Book Review: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Rating: 3/5 – I liked it and it was a sweet short read but not omg earth-shattering.
After I finished this book, I thought well, it was ok but I don’t see what was that great about it. Now after a week or two, looking back I can appreciate it that much more. Everything felt authentic, through the eyes of a teenaged girl. I’ve been there. In fact I’ve been her. I loved all the small things, all the things that reminded me of my own teenage experiences: camp, tuba guy (I had my own but he was the Fruit Stand Guy) and learning our parents were in fact only human.
Melina Marchetta as this unique ability to shape characters that are so tangible that we feel we know them intimately. Honestly though, I think the boys were the ones who shined the brightest. They were so vague, awkward, frustrating and funny. The interactions between the boys and girls definitely rang true with adolescence.
My biggest issue was that it was too short. We get a small glimpse into their lives, we’re drawn in but I don’t feel fulfilled. Francesca hasn’t grown through this short span. She’s saved, perhaps from her own thinly veiled depression (or is it regular teenage angst that I’m looking too much into) but we don’t know the outcome. Though I’m glad we’ve ended on a sense of there are better and brighter days ahead.
Update: 5 mins later…
WHAT – there is another BOOK!!! Well close enough to a continuation that I feel fulfilled and much happier about the book above. Ah, I’m a little slow on the Melina Marchetta train…
Whatever Reviews by Su 