Customer Reviews

Saving Francesca

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Several people recommended this book to me, and I finally sat down to read it. It started out slow, but, considering the storyline, I can overlook that part. Once I was a few chapters into it, I couldn't put it down. I knew that Francesca (first name Francis, called that by her limitation placing friends) was going to rediscover herself, but I had no idea how she would do it. And that's what kept me riveted through the novel.

The dialog was sharp and hilarious, and I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. I'd highly recommend this to anyone, kids and adults alike.

I have read this book three times and I love thi book to death. The story is about Francesca, or Frances. Her mother, normally up-beat and lively, one day suddenly falls ill. She won't move from her bed or eat. It is up to frances to work her family, while dealing with some struggles in highschool. Will Trombal. She hates him one minute, they are making out the next. it is up to frances to solve her mother's mysterious illness, and keep her self alive.

this book is wonderfully written, and grasps u to the fullest extent!

I stayed up long into the night to finish this book and it was my favorite book for a very long time.
It tells the story of Francesca, whose mom is suddenly not herself and stays in bed all day. We later learn she has depression. As if Francesca's family life could not get more complicated,she goes to a private school where she has no friends and there are no opprotunities for girls. But along the way she learns about herself and the people at her school and even finds herself falling in love with one of them!
Any girl can identify with Francesca's story and anyone can laugh along with her witty observations. She is one of those characters whose desicions I love. I don't spend my whole time groaning when the character does this or that, in fact, I applaud her.

New girl Francesca Spinelli never anticipated finding happiness at Saint Sebastian's. A high school in Sydney, Australia that "pretends it's a coed school by giving the girls their own toilet". Not only is this spunky teen surrounded by disgusting boys, but the only girls at St. Sebastian's are freaks. Things only get worse when an unexplainable obstacle appears. The "Queen of Limitation Placers" (a.k.a "Mom" and "Mia"), suddenly resigns from her position to lie in bed all day. It began with an excuse of physical illness, but after weeks Mia's emotional condition becomes apparent. Her state of depression is tearing the Spinelli's apart. Francesca is with deep grief led to believe the upbeat woman who used to begin the day singing inspirational songs and posting motivational messages around the house had lost her love for life because of her children. As Francesca's life at home rapidly plunges downhill, schools only comfort are her friends. However, who in the midst of her current hardships are real friends is not yet clear. To top off this teen's misery Francesca's heart is stolen by an unexpected love.
Through a book about love, friendship, family and despair Marchetta kept me interested with a unique array of characters and the portrayal of emotional disasters within a family. The author's craft was witty and spunky like Francesca from a first person's view. I don't believe it was written from any religious perspective, although St. Sebastian's is a Catholic school. The pace was average. I recommend this book to female teens and parents who want to remember what it's like to be in their daughter's shoes.

I could read this book a million times and never get tired of it! I recommend this book to everyone!

I loved this book. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

You know that feeling that you get when you have something savory, like say a chocolate chip cookie or a piece of chocolate cake, and you want to just enjoy it slowly and appreciate every little morsel and bask in that greatness as long as you can? Yeah, that's what this book is like. I found myself reading the pages slowly and enjoying not only the story of Francesca and her (depressed) family but also the incredible writing style of Melina Marchetta.

This novel is about a girl whose mother, for some reason or another, has become depressed. It's about how Francesca comes to deal with this in her life and how it affects her life and the lives of her entire family. There are lots of things that have changed in her life other than her mother's depression - she now attends what used to be an all-male boarding school (and the boys aren't too happy about the girls being there). And here is where we find something that every teenager goes through - and that is wanting to be accepted. Francesca often conformed to what her friends (and mother) told her that she should be instead of being her own person. And now in this new place, she doesn't know who she is (especially without her mother telling her who to be). Throughout the novel though, Francesca finds her own voice (even if it is yelling at her father).

And the ending, well, it broke my heart.

But I'm not. I work at a bookstore and the staff in Young Adult Literature suggested this book and The Piper's Son for some light reading to help me procrastinate writing my thesis. It is so well done. Was YA lit this good when I was in high school? I really don't recall. The unflinching honesty of the author about tough issues makes this book enjoyable for young adults without being patronizing. It's also refreshingly free of allegory- no vampires or dragons required, the heroine has enough non-fantastic obstacles to overcome.

This book is particularly good at showing the complicated process of a young person coming to terms with the humanity of their own parents. Every character is well-crafted and believable, but the depth of detail about each of them gets a little confusing if you leave too much time between this story and the sequel (I didn't read them back to back and regret it now.) Buy them together and read them together, if you can.

First off, let me say that there are stories that you love, then there are stories you feel like you are in, and then there are stories in which you assume a character's role. Somehow, Saving Francesca is, without exception, all three of these things. Francesca and her words crept into my ear, down my throat and into my heart. There was no way I couldn't not talk about how wonderful this book is or how lovingly poignant and beautiful her story is to read.

I never expected the amazing depth the book has judging by the cartoon clad cover. Yeah, I know, color me a snob, but it was my first Marchetta - what did I know? Francesca is one of the most wonderful, tender, vulnerable ans strong characters I've ever met. She hid her true personality in junior high due to peer pressure, but it was the sneaky, subtle, mean girl kind of pressure - you know what I'm talking about. The kind where you don't even know you're giving the best parts of yourself away because you are under the spell of belonging. Anywho, strong and vulnerable, right? Sounds like a flipping cliche, right? Well, maybe, but that's because Francesca OWNS it. Seriously, flip that cliche over. It will say: MADE IN SYDNEY BY FRANKIE, BABY.

And Francesca really is the story. She's the oldest of two and adores her little brother (so refreshing to see). You get the sense of discord right from beginning, as her mother simply won't get out of bed. Her mother absolutely runs their lives. So, in this home, no active mother = no family foundation. Her father is completely devoted to her and tries to cope as best as he knows how to, but Francesca and her little brother have to take second place. It is heart wrenching to see their pain, and it's a powerful reminder that a family is a unit. When one member suffers, everyone does. Francesca is really in a perfect storm of a situation. On one front, she is feeling a sense of having no place in a hostile new school. The old, pre-mean girl Francesca could've adjusted better, but the more subdued Francesca does not, and she feels lost. On another front, her type-A, encouraging, overbearing (and sometimes resented) mother is no longer with it enough for her to get support from. On the third front, Francesca is struggling to connect with people. She has this group of quasi-friends, but she doesn't really feel like she has anyone specific to turn to.

That's the plot in a nutshell. Francesca Spinelli is learning how to cope with a new school unprepared and unwilling to accommodate its new female student body. Her dad has to be emotional support for her mom, she has to be that for her little brother, which leaves no one to be it for her. She's learning to reclaim her own sense of self that she gave away years earlier in an attempt to fit in. Along the way, the absolute best supporting cast of characters I've read in so long come into her life and made me laugh, *snort*, hoot!, awwww and yes, even cry. Usually, I'd stop right here and declare Marchetta a Master of Characterization, but honestly, she's just a Master, period. Marchetta is a Master Writer, and that's all there is to it.

I'm not exaggerating - the mastery extends to setting, as well. The story takes in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and yes, there are direct references to the area. What I am really talking about, though, is Marchetta's ability to write about a very specific place and make it feel like you are walking in your own neighborhood. I loved it, and, as a former Catholic school girl who grew up in an area with significant Italian, Irish and Eastern European influences, the school setting, community, and little nuances that make this story come to life made me feel like I was touring my own high school and city. Adding in Francesca's emotionally charged narrative and her authentic, true-to-life friends made me feel like I was time traveling back to my former teenage self.

This book is heartbreaking and hilarious - there is such a blemish-free balance between the serious tone and the laugh-out-loud moments. It's like a friend holding you while you cry and then that person says something that sets off a huge chain of laughs that makes you think, "Yeah, this is it - this is living." There is just something so special about this book. . . It's a perfect story, and I absolutely encourage you to pick it up and experience it for yourself.

I found this absorbing reading.
The story is told by Francesca, who is 16, intelligent, articulate but unsure of herself (she is immensely likable).
The story starts with her mother not getting out of bed one morning, she is clinically depressed and the story deals with how this impacts on the family unit, as well as the individual family members.
However, the book for me is primarily about love and friendship. Francesca starts year 11 at an all boys' school that has just started accepting girls. There are around 30 girls and 750 boys. Her friends from her previous school (which only goes up to year 10) have gone to another school.
Through the course of the novel she makes tenuous friendships and comes to understand the truth about the legacy of family, the importance of friendship and being yourself in friendships, love, and how being true to yourself and discovering who you are is important.
The voice of the novel is authentic and I could feel her sadness, her pain, her awkwardness and her excitement. All of the support characters are likable; they are all quirky and none are clichéd.

I read lots of YA books, and Saving Francesca is one of my favorites.It is smart, thougtful but fun, happy but sad. I especially related to the author's treatment of depression. I loved it so much that I also picked up Looking for Alibrandi--which is also great. I would recommend this book to teenage girls and women.