[Book Review]: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Book Title: Saving Francesca
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Year: 2003
Add to your Goodreads shelf.
My Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0

---

Goodreads' Blurb:
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 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, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.

---

I needed to force myself looking up from the pile of excellent books I've been currently reading, and started to write about them before the feeling goes out.

Since the first time I heard and read about this book, I was not really sure about the title, it didn't seem to blend well with the synopsis. But as I turned out the pages of this book and was engrossed in the writer's simple yet deliverable proses, it all made perfect sense.

There were tons of topics this book discussed, using the high-schooler's daily life, Francesca. From complicated friendship, school, sisterhood, teen romance and family's issues. I'm not sure how those great contemporary writers write, Marchetta is one of them who had that skill which could grip you in such topics without being too intricate and complicated. Each character was perfectly carved, and so different with each other. But the other thing I loved that the writer did them all in Francesca's first person point of view.

I was so lucky that I could get the opportunity to read Marchetta's work, and I certainly can't wait to get my hands on the next one, The Piper's Son.