroom.  Her only female companions are an ultra-feminist, a rumored slut, and an impossibly dorky accordion player.  The boys are no better, from Thomas, who specializes in musical burping, to Will, the perpetually frowning, smug moron that Francesca can't seem to stop thinking about.
 
Then there's Francesca's mother, who always thinks she knows what's best for Francesca—until she is suddenly stricken with acute depression, leaving Francesca lost, alone, and without an inkling of who she really is.  Simultaneously humorous, poignant, and impossible to put down, this is the story of a girl who must summon the strength to save her family, hersocial life and—hardest of all—herself.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"This morning, my mother didn't get out of bed." So begins the saga of Francesca Spinelli, the hilarious and achingly real creation of Aussie author Melina Marchetta. Francesca used to think her biggest problem was transferring to St. Sebastian's--a school only recently turned coed: "What a dream come true, right? Seven hundred and fifty boys and thirty girls? But the reality is that it's either like living in a fish bowl or like you don't exist." But now there's this matter of her usually vibrant and annoyingly optimistic mother Mia refusing to get up in the morning. Her taciturn father doesn't have much to say on the subject, her beloved little brother Luca is anxiously looking to her for answers, and her so-called friends from her old neighborhood seem to have abandoned her. So, Francesca keeps it all inside--her frustration with school (there aren't enough girl's bathrooms and no girl's sports teams); her fear making new friends (with the few girls who do go to St. Sebastian's); and her overwhelming hatred of the smug Will Trombal, who despite being completely infuriating, is also incredibly cute. Keeping this to herself when all she wants to do is spill it to her mother is killing Francesca, but with Mia trying to make herself well again, Francesca will have to figure out how to save herself.

What makes Saving Francesca an exceptional standout in a vast field of mediocre teen chick lit is Frankie's painfully nuanced characterization. It has been ten years since high school teacher Marchetta's break out hit, Looking for Alibrandi, came out in her native Australia, and the care and precision she took in getting Francesca's voice just right is evident. As a result, there isn't a girl alive that wouldn't feel right at home in Francesca's skin. Her frank observations about boys, with their hygienically-challenged habits and their ineptitude in dealing with the opposite sex, are dead-on and riotously funny. Marchetta deftly balances Francesca's humor with a sympathetic depiction of Mia's struggle with clinical depression, creating a well-rounded novel that will prompt both laughter and tears. Fans can only hope that they won't have to wait another decade for Marchetta to gift them with another of honest and moving story. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Sixteen-year-old Francesca's compelling voice will carry readers along during a transitional year in her family and school life. The narrator's vivacious mother falls into a deep depression soon after the teen narrator starts "Year Eleven" at St. Sebastian's, a Sydney boys' school now accepting—but not particularly accommodating to—girls (a teacher refers to the class as "gentlemen"; Francesca describes being outnumbered 750 to 30, as "either living in a fish bowl or like you don't exist"). Slowly, she begins to put down roots at her school, bonding with the girls from St. Stella's (her former school) whom she had considered misfits, and with some unlikely guys. She even finds herself falling for Will, whom she originally called "a stick-in-the-mud moron with no personality." Francesca also lets out her own personality, which she had kept hidden at St. Stella's because of her conceited friends. Her mother's illness takes its toll, though. Marchetta (Looking for Alibrandi) beautifully depicts the pain experienced by Francesca's whole family (at a wedding without her mother, Francesca observes while dancing with both her father and brother that even "combined, we feel like an amputee"), and Francesca's anger towards her father starts to escalate ("You think you can fix everything by forgetting about it but you just make things worse," she tells him). Readers will applaud the realistic complexity in the relationships here, the genuine love between the characters, as well as Francesca's ultimate decision to save herself. Ages 12-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375829830
• ISBN-13: 978-0375829833
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A teen read to be enjoyed by moms and daughters alike June 30, 2005

By Jessica Lux

Format:Hardcover

I picked this up because someone told me they loved it. I'm an adult and I had no idea this was YA fiction until I realized that it was set in high school from the point of view of a high school girl, but by that point, it didn't matter, because the story is so great that teens and adults alike can read it and relate.

I'm not too far out of high school, so Marchetta's descriptions really rung true for me. Francesca deals with feeling like a loner, worrying about doing "the wrong thing," worrying about which friends are her real ones, meeting people outside her "normal" friend circle and realizing that they are worthwhile, too, and dealing with her family. Everything was vivid and lifelike, including Francesca's mother's depression.

I went on highs and lows with Francesca, rooting for her the whole way through, and the end of the book has an excellent resolution that wasn't everything tied up with a pretty ribbon, but learning to deal with your place in the world and finding your own little pocket of happiness and worth.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saving Francesca, Melina Marchetta October 24, 2004

By Annomynous

Format:Hardcover

Saving Francesca is the much awaited second novel by the bestselling author Melina Marchetta. Marchetta's first novel was the award winning cross-over fiction Looking For Alibrandi and readers have been hungry for a second novel from this admired author. Finally Marchetta has produced a novel that satisfies expectations; Saving Francesca. This novel deals with many similar issues as her first novel; multiculturalism, Catholic education and the search for one's identity at a very significant time in life. The style of Melina Marchetta's writing has matured and she has once again produced a compelling read.

Francesca's mother, Mia, is a very motivated and vivacious Communications Lecturer, who plays a huge role in the Spinelli family. Mia insists on sending Francesca to St Sebastian's, an all boy's school which has just started accepting girls. At St Stella's, Francesca's former school, she had belonged to the "cool group," the group that every girl dreams of being in. St Stella's only caters for students up until grade 10 (the majority of the students continued their education at Pius Senior College). Mia believes that Pius Senior College limits students and does not want this for Francesca. Much to Francesca's dismay she is bombarded with testosterone and forced to move away from her comfort zone to associate with three other girls from St Stella's; Siobhan the `slut', Tara the `fanatic' and Justine the `loser'.

The students of St Sebastian's are thoroughly against sharing their school with females. They hate change and especially hate those who cause the change. They cannot deal with girls having an opinion and if faced with an opinionated female, label them a "lesbian". This does not cause Francesca any grief as she is a self described "go with the flow type" and much to Mia's apprehension, is reluctant to speak out. Francesca believes that Mia won't accept her for who she is and instead wants Francesca to be more like her.

When the lively and passionate Mia, turns into a depressed bedridden mother, Francesca's family loses the key link in their lives and are close to break down. Francesca realises that without Mia's motivation and high spirits she is unsure who her mother is, and even more unsure who she is. So the journey begins. However; instead of Josie Alibrandi it is Francesca Spinelli who is on the road to self discovery. She begins to realise that her "hip," "down to earth" friends from St Stella's who saved her from befriending the "losers," were actually preventing her from showing her true colours. St Sebastian's guides Francesca on this journey of self discovery and on the way Francesca forms strong friendships, is faced with romance and realises that she is more like Mia than she thinks.

Like Marchetta's first novel, Saving Francesca creates a powerful story in the period of one school year. This novel is relevant to teens in our society as it relates to many key issues; a major one being depression. This issue is portrayed through Mia and is explored in a very realistic manner. This theme is dealt with clear-eyed compassion and this novel implies that there is no quick fix. Belonging is another key issue and is explored through the central character, Francesca. I believe that the characters within this novel are likeable by the audience and are extremely realistic and believable. I recommend Saving Francesca for a wide range of readers, between 13 years to adults.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saving Francesca November 22, 2004

By Lauren Wyly

Format:Hardcover

Saving Francesca is the story of a girl with so much on her mind, but without the right words to say it. At the beginning of the book, Francesca speaks of how irritated she is with her mother. She is sickened by her always be positive attitude, and her dramatic behavior. She is upset at her for making her attend St. Sebastian's, a school with 750 boys and only 30 girls. Francesca finds it difficult to be the social butterfly she was at her old school, and blames it all on her mother. She knows something is wrong when her mother begins sleeping late rather than waking Francesca up in the morning with uplifting music, but she figures that she is just sick. After several weeks of waking up to silence, Francesca is worried. She learns that her mother is suffering from depression, and she has a hard time understanding how this could happen to such an optimistic woman. She no longer looks at her mother as the woman who ruined her life, but as the woman who's life she ruined. She wishes that her mother would go back to normal, so that she could live the happy life she lived before the first day she awoke to silence.

I enjoyed every last minute of Francesca's battles to get back to a life of normalcy. She was incredibly easy to relate to, and easy to feel for. Melina Marchetta brilliantly created a character that any teenage girl would want to read about. She goes through many of the same problems that normal girls go through, such as boy and friend problems, but also goes through so much more. The things that she goes through that could not be compared to normal every-day life, such as her mother's depression, are the things I enjoyed the most about this novel. It makes the little problems in our lives seem so small. It also gives you the desire to meet new people, and to really analyze the relationships that are existent in your life. Francesca wanted desperately to stay away from a certain group of girls at her school, but by the end of the novel realized that they were the girls that she needed the most. The girls that she once thought she needed the most were the girls who ended up needing her the least.

Not only was this novel incredibly interesting and easy to relate to, it was also beautifully written. Many novels are written in the same format, but Melina Marchetta goes beyond that format and simply puts her words onto paper. She does not always pay attention to grammar and sentence structure, as we have been taught to do. It is this that makes many of her passages from the novel so easy to relate to. A run-on sentence that may have been marked to death by any english teacher may make it the easiest to understand the thoughts going through Francesca's head. If those thoughts had been broken up into smaller sentences, the desperation in Francesca's mind would never have been noticed. Marchetta brilliantly created grammatically incorrect but emotionally perfect sentences throughout this novel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something to become a part of for a few hours. I am not the type of person to sit down and read a book for several hours in one sitting until I am done, but with Saving Francesca, I could not help myself. I could not put it down. If you are looking for a book to read over the course of a few days, this is not the book for you. Every time I put it down, I found myself with the desire to pick it right back up and finish, and you will too.