Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia

by Jenny Torres Sanchez

Overview

It is the summer after Frenchie Garcia's senior year, and she can't come to grips with the death of Andy Cooper. Her friends don't know that she had a secret crush on her classmate, and they especially don't know that she was with Andy right before he committed suicide. The only person who does know is Frenchie's imaginary pal Em (a.k.a. Emily Dickinson), who she hangs out with at the cemetery down the street.

When Frenchie's guilt and confusion come to a head, she decides there is only one way to truly figure out why Andy chose to be with her during his last hours. While exploring the emotional depth of loss and transition to adulthood, Sanchez's sharp humor and clever observations bring forth a richly developed voice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762446803
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/28/2013
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	HL660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jenny Torres Sanchez lives in Florida with her husband and children where she currently writes full time. Before her debut novel The Downside of Being Charlie she taught high school for several years, where she credits her eclectic students for inspiring her to write young adult novels.

Editorial Reviews

"Sanchez's expertly crafted narrative . . . [pulls] readers into Frenchie's anger and pain without straying into clichés of teen angst. . . . An exceptionally well-written journey to make sense of the senseless."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Sanchez (The Downside of Being Charlie) gets her heroine's tough exterior and vulnerable insides in just the right balance. . . . [She] provides a healing salve for teens who may know someone who has committed suicide, and also a strong testament against it.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“This is a fast, well-written read with a satisfactory though not necessarily happy ending and a protagonist to remember-a survivor and person of action. A solid choice that is accessible even for reluctant readers.”
—School Library Journal

"With well-paced revelations, Sanchez gradually strengthens Frenchie's resolve to heal and move forward . . . and the author wittingly ensures that the reader wants nothing less for her."—Booklist

“Sanchez deftly maneuvers between real time and Frenchie's flashbacks, constructing a dreamy narrative that accurately captures the lingering repercussions of suicide."—The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

10/01/2013
Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Frenchie is surprised when Andy Cooper asks her out-she has had a crush on him for years, but he barely acknowledges her. On top of that, it is a strange date as they trek to various places that seem to be important to him. When Frenchie finds out the next morning that he has committed suicide, she wonders why he chose to spend his last night alive with her. A bit of a loner, Frenchie discovers the grave of Emily Dickinson and pretends that the woman is the famous poet and makes her her best friend and confidante. After all, the grave is just down the street from where Frenchie lives in Orlando, Florida, convenient for get-togethers and gab fests. Grieving over Andy's death, Frenchie must discover why he thought he had to kill himself. She enlists Colin, a boy she met at a club, to help her retrace their steps on Andy's last night. Despite its dark topic and the depths of Frenchie's sorrow, there is an undercurrent of humor in her observations and her conversations with Em, which keeps the novel from becoming overwhelmingly a book about death and grief. There are also the realistic aspects of teen angst as Frenchie wonders why Joel, her best friend for almost forever, has a new girlfriend, someone Frenchie does not like at all. This is a fast, well-written read with a satisfactory though not necessarily happy ending and a protagonist to remember-a survivor and person of action. A solid choice that is accessible even for reluctant readers.—Janet Hilbun, Texas Women's University, Denton, TX

School Library Journal

After one life-changing night with her secret crush Andy Cooper, Frenchie Garcia, a cigarette-smoking artist who quotes Dickinson and hangs out in a cemetery, is haunted. Frenchie is in the limbo of what-comes-next. She's finished high school but has been rejected by art school. She is sullen and anxious and can't seem to get her life moving. Gradually, what happened that night with Andy and its lingering impact on Frenchie are revealed. It was the same night that Andy ended his own life. No one even knows that she liked Andy, let alone about the time they spent together, so Frenchie keeps her guilt and confusion to herself. When her internal rage finally boils over, she embarks upon an all-night trek with Colin, a boy she barely knows, re-creating every step of her spontaneous adventure with Andy and desperately searching for whatever she must have missed. Sanchez's expertly crafted narrative moves seamlessly between "that night" and now, pulling readers into Frenchie's anger and pain without straying into clichés of teen angst. Frenchie's struggle to identify and process her own emotions rings out as authentic and honest. There are no easy answers for Frenchie Garcia as she attempts to recover from the tragedy of suicide. An exceptionally well-written journey to make sense of the senseless. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews