Marchetta has a talent for characterization. Her characters think and feel in ways that are realistic, ways we as readers almost don't want to admit that we think and feel in real life. They grow and learn about themselves and about their fellow characters, their interactions raw despite the fact that Marchetta's writing style constantly feels light, as if it's skimming the surface. But with stories like SAVING FRANCESCA, that skimming, that little window into life, is all the reader needs. Francesca and her friends are people who can be identified with without having to try. What happens on the page speaks for itself so strongly that very little actually has to be said. This is a great book for people who are going through or have already been through that tough time in life when everything seems to be spinning out of control.