Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Teen Zone Fiction - Main Level - MARCHETTA
Saving Francesca is a captivating novel that focuses on a teenager named Francesca Spinelli and her experiences as an 11th grader at St. Sebastian’s school which has 30 girls and 750 boys! It’s a time of learning and change for Francesca as she tries to fit in with girls she doesn’t particularly feel drawn to and boys who aren’t so happy to have girls at their school. In the meantime, Francesca also deals with her mother’s depression. Her mother, Mia, is an outspoken and go-getter type of woman, but one day she is unable to get out of bed. This depression leaves a cloud of sadness over the entire family which includes Robert, Mia’s husband and father to Francesca, and Luca—the baby of the family.
Throughout this year, Francesca tries to come to grips with her mother’s illness and her new school. Luckily, Francesca finds friends in places she never thought possible and even falls in love for the first time with Will Trombal--one of the 12th grade leaders of the school.
Set in Australia, this is a novel that will definitely captivate its audience—teen to adult. The unlikely friendships that form between the kids at St. Sebastian’s are truly realistic, relatable, and enjoyable. Furthermore, the heavy theme of depression is something that most people have some experience with in terms of at least knowing someone who has dealt with this illness. There is hope in this novel through the everlasting friendships that Francesca makes and the resiliency of the human spirit. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta is so well-written that in my opinion, it could definitely be made into a movie!