We recently asked Maggie Stiefvater, author of the popular fey book Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception if she would be interested in reviewing one of her own fave YA novels. Maggie chose Saving Francesca by Australian author, Melina Marchetta.

This morning, my mother didn’t get out of bed.

So begins SAVING FRANCESCA, the story of Francesca, one of the few girls going to St. Sebastian’s, a previously all-boys school. The joys of going to St. Sebastian’s are numerous: the sounds of musical burping and farting echoing through the halls, male-centered theater picks, and the general feeling of living in a fishbowl as the thirty girls go about their business amongst the seven-hundred-and-fifty boys who also attend the school.

But this is only sort of a book about being a girl in a boys’ school. It’s a fact that needles Francesca, but not as much as it needles Tara Finke, a slightly hilarious feminist schoolmate, and certainly not as much as it needles Francesca’s mother, Mia. Mia is a vivacious, passionate, take-no-prisoners sort of person, and Francesca has been living in her shadow for her entire life — until the beginning of the novel, when Mia doesn’t get out of bed.

When Mia’s sudden and all-encompassing depression leaves her bedridden, Francesca floats adrift, not realizing how much she had used the framework of Mia’s beliefs — the ones she didn’t believe in just as much as the ones she did — to live her life. Though Francesca’s narrating voice is bright and entertaining, the reader soon sees through her actions that she is, as the title suggests, definitely in need of saving.

Lest this all start to sound rather heavy, depressing, and angsty, I have to mention here that this novel is not what you expect. It is whimsical and occasionally laugh-out-loud, pulling you from the darker moments for some well-earned humor before returning you to some poignant observation.

One of my favorite parts of the entire book is the relationships between the couples. Francesca’s mother and father have a relationship that feels real and familiar; I identified very strongly with pre-depression Mia and thought their dialogue was just pitch-perfect. Francesca’s changing feelings toward the other characters is portrayed so beautifully and subtly through the close first-person point of view that I completely bought her disdain to crush to love relationship progression.

And yet I know that no matter how I describe the plot and characters of this book, I’m not conveying how much I love it. It’s that rare breed of literary novel that is nearly impossible to sum up tidily and yet still manages to drag the reader through the pages in happy captivity, in love with the prose and charmed by the dialogue and sighing with the slow twists of the plot as Francesca slowly saves herself.

I haven’t read Melina Marchetta’s JELLICOE ROAD yet, but based upon SAVING FRANCESCA, I’m not at all surprised that it just won the Printz.

Granna drummed her fingers on the table. “You’re about the right age for Them to start making trouble. Shallow things. I don’t think they have much use for anything old or not beautiful. They’re only interested in brand new toys.” She shrugged, as if she were talking about an ant problem or something equally mundane. “So I gave you the ring.”

Dee is not a normal girl. She can do things with her mind that no one else can. Unbeknownst to her, she’s caught the attention of a very powerful woman, and her life takes a weird, weird turn.

The fey are following Dee. Only Dee doesn’t know they’re fey, not at first. But then she meets Luke at a recital and she knows that something isn’t quite right about him. What she does know, however, is that she is drawn to him beyond belief. Dee has never had a boyfriend before, never even been interested in a boy before, but there is something really special about Luke that draws her in. And she can’t walk away from him, regardless what the consequences might be.

But Luke can touch iron. In fact, Luke gives her an iron key for protection against the fey. So if he can touch the one thing that they can’t, what does that make him? She knows he isn’t a normal human, but now she’s not so sure he’s fey either. So, what is he, then?

You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. All I’m going to say folks, is be afraid. Be very afraid.

Against her better judgement, however, Dee is unable to feel the fear she should in his presence. And so starts a love affair destined for doom even before it gets off the ground.

Nevertheless, Luke does everything in his power to keep the fey away from Dee, but the fey are smarter than they look and suddenly Dee finds herself in the worst situation imaginable. Conniving and vindictive, the fey blindside Dee and come at her from behind – if they can’t have her, they’ll take the two things she loves the most, instead.

Lament is one helluva tense read. From the moment Dee starts hurling at the recital in the first chapter, right through to the very last full stop, I had to remind myself to breathe. Once the action pops it just doesn’t stop.

Dee is an inspiring character who never forgets what being a decent person is all about. Even when the going gets tougher than one could ever imagine, Dee never forgets who she is and what matters most. Reading Dee’s journey was more like watching a movie and Stiefvater masterfully navigates the English language, bringing her characters to life with colour and a three-dimensional aspect that is so often missing from young adult novels.

Lament is the first novel in an ongoing series, and is also Stiefvater’s debut novel. We here at yaReads think its a pretty sensational effort, too. We can’t wait to see what else she’s got coming. Whatever it is, we know its going to be big!

Rating::

Maggie Stiefvater just posted the cover of Ballad at the forum and I thought I’d share it to the rest of you guys. Here it is:

Isn’t it awesome?!

Maggie Stiefvater, author of Lament: The Faery Queen’s Deception, just joined our forums! Want to talk with her? Click here

You might also want to know that Rachel Caine, author of the popular Morganville Vampire series, is also a regular poster on the forums and is open to all kinds of questions, and Bethany Griffin, debut author of the sweet novel, Handcuffs is a member too!

Come and join the fun. Happy posting!

To celebrate the release of the third and final book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series – Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, yaReads is taking part in the Forever Blog Tour!

On this stop of the tour we’ll be talking about one of Grace’s friends – Rachel, as well as sharing some awesome content from Maggie and hosting a giveaway.

Rachel

Rachel plays a relatively minor role in the series as Grace’s friend but her moments on the page are anything but minor. Rachel’s bright, sometimes dramatic and often hilarious personality lights up the scene and has become a favorite for many readers.

I think a good example of this is a quote from Grace in Shiver -

“Really, Rachel looked like a sun, bright and exuding energy, holding us two moons in a parallel orbit by the sheer force of her will. “

My personal favorite moments are her one liners and just her general humor, particularly when she refers to Sam as ‘The Boy’.

“What do you mean? Grace Brisbane, you do not mean that you’re not going back home again. Tell me that this was just because you were momentarily angry at them for grounding you. Or even tell me it’s because you could not live without The Boy’s stunning Boyfruits for another night. But don’t tel me you think it’s forever!”

Sam’s face was twisted into a weird shape at the mention of his Boyfruits.

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Still facing Sam, Rachel did a strange dance move with her index fingers extended; it looked like it had possibly been invented in the fifties, when people weren’t allowed to touch each other.
“Hi, The Boy!” she shouted over the music. “We’re making Italian food!”

Still holding a piece of chicken, I turned and made a loud noise in protest.

Rachel said, “My colleague informs me that I spoke too strongly. I am watching Grace make Italian food!”

Besides her humor, as a character, she may not always have as much contact with Grace but when the time comes, she’s always there for Grace which is the most important part of being a good friend. How will these two friends end up at the end of Forever? You’ll have to pick up a copy to find the answer to that question.

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Maggie Stiefvater has put together an awesome playlist that best describes Rachel, which you can check out below -

1. Hey Trouble – The Concretes
2. Gospel Song – Magnet
3. When I Decide – My Terrible Friend
4. White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes
5. Honey Bee – Zee Avi
6. The Wind Blew My Heart Away – The Fruit Bats
7. Her Morning Elegance – Oren Lavie
8. Mr. Pitiful – Matt Costa
9. Uncovered in Your Eyes – Jonas & Plunkett
10. In The Woods – Benjy Ferree

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Giveaway - One lucky yaReader will get the chance to win a framed original illustration of Rachel (pictured, right), drawn by Maggie Stiefvater herself. To enter, fill in the form here. (U.S. residents only, sorry!)

Make sure you check out the next stop on the tour, on Wednesday 20th at Presenting Lore where they’ll be discussing Cole.

Also, Scholastic (the amazing publisher behind the series) recently launched an online community called This Is Teen to connect readers with their favorite YA authors and books. Visit their page on Facebook for all the latest news on Maggie Stiefvater and Forever: www.facebook.com/thisisteen.