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The Lovely Shoes

3.29 of 5 stars 3.29 · rating details · 84 ratings · 29 reviews

Can the right pair of shoes make "anyone" feel beautiful?

Franny is constantly embarrassed by two things in her life. One is her right foot, which curls in from a birth defect, so she has to wear ugly, heavy orthopedic shoes. And the other is her mother Margaret: beautiful, extravagant, flamboyant -- "mortifying", in their small Ohio town.

Franny's first school dance is a

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Hardcover, 256 pages

Published June 1st 2011 by Arthur A. Levine Books

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Apr 14, 2012 Jessica Harrison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, middle-reader

Review via Cracking the Cover
Every once in a while you come across a book you want to keep on a special shelf with all the others you reread time and again. “The Lovely Shoes” by Susan Shreve is one such book.

Franny Hall is different. So is her mother, but for another reason.

Franny was born with a birth defect; her right foot is small and curled making her, as the people of the time called it, crippled. Franny’s right leg is also shorter than the left, and she has to wear a lift in her shoe to m...more Review via Cracking the Cover
Every once in a while you come across a book you want to keep on a special shelf with all the others you reread time and again. “The Lovely Shoes” by Susan Shreve is one such book.

Franny Hall is different. So is her mother, but for another reason.

Franny was born with a birth defect; her right foot is small and curled making her, as the people of the time called it, crippled. Franny’s right leg is also shorter than the left, and she has to wear a lift in her shoe to make walking somewhat even. Her heavy orthopedic shoes are ugly and hardly a fashion statement.

Margaret Hall is beautiful and foreign. Her outlook on the world is distinctive and varies greatly from that of the other residents in their small Ohio town. Margaret wears pants, while most women wear dresses. She deliberately dyes a white stripe in her hair while others try to cover theirs up.

Mother and daughter both stand out and neither one likes the reasons behind the other’s recognition.

Like a mother should, Margaret loves her daughter and wants her to be seen for accomplishments rather than her physical disability. So when a school dance comes around, she devises a plan involving silver shoes and toilet paper — disaster ensues.

It’s then that Franny decides to stop playing nice, to not be agreeable all the time. Everyone notices the change. And many miss the old Franny and want her back, but Margaret lets Franny work things out on her own, with a little help on the side.

Margaret has a plan. She’s read about Salvatore Ferragamo, a famous shoe designer to the stars who lives in Italy. Surely he can craft a perfect pair of shoes for Franny. It’s an expensive proposition, traveling to Italy for a consultation. And it may not work. But what if it does?

“The Lovely Shoes” is magical. It contains no vampires or werewolves in it. Nor are there dragons or wizards or princesses. There are no gimmicks or bells and whistles. Instead, author Susan Shreve relies on her talent as a storyteller and lets her work speak for itself. The result is a classic feel reminiscent of the books that my mother recommended to me as a young woman.

Shreve’s writing has an honesty to it that rings true to the reader. And though her story is set more than 50 years ago, her voice is accessible and completely relatable to young women of our time.(less)

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Dec 23, 2011 Treasure rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-books, teen-books

This semi-autobiographical story follows Franny in Easterbrook, Ohio, in the 1950s. Franny is born with what was then referred to as crippled feet, and has spent her life being extra nice, cheerful, and helpful to those around her in an attempt to make up for her perceived physical shortcoming. After her beautiful mother pushes her to attend a dance that results in what Franny considers a tragedy, Franny begins to morph into Francine, a more confident, self-assured-- albeit moody-- young lady. F...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ncbla

Try as she might, ninth grader Franny Hall is all-too conscious of her left leg, her left foot, and her limp. When a dance ends in disaster--the tissue paper stuffed in shoe to cushion the smaller foot slips out while she is dancing--Franny retreats to her room. Her mother comes up with the crazy idea to write an Italian shoe designer for help in crafting stylish shoes for Franny.

While I liked a lot of things about Franny, I found her somewhat histrionic and her parents, especially her mother,...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Chelsea rated it 2 of 5 stars

Francine Hall was born with a birth defect that affects her feet, but she still has a fairly nice life. That is until the Valentine's Dance at school. After a humiliating accident with her orthopedic shoes, she insists upon staying in her room for the rest of her life. But then her Mother comes up with the idea to contact the famous shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo and ask him to make Franny a special pair of shoes. His answer comes as a surprise and Franny and her mother are soon on their way to I...more

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May 30, 2011 Jayna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, won

Thanks to Scholastic and Goodreads for sending me this advance copy of The Lovely Shoes through a Goodreads giveaway.

The Lovely Shoes was a lovely story of a girl from small town Ohio growing up. I definitely remember the drama of being a teenage girl, even without a birth defect like Franny's or anything else that made me seem different than the other girls, and Susan Shreve communicates all that drama and embarrassment and confusion very well in her writing. I loved seeing Franny grow up and c...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Franny is a young teen girl, going through life determined to be upbeat, friendly and cheerful, despite having to wear heavy built-up shoes to correct her tiny, curled up foot. She is dreading high school, and sure enough, suffers an embarrassing incident that makes her determined to no longer be the good, nice girl any more. Her beautiful, unconventional mother hatches a plot involving a trip to Italy and a meeting with shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo to change Franny's mind.

This was in the child...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, multicultural-titles, kids-books-i-would-recommend

Franny has always been bothered by a birth defect that has left her with a small left foot, a left leg thinner and shorter than her right, a limp, and ugly orthopedic shoes. She is insecure and feels the need to compensate by always giving gifts and being agreeable. Then she hits adolescence and high school and nothing is the same. In 1950's Ohio, there aren't many options, so Franny's glamorous mother decides to take her daughter to Italy to see a famous shoe maker who has foot troubles of his...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Rene rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book from the Goodreads book giveaways. I didn't know that it was necessarily a young adult novel but that has never stopped me before! It was a charming story about a little girl who is disfigured from birth and as a result walks with a limp and must wear orthopedic shoes. She has a humiliating experience at a school dance and locks herself in her room for 8 days. Her ever supporting Mom convinces her to take a trip to Italy to meet a famous shoe maker that will no doubt make a beaut...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: won-from-goodreads

Just found out I won this from Goodreads. This is a YA book, which the inside title page says is aimed at ages 9-12 (grades 4-7). I would have to say that I disagree on the age recommendation. I would recommend this for middle schoolers and up (grades 6+). It was a good story, based on situations from the author's childhood. "The Lovely Shoes" is the story of 15 year old Francine, who is born with a birth defect causing her left foot to be deformed. This book takes place in the 1950's and is a b...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Agnes (BeaderBubbe) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Agnes (BeaderBubbe) by: Won on Goodreads.com

Shelves: first-reads

This book was a first-read Goodreads book I won and when I received it and read the inside of the cover page it was classified as "middle-school fiction". While I am into fiction, I am prone to pick up books of mystery fiction, not middle-school. But then I did win it and felt I owed the author a review. So I sat down, read it in a few days and............loved it.

It's a love story about Franny who has a crippled leg and is entering high school with such a low self esteem because of her leg. Chi...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Tamara rated it 4 of 5 stars

I will start out letting everyone know that I won this book on Good Reads and am writing this review without being swayed by anyone. The Lovely Shoes is a partially autobiographical YA novel. The main character is Franny who is a 9th grade girl born with deformed feet. Franny is of course very self conscious about her feet and hates having to wear her orthopedic shoes. Her Mother who knows what it is to stand out in a different way, as she is Danish but now lives in a small mid-western town, doe...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novel, young-adult, goodreads-giveaway

I was initially confused by the book because, though it was clear that the book was set sometime in the past, it was not clear which decade until page 26! The year is 1956. When I was reading it, I didn’t know if it was 1930 or 1950 or 1970, so I had a little trouble getting my bearings. However, once that was settled, I enjoyed the story.

The protagonist, Franny, was born with a birth defect of legs and feet. As a result, she has a limp and has to wear special orthopedic shoes. As she becomes a...more I was initially confused by the book because, though it was clear that the book was set sometime in the past, it was not clear which decade until page 26! The year is 1956. When I was reading it, I didn’t know if it was 1930 or 1950 or 1970, so I had a little trouble getting my bearings. However, once that was settled, I enjoyed the story.

The protagonist, Franny, was born with a birth defect of legs and feet. As a result, she has a limp and has to wear special orthopedic shoes. As she becomes a young woman and wants to attend high school dances, this becomes more of an issue, so her mother searches out a shoemaker who can make Franny lovely shoes. The Lovely Shoes is part fairy tale and part coming-of-age story. I didn’t find it to be angsty or trite. However, it is not a terribly realistic novel. For example, at one point, Franny stays in her room, which has an adjoining bathroom (very unlikely in 1956) for days, and her parents cooperate by leaving her meals outside the door. This seems unlikely, but in other ways, the story seems very realistic, particularly the emotional changes Franny undergoes as she matures. The things she thought were important (being a cheerleader, a crush on a certain boy, her deformity, even the shoes) don’t seem so important anymore. It is a very light, easy read, suitable for reading while waiting in line and whatnot. It would probably be a great beach read.

I do wonder about the suggested reading audience of ages 9-12. There are references to underage drinking and smoking and other more adult activities (dating, kissing). I think if you look at it in the context of a “historical novel,” that these references are acceptable (as is the use of the word “cripple” and a few other words we don’t use anymore), but I’d probably recommend that a parent read the book with a girl as young as 9.

On further reflection, while I found this book to be engaging myself, I’m not sure it would be a good book for young girls. Franny’s foot problem and its solution are as much a concern, perhaps more, to Franny’s mother, Margaret, and her mother seems too involved with the whole foot/shoe thing and not enough involved with Franny herself. Margaret is described as beautiful, and she is clearly concerned that Franny will miss out on some of the experiences of growing up if she is not beautiful too. Not a lesson I’d want my 9-year-old daughter to be learning, if I had one.

I had to wear special shoes and leg braces myself when I was young, though I was done with all of that before I got to high school. In part, I requested this Goodreads giveaway book for that reason. I might be having trouble sorting out my feelings about The Lovely Shoes because of my own experiences. In a postscript, the author reveals that she has polio and had similar problems herself. While almost all novels are autobiographical to some degree or at least reveal something about the author, I think, in retrospect, that this novel veered too far into memoir and didn’t stay firmly in the fiction camp. It might have made a better memoir.(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Danie P. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: y-a, children-s-books

1955: Franny is embarrassed at the eighth grade dance by a rogue piece of toilet paper that has stuck to the silver shoes her mother had made her wear. Shoes that didn't fit her because of her birth defect-curled toes.

Franny withdraws into herself and locks herself in her room for several days. Her mother hatches a plan to have Salvatore Ferragamo, cobbler to the stars make Franny a pair of lovely shoes. They only have to figure out how to get to Italy and meet him.

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Jul 04, 2012 Lindsay rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ar-5-9, brothers-and-sisters, bullies, aunts, children, disabilities, family, for-middle-grades-4-8, friends, friendship, growing-up, high-school, historical-fiction, mothers, ohio, school, siblings, italy, shoes

This book is set in Ohio during the 1950s. Francine, a ninth-grade girl, struggles to accept herself as she was born with a deformed leg and feet. She has to wear orthopedic shoes, even to school dances. Francine's mother is determined that Francine will be able to do all the social things other girls Francine's age do, and they go to a special shoemaker in Italy to have Francine's shoes made.

I liked this story because the feelings Francine experiences--ugliness, uncertainty, longing, etc.-- ar...more

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Jun 03, 2011 MARCIA rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a nice story about a young teen trying to fit in and be normal....which is quite difficult since she was born with one defective foot. As she struggles to find herself, and her place in her world, memories flood back to me of my own teen years and how difficult it was to fit in if you were not one of the pretty, smart, rich or otherwise perfect teens in the school. It is only after a wonderful adventure to Italy that she realizes that she is beautiful if only she looks beyond her foot.

I...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Peggy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, 1950-s, ya

This was a sweet book. It was a nice change from the heavy, dark contemporty YA I have been reading. Franny has a deformed foot, result of a birth defect. As a result, she walks with a limp and has to wear ugly orthopedic shoes. In the 1950's, the setting of this story, she is considered a cripple.This becomes a problem as she reaches high school and is more self-concious, particularly when the first dance comes up and she really wants to go. Stuffing toilet paper in the toe seemed like a good i...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Shazzer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-middle-grade, middle-grade

Despite the real life origins of the tale, a lot of this story just didn't ring true to me. The dialogue was often stilted, and the characters a little one note. It does read fairly easily, however, and the fantasy of going to Europe and having special attention shown to oneself is one to which lots of readers can relate.

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Jun 02, 2011 Marisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this through First Reads. My review is based on the uncorrected proof. I would give The Lovely Shoes 3 1/2-4 stars. I liked the development of Franny, the main character. Although the story takes place in the 50s, I think that most adolescents could probably relate to Franny's feelings and experiences.

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Oct 18, 2012 Tiffany rated it 1 of 5 stars

It was OK. I didn't like that she had to be fixed to be accepted. Not everything can be fixed. When something can be fixed, not everyone has the money to be fixed. She was a brat to her mother! I think the author didn't do a good job making a likeable character.

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Mar 23, 2013 Jenni rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was so enticing until the very end. I hope that it will have a sequel even with a super cheesy ending. It is one of the few books that can make my heart soar for more. Absolutely loved it! :D

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Dec 10, 2012 Andrea Wilkinson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, young-adult

Wonderful book about a girl who has a deformed foot and the things she experiences at school from her classmates and how she is able to overcome her insecurities about her deformity.

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Mar 30, 2013 Nicole Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a fun story about a little girl growing up. There were many times that my heart hurt for the hard lessons that we all must learn in life and how painful they seem especially when we are young.

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Apr 23, 2011 Martha rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: middle school girls

Shelves: 2011, middle-school

Based on autobiographical experiences. The changes this girl makes seem to happen too fast, but are a good picture of the natural "growing up" emotions.

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Oct 07, 2012 Melinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: school

I didn't find it as captivating as I would've liked but I did like the author's note at the end that told that parts of the story were based on the author's life, which I thought gave the story character.

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Jul 04, 2011 Nordic21 rated it 4 of 5 stars

not much to say... it was a very heart warming story. The book is about a young girl, Fanny, growing up in the 50 or 60's. She is a crippled as they called it then. Her one foot is difigurred and the leg on that side is skiinier than the other. When franny goes to highschool she becomes very selfconcious. Her mother, whom she is very very close to, does not want her daughter to have to 'suffer' or feel unconfortable around others, so she comes up with a plan...to get a pair of lovely shoes for h...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Lianna rated it 2 of 5 stars

I liked that her mom really wanted to see her happy. This book kind of dragged on.

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Jan 14, 2013 Kristi marked it as to-read

Shelves: book-group

January 2013 book group (1 of 2 books) chosen by Bev Bonham.

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Jun 15, 2011 Shauna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute feel good book. an enjoyable read.

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Feb 17, 2012 Katie Cooper rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-authors-2012

Cute story, but not anything mind-blowing. It is kind of fun to read a book set in the recent past (1950s) every now and then.

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May 19, 2013 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

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About Susan Richards Shreve

Also know as Susan Shreve. Received the following awards: Jenny Moore Award, George Washington University, 1978; Notable Book citation, American Library Association (ALA), 1979, for Family Secrets: Five Very Important Stories; Best Book for Young Adults citation, ALA, 1980, for The Masquerade; Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, National Council for Social Studies and the...more

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