Reviewed by Kelly on
Saving Francesca is a deep, compassionate coming of age story, told from the perspective of a girl who is struggling to find her place in the world without her mother. Francesca's mother has depression, the vivacious and educated woman had shut herself off from the world, her family and her children, and Francesca can't cope without her. Her mother has always told her who to be, what to do and has involved herself in every aspect of Frankie's life, so when Frankie needs to stand on her own two feet, she doesn't know how.
Melinda Marchetta crafted a realistic world that would remind most adults of those awkward high school days, but touches on the very serious diagnosis of depression. That even the strong can be struck down, and most of us are unaware of the early signs. Frankie's character is your average teen, she struggles to fit into any particular social group, and finds herself avoiding others that could be seen as committing social suicide. But she learns to march to the beat of her own drum, and it isn't until she lets go of what others think of her and her choices, that she finds she has a support network of amassed friends that she didn't expect. I didn't particularly like Will, Francesca's love interest, he was pompous, boring and under any other circumstances, Frankie probably wouldn't have given him a second thought. Like most young adult contemporaries, Saving Francesca doesn't have a definite ending, but her novel The Piper's Son continues the story somewhat from another point of view.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 18 November, 2013: Finished reading
- 18 November, 2013: Reviewed