Figuring Out Frances

by Gina Willner-Pardo

With a light touch, this insightful novel charts a fourth grader's course through the complexities of family and friendship. Abby is trying hard to understand the things that puzzle her. One is her friendship with Travis Mooney, who seems to be turning into just another obnoxious boy. Another is a mystery: Why does Grandma, who has Alzheimer's disease, sometimes call her Frances? Who is, or was, Frances? Abby is convinced that if she can figure out Frances, she will know something new and important about herself. Along with the surprising and satisfying solution to this mystery comes the discovery that some things can't be figured out-but just as in doing a puzzle, putting all the pieces together is the fun part.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 1999

Reviews

[Elizabeth D]

A sweet book for tweens!

[Sheridan]

This is a good book but not one of the best books that I have read. It is about a girl who has a grandma that forgets things. So she calls her frances even though that is not her real name. So she goes to school and she gets a project that she has to figure out a mystery that is going on in her family. So she chooses to figure out who frances really was. If you are ready to try to figure the mystery out then read this book.

[Sylvia]

Frances must cope with stress at home and try and figure out her best friend's odd behaviour(a boy).

[Rain]

all it talked about was a girl feeling left out by her guy friend that lives next door.

[Katy Lovejoy]

I can only read books about alzheimer patients that are below my reading level and even then I can't really handle it