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Saving Francesca

Name: Saving Francesca
Author: Melina Marchetta
ISBN: 9780375829833

by Melina Marchetta

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Overview

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.

Sixteen-year-old Francesca could use her outspoken mother's help with the problems of being one of a handful of girls at a parochial school that has just turned co-ed, but her mother has suddenly become severely depressed.

Synopsis

Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastians, 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 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, along, and without an inkling 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, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW wrote, "Sixteen-year-old Francesca's compelling voice will carry readers along during a transitional year in her family and school life." Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta lives in Sydney, Australia, and is also the author of Looking for Alibrandi and Jellicoe Road, winner of the Printz award.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

VOYA

Francesca's life changed radically in grade eleven when she was forced to select a new school because hers only went to grade ten. There were two choices: Pius Senior College, the school to which all her friends were going, or St. Sebastian's, which had opened its doors to girls that year. Because her younger brother was attending year five there, her mother chose to have her become one of the St. Sebastian's girls-thirty of them among seven hundred and fifty boys. But even that is not why she knows she does not fit in with a group made up of a major feminist, the "easiest" girl from her former school, and a girl who used to be her best friend but whom she dropped to become part of a more popular crowd. The day that Francesca's mother could not get out of bed starts Francesca on a journey that will cause her to find a place in her school, with her family, and among the crowd at St. Sebastian's. Francesca will learn what true friendship means when she finally attains it. Francesca starts out on a downward spiral that is all too common in families where depression has taken hold and is not something that the family is able to control or acknowledge. Francesca's gripping and moving journey will be very popular for the themes of fitting in, romance, and friendship, while bringing a realistic depiction of a serious and contemporary problem to light. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Knopf, 240p., and PLB Ages 12 to 18.
—Betsy Fraser

KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 2004: The author, a teacher in Sydney, Australia who wrote the successful YA novel Looking for Alibrandi, continues with the same milieu, a Catholic school and an Italian family. Francesca's mother and father share working class Italian roots, but her mother persisted in graduate school and has a job teaching at the college level; meanwhile, Francesca's father still works in construction. At the time this novel begins, Francesca's mother has had a "nervous breakdown" and is buried in depression. Francesca and her younger brother (this is a lovely sibling relationship) attend the same school, which was an all-boys school until recently. In essence, this is a school story, telling of Francesca finding a new group of friends, finding a boyfriend, and beginning to find herself, despite the terrible angst of worrying constantly about her mother's health. What makes the novel so much fun and so poignant at the same time is the terrific dialog?—?witty, cutting, intelligent, outrageous. There is a lot of believable confusion: Francesca is furious with her mother; she aches for her mother to return to normal. She loves her father; but she blames him for her mother's depression. She can't stand Will; but her body betrays her true feelings: her heart speeds up when she sees him. Francesca is the narrator, but many other characters are also fully developed in Marchetta's adept writing style. There is some swearing here and there, and getting drunk on alcohol or high on marijuana in the background at times, but these young people in the core of the story are lovable, smart people who are trying their best to survive adolescence.KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Random House, Knopf, 243p., Ages 12 to 18.
—Claire Rosser

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-There have been lots of changes for Francesca as she starts Year Eleven at St. Sebastian's, a formerly all-boys school that has grudgingly admitted 30 coeds. She misses her old friends, but mostly she misses her mother, a strong vocal communications lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, who has slipped into a severe depression and can't get out of bed. Francesca is also facing challenges at school. Suddenly, she's hanging out with new friends, girls who were so uncool at St. Stella's, and it's impossible to talk things over with her mother as she once did. Life gets more complicated when she develops a crush on Will Trombal, who can't seem to make up his mind whether he wants to be with her or his current girlfriend. The trials continue throughout the year, and a conflict with her father brings everything to a head. At that point Francesca begins to understand what really matters, who her friends are, and, most importantly, who she is. This is a complex, deliberately paced, coming-of-age story. It is only through a long, hard climb that Francesca eventually begins to have hope again, but there is still a long way to go at the story's closing. Despite the seriousness of the subject and some occasional strong language, the book also has great characterizations, witty dialogue, a terrific relationship between Francesca and her younger brother, and a sweet romance. Teens will relate to this tender novel and will take to heart its solid messages and realistic treatment of a very real problem.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Sparkling dialogue and engaging characters make this Australian import a pleasure to read. Sixteen-year-old Francesca flounders when she transfers reluctantly to a previously all-boys school at the same time that her mother goes into a depression. Without her former repressive clique and her mother's boisterous love, Francesca has to forge her own sense of herself after years of feeling safely invisible. In the process, she makes friends with unconventional girls she'd rejected at her old school, and gauche but ultimately kind boys, one of whom becomes a romantic interest. Hilarious scenes characterize the girls' and boys' adjustments to a co-ed school, a fully drawn setting clearly informed by the author's experience as a teacher. Meanwhile, Francesca struggles with her mother's depression and comes to better understand her stalwart but distressed father. Marchetta juggles her many characters deftly, infusing the teens and adults with depth and individuality. Francesca's messy, credible array of emotions and problems will keep readers absorbed to the last, satisfying line. (Fiction. 13+)