A common struggle teenagers experience is loss of identity – they do not know if they are funny or if they are smart and they see eye to eye with how their peers perceive them. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta is an engaging narrative. It focuses on the troubles a young teenager struggles to overcome. Marchetta cleverly uses narrative conventions such as mode of telling, setting, language, themes and plot to engage and involve the reader.
             It is told in first person by the main character, Francesca. This novel is predominately written in chronological order but Francesca also reflects on historical events. With moving to a new school away from her so-called 'friends' and her mother spiralling into depression, she finds herself confused about who she is as a person and shares her thoughts through out the novel. ' 'You shy, Francesca?' Javier asks me, later on. I shake my head. 'Not really.' I'm just sad, I want to say. And I'm lonely' – page 47 gives the reader an insight into how she is really feeling. The reader will acknowledge that Francesca feels that she needs comfort but does not wish to express her feelings.
             A powerful connection in this novel is where Francesca reflects on her mother asking what happened to her daughter who sung 'Dancing Queen' at graduation. Later on in the novel, she is at a party with her new friends and the same song is played. Her friends pull her onto the dance floor and she is becoming the girl she used to be, the one she lost.
             Setting is a powerful narrative convention. It can be used to emphasize a particular mood in a scene and is used a great deal in this novel. One particular scene, which begins at chapter 19, page 133 - focuses on a party that Francesca and her St Sebastian friends attend. Parties are seen as celebrations and high-spirited times so she shares these times with her new friends. This s
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