Francesca Spinelli / Francis / Frankie is the protagonist and narrator of "Saving Francesca". She is sixteen-years-old, of Italian decent, and according to Will Trombol, bears a striking resemblance to Sophia Loren. At the opening of the novel, Francesca is faced with the reality that her mother is ill. Previously, Francesca had been naively happy about her life: she had great friends, a great (albeit sometimes annoying) family, and a bright future. With her mother's sudden illness, Francesca is suddenly faced with the reality that her life isn't prefect. She switches schools from a prissy all-girls' school to a once all-boys' school that now educates thirty girls to seven-hundred-and-fifty boys. She has no real friends, her family is falling apart, and she questions her own identity. Early in the novel, Francesca is guarded at school, often refusing to directly answer questions, participate in group activities, or enjoy extracurricular activities. Before she fell ill, Mia, Francesca's mother, claimed Francesca's insipid friends are sucking the soul out of her, a claim Francesca flatly denies. As the year progresses, however, Francesca is forced to lean on students from her new school for support, especially when her heart is broken by her crush, William Trombol. By the end of the novel, Francesca has grown dramatically, learning the true meaning of friendship, family, love, and loss. Although her family isn't healed by the end of the novel, the healing process has begun.
