Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

     Okay, so we decided to review "Saving Francesca," by Melina Marchetta. This book is about a girl named Francesca (obviously; the book isn't called "Saving Jessica" or something) who goes to a school that was previously all guys - so she's alone, with only a small crowd of other girls to call friends; a depressed mother who was formerly the most collected person Francesca knew; and a slight crush on a guy named Will Trombal who works with her to get the girls at their school more rights and may or may not like her. *Side note* the names are unusual in this book... Francesca? Trombal? that's different.

One fun quote: “Do you think I look like Sophia Loren?” I ask him as we get into the car.
“I used to tell your mother she looked like Sophia Loren.” He looks at me, frowning, and then it registers. “Oh God, some guy’s using that line on you, isn’t he?”

The cover: can a cover get negative stars? Like honestly? What's up with the cover's boring colors and not
that great drawing?

Everything that happened in this book could have really happened to a normal person. I wouldn't be surprised if Francesca was a real girl. Her problems with her mother, her frustration for her dad, her confusion over Will, her grudging friendships with the guys at St. Sebastian's, her group of friends who were all unique characters, and her struggles and realizations were all realistic. In this book more than most others, the supporting characters were well-developed. Francesca could be really likable at times, too (when she corrected Will about the author of "Anna Karenina.") Which was nice but that was the only time she showed her smart side.

Arya liked what happened with Will, though. It was realistic. And the ending was very nice, too. (This might not be relevant, but Luca seems adorable.)

Gabby was not as happy. Will just wasn't described well enough. I need to know more about him and so does Francesca. How did she even have a crush on him if she didn't know anything about him? And what we do see of him, he seems like a weak character. He didn't seem like a suitable love interest.

Sooooo. 2.5 stars.