Saving Francesca By
Melina Marchetta
Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Puffin Books (6 May 2004) Genre: Young Adult/ Contemporary/realistic Fiction Source: Library
Rating:
My dad does the only thing he knows how to do this morning. He makes us eggs for breakfast. "We don't like eggs, papa." I finally tell him because I think deep down I'm a little bit pissed - off with him. Why can't he fix things up? "We never have." He looks from me to Luca and then hurls the eggs against the stainless steel. I watch the design it makes as it runs down the wall and then he's crying. My dad is crying and Luca is hugging him from behind saying, "I'll eat the eggs, daddy, I'll eat the eggs," and he's crying too and I can't bear watching them.
Originally I wasn't going to post this review. I finished writing it and then realised that there were a ton of things that I suddenly felt I wanted to touch on. The review was already breaking records length - wise and I felt maybe it would be better to start over. I started writing the new review, but then, found myself deleting it and coming back to the original. So then I thought what the heck and added more on to it. I'm glad now that I didn't get rid of this review. It's why its always best in these instances to follow the heart. :)
"Do you think I look like Sophia Loren?" I ask him as we get into the car. "I used to tell your mother that she looked like Sophia Lauren." He looks at me, frowning, and then it registers. "Oh god, some guy's using that line on you, isn't he?" "Not just "some guy", I tell him. "The guy"
"Did he just insult me?" I ask Justine "Yes, but the tragedy is that he thinks he's paying you a compliment."
Saving Francesca is the story of a sixteen year old girl whose life is falling apart. She has had to move schools, loose friends, see her mother deteriorate before her very eyes and gradually acknowledge that her father is no longer man she once knew.
At her new school there are seven hundred and fifty boys and just thirty girls, crazy huh? You would think that the girls would love it. I mean the less girls the less competition, the less girls to fight with over boys, right? WRONG. Things work differently around the new school. If anything, the boys are quite cold towards the girls and don't take them seriously at all. Everything is off balance really. There are these cliques, but even in their own cliques no one really seems at ease. The school is not a happy place to be and for a girl dealing with issues such as Francesca it's close to unbearable.
I think I expected more of a gritty read when I thought of this book. I'm thinking along the lines of: Thirteen Reasons Why/ Speak / Ballads of Suburbia, and although that wasn't what I got it I want to clarify that it was far from your typical light and fluffy read. I think the thing was that although there were horrific things that you witness regarding her mother I didn’t feel emotionally invested like I tend to with novels that touch on certain topics such as this one. That’s my only complaint though. However, it didn’t concern me all too much because I was still able to witness that raw emotion from a young girl who was hurting. Saving Francesca may not be in your face gritty but it holds a more subtle agony within its pages: agony of a girl who doesn't feel that she is worth anything, who would rather not speak at all because she feels her words hold no value, who is someone else entirely because it's easier that way. Ever since her mother has fallen ill Francesca has changed: she can't even remember the last time she smiled.
Although the premise isn't exactly original since it’s all been done before I have to follow that up with saying that the characters make up for it. There are some very memorable people in this book. Those that come to mind are: Justine, Tara, Siobhan, Thomas and my favourite: Jimmy. The beautiful thing about this book is that all these characters are not just thrown together and announced BFF from the very beginning. We see the different cliques they belong to, and how: Tara, Siobhan, Justine and Francesca who may hang together at school hardly communicate at all. You then have loners Jimmy and Thomas who prefer to do their own thing and, Will, who is quite the hit with the ladies. And yet, somehow, despite how different they are, and despite the fact that they hardly know each other and couldn’t care less to do so we watch from afar as these individuals gravitate towards each other, get to know one another and become friends. It's such a magical moment seeing them all come together because the journey has been felt from both sides. Through the MC as well as the reader and it's wonderful: wonderful watching it happen. Over time this camaraderie they share, the way they look out for one another quickly became one of my favourite parts of the book. In other words: Marchetta tackles friendship, grief, guilt and miscommunication perfectly -- hands down.
Although the love interest was pretty apparent I liked how the author played around with “potential others”. I actually doubted myself a few times because there were some other s that I could see her possibly having a thing for.
Will is a pretty realistic character in my opinion. Just as realistic as the others and for that I'm glad, glad that she didn't set out to make him this perfect boy. He made mistakes, was a bit of a prick, strung her around, but at least with Will you knew what you were heading in for. All the characters are flawed in some way or the other but this only humanises them more, makes them more relatable. I liked how each character had their own issues, had a story to them that we could relate to.
Parental relationships with children are also explored in the novel which was pretty interesting to read about. I think this topic in particular may be one of the many reasons for both teens and adults to read the book. It gives insight to the feelings of a confused teenager who wants to makes things right, who feels like her mother has always wanted the upper hand and her father gone right along with it. She feels lonely and lost, and with no explanation from the parents things only go downhill. On the other hand you have a mother who has a condition that is taking over her life: placing her in danger, and a husband whose unbearable guilt is tearing his family apart. Through Saving Francesca we get to see the story from both sides which does not happen often. We witness Francesca's desperation to understand and help her mother, her mother's deterioration, a young brother's helplessness/naivety and a father’s pain that is all captured beautifully but with sensitivity.
Which then leads me to the secondary characters: you have Tara who is passionate, ambitious and fierce about what she believes in: a feminist and comfortable in her skin. Justine who is a little naive but incredibly sweet, and Siobhan who craves love, but from the wrong kind of people and through getting in sticky situations which gives her the label: slut. Thomas who uses his snide remarks, and often: unsubtle habits * LOL* as a mask: Jimmy who despite his bullying ways may be someone else entirely different beneath the surface: and Will. A confident, if not at times shy, boy, who has planned his life from the get go, and our Francesca: a lonely girl that will meet all these people and even one day call them friends.
IT'S FUNNY! Okay humour was definitely not expected but wow I sure got it! The thing was that it would creep up on you at completely unexpected moments. I never saw it coming. I had a lot of LOL moments at times where I couldn't stop smirking and stealing a smile here and there. A particular moment actually had me laughing really loud and just that moment my dad chose to step into the room. It was very awkward because it looked like I was laughing to an imaginary friend since the book was on the bed which made me a little embarrassed, so I looked away trying to hide my demented grin which of course only made him more curious. “nothing dad, seriously, it's nothing" I tried to brush it off. Hahahaha I LOVED the quirky and witty unexpected dialogue. It was something that amidst the dark theme gave you a little bit of hope.
Here are the quotes that made me LOL!
"Why would Will want to talk to you?" I snap "I offered him my cigarette and said, "Let's talk women Will. How does one sustain two at the same time?"
I look at him. "Would you like me to introduce you to her? Her name's dumb bitch." "Why don't you just take a Naprogesic," he snarls. I ignore him, and as we pack up he grunts a thanks to Justin, who glances at me, distressed. "This doesn't mean we have to be his friend, does it?"
I want to talk about Jimmy and why he was my favourite. First of all I never expected him to be a favourite at all; I mean, I couldn't stand him in the beginning. Being a bully made me place a big fat cross over his name quite early on until Francesca started scratching beneath the surface. Then we got to know a whole new Jimmy, the Jimmy I completely fell in love with. Beneath this tough exterior is a boy who like Francesca is still grieving, hurting and angry. He is the first to really reach out to Francesca despite her cold demeanour which could have easily put him off, but he stayed: maybe because he saw the signs, because he saw himself him her. Regardless, he was consistently there for her: a shoulder to lean on, someone to talk to, to share her pain. In fact, I would have much rather preferred Jimmy and Francesca as a pair xD so, somewhere along the line I completely fell in love with him, as in, MAJOR CRUSH! On the other hand Thomas won me over in another way: let’s just say that he’s more charming than he gives himself credit for when he’s not being, you know, overly expressive. :D
I now know that The Pipers Son is from Thomas's POV which is great since he would have been my second option, but I would have preferred Jimmy regardless of adoring Thomas. Just because I felt for Jimmy, fell for him. He is so mysterious that I wished I knew him a little bit better. I think I have a soft spot for sensitive, troubled boys, but still, he's one to look out for because he will definitely melt your heart to mush.
Now that I look back maybe I underestimated Francesca a bit. Compared to a lot of MC nowadays I have to admit that the girl has spunk. She may be the girl who keeps to herself but if you mess with her she'll definitely bite back. She's observant of those around her which I think is a good trait and is very clued up about what's going on around her. I liked that about her: she's a bit of a cynic and seems to be amused by the boys around her more than anything else. Those were the traits that seemed all too familiar when I was in high school.
Example: "You should be ashamed of yourself." He looks around, to see if I'm speaking to someone else. "Are you talking to me?" "Yes I am, Mr Taxi Driver, De Niro. You're a bully and I know you don't care, but I just thought you should know that I think you're scum. He's probably some miserable kid with his own demons and he doesn't need yours."
"It's Tolstoy by the way," I say as I open the door. He turns around. "What?" Shut up, I tell myself. Shut up. "The writer of Anna Karenina. Not Trotsky. Trotsky was a revolutionary who was stabbed to death with a pickaxe in Mexico in 1939. But I can understand how the T thing could confuse you." He looks at me, his eyes narrowing. William Trombal doesn't like to be put in his place. Bad move.
"This isn't about you . It's not personal," he says. A cold fury grips me, but my hearts already sunk before I can save it. "Everything to do with me is personal," I say, hardly being able to get the words out. I walk out. I need voices of reason and of hysteria and empathy I need to have an Alanis moment. I need advice from Elizabeth Bennett. I need Tim Tams and comfort food. I need to find the girls.
Now that's what I call a badass chick. This is why I have grown to respect and appreciate Francesca. She may not be the most talkative person, but she will stand up for what she believe is right. If someone is treating another badly she will intervene and she will let you know exactly just how much you suck. She will also make you look like an ass if you think mock her. She is no pushover. It's refreshing to see a witty character with a great personalty. We need more of those.
When I saw Francesca's life through her eyes I genuinely felt like I was in a young girls head. She wasn't unrealistic or over the top. She had real life issues: she was gusty, snarky, and her love interest wasn't exactly your typical fairy-tale of sweetness: her friends far from perfect, but that was her life. Now tell me: how often to you get a realistic feel from a YA book despite it being about teens. Let me answer that for you. Hardly: ever. This is what makes Saving Francesca special: how realistic it was.
I want to end this review with a note to the older: brother, sister, aunt, parents. Be the child 11/13/15 in my opinion this books is readable. There aren't sex scenes in the book, and the MC doesn't do much more than kiss actually, but yes, plenty of profanity; which lets be honest, isn't such a big deal. *Some of you will disagree* Children swear, children young as 5 years old. I think the actual message and the impact that it will have on you will override any hesitation regarding the language though. Hear me out. The book tackles the issues of miscommunication between children and parents and for this reason I think this book can be very helpful for parents. Make them see where your children are coming from. If your child has become distant lately or drastically changed I can genuinely imagine this book helping you, and for the teens out there Saving Francesca is proof that sometimes expressing how you feel, having that talk with a parent can make things a lot better, and that coming out of your shell and allowing friends in might just make you a happier person. I just had to add that.
"So you're a fan are you?" I think he's flirting with me and I have this ridiculous grin on my face but I can't help it. He goes to leave, but then stops, again. "And just so you know," he tells me. "I know you're behind the disappearance of the biscuits," "Biscuits?" "My nonna's S biscuits." "Funny that. My nonna makes S biscuits too. She's actually the Queen of S biscuits." He's trying not to grin. And I don't know why, but I sit on that step until the last person's gone home and I'm still grinning. Like someone who has a bit of a crush.
"You go shake your foundations, Will. I think it's about time I saved myself."
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