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chantaal 's review for:
Saving Francesca
by Melina Marchetta
Review also posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
This is one of those times I'm supremely grateful for the friends I have on Goodreads, because I very nearly passed this over without a second thought until I saw the four and five star ratings people whose recs I trust gave it. On the surface, there doesn't seem to be too much to this book; Francesca is in one of the first girl classes at a formerly all-boys boarding school. Yawn, right?
Saving Francesca turned out to be so much more beautiful and intricate than that.
The boarding school and Francesca's struggles within are the supporting players to the turmoil, the loneliness, the sadness and occasional happiness she finds. I don't suffer from depression and I don't know anyone who has had a breakdown the way Francesca's mother has, but I found I could truly understand what she was going through. I could almost relate, I could sympathize, I was right there with her every step of the way, and it made the normal teenage things -- the crush, the new friends, finding out who she truly is -- feel so much more than the sum of their parts.
And sad as it may be at times, it never drags you down into the depths, but instead shows you enough of a glimpse to understand what it's like.
This is a gorgeous novel, one I would highly recommend to anyone. After reading [b:On the Jellicoe Road|1162022|On the Jellicoe Road|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1212708945s/1162022.jpg|6479100] last month and having finished Saving Francesca, [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg] has become one of my favorite YA authors. I'll be reading everything of hers I can get my hands on.
This is one of those times I'm supremely grateful for the friends I have on Goodreads, because I very nearly passed this over without a second thought until I saw the four and five star ratings people whose recs I trust gave it. On the surface, there doesn't seem to be too much to this book; Francesca is in one of the first girl classes at a formerly all-boys boarding school. Yawn, right?
Saving Francesca turned out to be so much more beautiful and intricate than that.
The boarding school and Francesca's struggles within are the supporting players to the turmoil, the loneliness, the sadness and occasional happiness she finds. I don't suffer from depression and I don't know anyone who has had a breakdown the way Francesca's mother has, but I found I could truly understand what she was going through. I could almost relate, I could sympathize, I was right there with her every step of the way, and it made the normal teenage things -- the crush, the new friends, finding out who she truly is -- feel so much more than the sum of their parts.
And sad as it may be at times, it never drags you down into the depths, but instead shows you enough of a glimpse to understand what it's like.
This is a gorgeous novel, one I would highly recommend to anyone. After reading [b:On the Jellicoe Road|1162022|On the Jellicoe Road|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1212708945s/1162022.jpg|6479100] last month and having finished Saving Francesca, [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg] has become one of my favorite YA authors. I'll be reading everything of hers I can get my hands on.