This book started off so sadly I didn’t think I’d be able to read it but am I ever glad I did. It’s about a 15 year old boy named Frances. His father has just committed suicide and this book tells about the year that followed. I felt so sorry for him - lucky for Frances he has a great mother! But imagine what it would be like wondering if you had said or done something differently then maybe a suicide wouldn’t have happened. There are so many books where the main character is thinking about committing suicide it was interesting to read about it from a different perspective. It really helped me to understand what it’s like for someone when a suicide happens to a relative or friend.Don’t think this book is depressing though – it is a book about hope. I also really liked Frances and was happy that he discovered his own strengths to help him survive the suicide of his father. What did you think?
5 comments:
This was a great book. Francis's story seemed very real. Reading his story made me feel how isolating it can be to lose someone close to you. I would particularly recommend this book to anyone who has ever lost a friend or family member, or who knows someone else that has.
After I finished reading this, I wondered if this story was based on a real experience. The author's name is Francis and the main character's name is Francis and they both grew up in Montreal and year it was set in would be about right age-wise. Anybody know anything about the author? I think that having a parent commit suicide must be so hard that you could never really understand it unless you went through it yourself. I can understand how guilty you would feel wondering if you could have done something different. I thought it was so sad how alone Francis felt and how he didn't want to hang out with his friends because they had fathers. That would be hard, wouldn't it... being constantly reminded of what you didn't have anymore.
The write-up on this book from the publisher's website says that it is an autobiographical novel (one based on the author's life) but the bio that is included does not give any details of Chalifour's childhood or family. I agree with Jules though that this account seems personal. If he hasn't gone through the exact same experience I think that the author has probably at least lost someone very close to him in a tragic way. http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780887767050
i didn't really like this book. i just couldn't connect with francis. i don't know if its because i've never lost anyone close to me but i just couldn't get into his story. i felt bad for him with everything he was going through but i just didn't relate.
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