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protoman21's review
4.0
I love reading these works of historical fiction from a child's point of view, because it really shows what it was like growing up in this time. Francine is able to explore the world for the first time and understand and come to terms with difficult situations like communism and standing up for oneself. Sophie is a dynamic and exciting character and I imagine young girls who read this book will want her as a friend...even if she does get them in trouble sometimes.
gma2at's review
3.0
I found myself not very impressed with this one. I found the main character development slow at the start and rushed at the end. I also felt like there were some points which were not believable for me, or didn't match. For example, a 13 year old so fascinated with Hollywood, actors, movies, and constantly reading star magazines to not have a clue about McCarthy's hunt for communists seemed quite odd. Another example is that this girl has been myopic for most of the book and suddenly wants to talk to a high figure about the disturbing scenario of "girls in saddle shoes" wanting to pick up signs espousing violence, which seemed a bit of a stretch. It felt like she was much more likely to not understand the dichotomy. Three stars because I was interested enough to finish, but not recommending and don't want to own.
aoosterwyk's review
4.0
Good historical fiction story set in the 50s: Cold War, McCarthyism, Red Scare, intolerance. Conformist Francine befriends outspoken Sophie when she transfers to her Catholic school after having been expelled from public school for protesting her lack of free speech (by painting her message on the gym floor).
Themes of friendship, loyalty, bravery and a good sense of what it was like as a child to try and make sense of the complicated world of adults.
Themes of friendship, loyalty, bravery and a good sense of what it was like as a child to try and make sense of the complicated world of adults.
katec9999's review
4.0
Karen Cushman’s new historical fiction book is modern compared to her other novels. The Loud Silence of Francine Green takes place in 1950’s Los Angeles during the height of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Thirteen year old Francine attends All Saints School for Girls, and is constantly being told, by her parents, her teachers, and her confessor, to keep quiet and do as she is told. On the other hand, her new best friend, Sophie, encourages her, by example, to speak out against what is wrong and to question authority. Francine is both embarrassed and inspired by Sophie’s fearless antics, which often lead to Sophie’s standing in the waste basket, Sister Basil’s favorite form of punishment. Francine’s friendship with Sophie causes her to wonder if the advice of the adults in her life to “keep quiet” and “don’t get involved” is really the best advice. We see Francine mature in this book, but not too much - the scene where Francine decides to call the Pope for advice reminds us that she is very much still a child. [return]Cushman endows Francine with a genuine and endearing voice. It sometimes feels like Cushman is trying too hard to illustrate the effects that the fear of Communism had on people, with Francine’s father building a bomb shelter in the backyard, and a family friend of Sophie’s being blacklisted for his political beliefs. Altogether though, the book works, and by novels end we see a more mature Sophie that has grown in courage and self-confidence.
courtneyb_70's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat considered historical fiction because of it's references to certain 1950's/60's characteristics. Could still be applicable to modern readers / realistic fiction.
sharonskinner's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written and historically accurate account of growing up in the cold war era. I found the characters to be likable and real.
rakishabpl's review
3.0
I was thoroughly enjoying this book, but I became distracted by other books I was reading like The Bourne Identity (way too long) and Sold. Something about the days become shorter that makes me read less.
kendran's review
2.0
The lack of an actual ending and a somewhat simpering main character made this otherwise-interesting story a 2 for me.
thatlibrarynerd's review
This book gives a clear and human picture of a time most of us have heard about, but don’t have a sense for. Knowing what McCarthyism and the Red Scare did isn’t the same as knowing what it was like to live through that time, so reading about it in this way was particularly interesting.
I like that Francie isn’t at the heart of anything—she’s an ordinary person, as most of us are. So the period through her eyes is tangible on a level it wouldn’t be in history books.
I like that Francie isn’t at the heart of anything—she’s an ordinary person, as most of us are. So the period through her eyes is tangible on a level it wouldn’t be in history books.
mrskatiefitz's review against another edition
3.0
Right before I read The Loud Silence of Francine Green, my boyfriend shared with me a selection from Francis Spufford's The Child That Books Built: A Life in Reading, which stuck with me as I read and critiqued this book.
Spufford, in describing his early experiences with books written for adults, writes:
And I was equally puzzled by the strange silence of the authors about their characters. Oh, they described them all right - but who was good? Who was bad? What was I supposed to think about them? I was used to the structure of a fictional world being a structure of judgments, an edifice built to provide you with a moral experience in exactly the same way that it brought you tastes, smells, and sights. I expected to be guided. I thought that reading was intrinsically a bargain in which you turned off your own powers of judgment and let the author's take over, so he or she could show you a pattern made by the interplay of some people who were exactly what the author said they were. (p. 169)
To my mind, this is the goal of children's literature, and the primary reason I read it. I like to be told where I am, who's there with me, and where they're taking me. And I think the challenge of writing good children's books is to do that in a subtle way, without showing every seam and sounding a trumpet every time something important happens.
It is this subtlety that was completely missing from The Loud Silence of Francine Green, and because of that, I found it difficult to enjoy the book.
It is the early 1950's and Francine Green lives in fear of being in trouble. She obeys the rules set forth by her parents, her church, and the nuns who provide her education, and when she has contrary opinions, keeps them to herself, trying to fit the mold provided. Francine's new friend and classmate, Sophie Bowman, on the other hand, lives to challenge authority, and test the limits of free speech, especially when it comes to Communism, McCarthyism, and Catholicism. The entire novel is a portrait of this odd couple's friendship and the push and pull between wanting to speak one's mind and wanting to err on the side of caution.
My first problem with this book is that it doesn't seem to have a clear plot line. Instead, it's a mish-mash of 50's pop culture, stereotypical depictions of pre-Vatican II Catholics, and an endless litany of differences between quiet Francine and outspoken Sophie. I had no sense of suspense, and no curiosity about how things would turn out. The guide characterized by Spufford was present, but it felt like she was an absent-minded curator bustling from exhibit to exhibit in a 1950's museum, with no sense of story, and a self-indulgent interest in showing us only those things she loved most. I think I have an excellent sense of what Karen Cushman finds interesting about the 50's, but I was never fully sold on why those things were interesting.
My second problem was the depiction of the Catholic church as some sort of enemy. I am aware of the humiliation and abuse sometimes implemented by Catholic school teachers during that time period, and I realize that pre-vatican II Catholicism was a very different breed than the Catholicism I have been practicing during my lifetime. But it bothered me that the only sense of balance we get, and the only acknowledgement that not all nuns are abusive tyrants comes in the author's note, outside of the story, in a section that a lot of readers would be likely to skip. Again, the guide taking us through the story seems to have an overly simplified view of what's happening, and stereotypes run rampant.
Finally, I just thought Sophie and Francine were talking heads for two watered-down points of view. I felt as though the book glorified Sophie's disrespectful behavior and criticized Francine's good behavior, and I didn't see much change in Francine at all, even after everything she supposedly learns from Sophie and her dad.
All in all, I was disappointed by this book. I think I would like to try some of Karen Cushman's older books, set further in the past, and see if those are a bit better. I have a feeling they will be, and that perhaps writing about a time period one has never lived in makes it easier to keep personal biases and agendas from bogging down the story.
Spufford, in describing his early experiences with books written for adults, writes:
And I was equally puzzled by the strange silence of the authors about their characters. Oh, they described them all right - but who was good? Who was bad? What was I supposed to think about them? I was used to the structure of a fictional world being a structure of judgments, an edifice built to provide you with a moral experience in exactly the same way that it brought you tastes, smells, and sights. I expected to be guided. I thought that reading was intrinsically a bargain in which you turned off your own powers of judgment and let the author's take over, so he or she could show you a pattern made by the interplay of some people who were exactly what the author said they were. (p. 169)
To my mind, this is the goal of children's literature, and the primary reason I read it. I like to be told where I am, who's there with me, and where they're taking me. And I think the challenge of writing good children's books is to do that in a subtle way, without showing every seam and sounding a trumpet every time something important happens.
It is this subtlety that was completely missing from The Loud Silence of Francine Green, and because of that, I found it difficult to enjoy the book.
It is the early 1950's and Francine Green lives in fear of being in trouble. She obeys the rules set forth by her parents, her church, and the nuns who provide her education, and when she has contrary opinions, keeps them to herself, trying to fit the mold provided. Francine's new friend and classmate, Sophie Bowman, on the other hand, lives to challenge authority, and test the limits of free speech, especially when it comes to Communism, McCarthyism, and Catholicism. The entire novel is a portrait of this odd couple's friendship and the push and pull between wanting to speak one's mind and wanting to err on the side of caution.
My first problem with this book is that it doesn't seem to have a clear plot line. Instead, it's a mish-mash of 50's pop culture, stereotypical depictions of pre-Vatican II Catholics, and an endless litany of differences between quiet Francine and outspoken Sophie. I had no sense of suspense, and no curiosity about how things would turn out. The guide characterized by Spufford was present, but it felt like she was an absent-minded curator bustling from exhibit to exhibit in a 1950's museum, with no sense of story, and a self-indulgent interest in showing us only those things she loved most. I think I have an excellent sense of what Karen Cushman finds interesting about the 50's, but I was never fully sold on why those things were interesting.
My second problem was the depiction of the Catholic church as some sort of enemy. I am aware of the humiliation and abuse sometimes implemented by Catholic school teachers during that time period, and I realize that pre-vatican II Catholicism was a very different breed than the Catholicism I have been practicing during my lifetime. But it bothered me that the only sense of balance we get, and the only acknowledgement that not all nuns are abusive tyrants comes in the author's note, outside of the story, in a section that a lot of readers would be likely to skip. Again, the guide taking us through the story seems to have an overly simplified view of what's happening, and stereotypes run rampant.
Finally, I just thought Sophie and Francine were talking heads for two watered-down points of view. I felt as though the book glorified Sophie's disrespectful behavior and criticized Francine's good behavior, and I didn't see much change in Francine at all, even after everything she supposedly learns from Sophie and her dad.
All in all, I was disappointed by this book. I think I would like to try some of Karen Cushman's older books, set further in the past, and see if those are a bit better. I have a feeling they will be, and that perhaps writing about a time period one has never lived in makes it easier to keep personal biases and agendas from bogging down the story.