Saving Francesca
By Melina Marchetta

4 out of 5

Francesca is a normal seventeen year old girl going to high school in her Australian hometown. But she just changed to an almost all boys school. Francesca's class is the first class to have girls in it, and there are thirty of them. All of Francesca's friends went to a different school, so she is stuck in a predominantly boys school, with only a few girls--who she only barely knows. All boys school sounds good right? But when these boys have never had to be mature around girls before, it's not the thrill that it sounds like. Plus, Francesca's mom--the driving force in her life--has taken to her bed, and won't leave. How will Francesca deal with her mom's struggles as well as her own?

I am pretty sure that I am Francesca. I have the same sense of humor as her, I found this book hilarious, and I have the same flare for the dramatic rants, which she uses to full extent. I like how normal the book was, how realistic it was. Boys and girls can be friends without wanting to get into each others pants. They can joke together just as well as people from the same sex can. I loved the way the book did that, but also did a little bit of the awkward, romantic, confusion that accompanies high school. I had read another by Marchetta (Jellicoe Road) a while ago, but after reading this one, she has become an author I really like and enjoy. I will definitely be reading more from her in the future.