"Jellicoe Road" impressed me so much, I HAD to read another Melina Marchetta book, and it might not equal Jellicoe Road, but Saving Francesca was AMAZING.“It's a weird smile, but it reaches his eyes and I bottle it. And I put it in my ammo pack that's kept right next to my soul and Justine's spirit and Siobhan's hope and Tara's passions. Because if I'm going to wake up one morning and not be able to get out of bed, I'm going to need everything I've got to fight this disease that could be sleeping inside of me.”
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, alone, 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.
This book was both a heavy, and a light read (if that makes sense?). The parts dealing with Francesca's mother's depression aren't sunshiny happy - and that makes up most of the book, but there are scenes with Francesca and her friends and they're so happy and so funny and you forget that there's some problem to deal with. I totally loved our protagonist, Francesca and her love interest, Will. Her friends were supercool and very original. This was such a short book and yet I got to know each one of them well enough. That's amazing writing right there. But this was also very different from Jellicoe road and I couldn't compare these two books at all.
I'll give it
4.5 STARS
Saving Francesca is a fun, quick read you definitely want to pick up.
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