This was actually more like a 2...2.5 for me, but I was won over by the last 5% or so of this book, so I'm rounding up.I've heard so many good things about Marchetta's writing that I went into this with high hopes. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed quite early on. I don't know if it was my particular copy of the ebook I had or what, but I felt like I was missing huge chunks of the story. The editing and flow was really quite bad. I saw someone else mention this in their review of an ebook, so I don't know if there's just a bum copy out there or what. But I will say that it greatly affected my enjoyment, and subsequently, my rating.We meet Francesca and she's likable enough. It's told in first person narration, and I actually generally really enjoy books like that. However, I just could not connect with her. This book is incredibly melancholy. It deals with a delicate subject (depression in both her and her mother) and while I think that's great that the author tackled that, I just couldn't connect with any of the characters.The story itself was slow moving and choppy. At one point I wondered where I'd been when Francesca had fallen in love, because God knows I never read about much more than a very small handful of stilted encounters with her and The Boy (again - maybe passages missing in the ebook? idk idk idk).The secondary characters actually stole the show for me. I really loved her new friends at the school, and the makeshift family they created.The tiny glimpse I got in the end of this book left me happy with it. I enjoyed the last 20ish pages, but I can honestly say those were the only 20 of the entire book that I did.Also, for the love of God, can someone please tell me why she referred to the boys by their first and last names??? It drove me batty.I'm going to try The Piper's Son, as well as Jellicoe Road because I've heard such praise for both. As of right now, though, Marchetta hasn't wowed me.
