Francie's Got a Gun

by Carrie Snyder

ONE OF CBC'S BEST CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS OF 2022 A suspenseful and poignant tale from an award-winning writer about a girl navigating chaotic family life in a close-knit small town. On a June afternoon in a small city, a wild-eyed girl named Francie dashes down a neighbourhood street, clutching a gun. She doesn't know exactly what she's running from, and she doesn't know what she's heading towards. All she understands is the need to survive. To save herself, she has no choice but to run--and to save those she loves, she must hold tight to that gun. Swirling around Francie is a chorus of friends, family, and neighbours, each person with a different view of her. As we hear from these voices--Francie's steadfast best friend, Alice; Alice's comically unaware mother, Sally, and struggling mathematician father, David; Francie's distressed and distracted mother, Marietta, and troubled, unwell father, Luce--a fractured portrait emerges of the girl and the village surrounding her. And at last we arrive at a still point in the a tall tree where Francie takes shelter, and where the meaning of her flight--for herself, and for the people around her--becomes clear. In Francie's Got a Gun , award-winning writer Carrie Snyder assembles a chorus of unforgettable characters who are both well-intentioned and flawed. At their centre is Francie, a vulnerable, imaginative girl with surprising attachments to each of them. Here is a propulsive, polyphonic, heart-expanding novel--equal parts sorrow and humour, fear and love, anger and kindness--about social breakdown and the quest for connection in a close-knit community.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Mystery, Audiobook, Adult, Book Club, Contemporary

296 pages, Hardcover

Published July 26, 2022

About the author

Carrie Snyder's second book, The Juliet Stories, was a finalist for the 2012 Governor General's Award for fiction. Her first book, Hair Hat, was nominated for a Danuta Gleed Award. Carrie has also won a CBC Literary Award for short fiction (2006). Carrie makes her home in Waterloo, Ontario with her husband, four children, and two dogs. She blogs as Obscure CanLit Mama.

Reviews

[LisaAS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop everything you are doing and read this book! It took me ONE day! I fell in LOVE with Francie, the 10 year old protagonist, immediately—you will too. I don’t want to spoil anything so will leave it at that. Just…trust me.😀

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting. I think it was described somewhere as chaotic and I would agree. The jumping of timelines was a bit confusing for me at times, but I think that was a stylistic choice, designed to add to the chaos, so I can get behind that! I found myself thinking about this book a lot outside of reading it.

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll take “novels that should’ve been short stories” for $200, Alex

[Penny (Literary Hoarders) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed similar in its premise to the 2021 Giller longlisted book, Astra because of this, "around Francie is a chorus of friends, family, and neighbours, each person with a different view of her. ...a fractured portrait emerges of the girl and the village surrounding her." However, the structure and style of writing fell flat for me in Snyder's book. I struggled to get into it, which was disappointing for me as I had high hopes for it. :-(

[Meghan Redmile · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐⭐

The way the first few pages started off, I thought this was going to be one of my favourite reads... sadly, it wasn't.

Too many characters and views to follow, some only having half a chapter and then we don't hear their side again. The timeline flips multiple times, which could be confusing.

And in the end? Nothing was answered. Was anyone dead? Anyone in jail? How did the girl go from having a gun to being able to sing in her concert the same night?

No. Freaking. Clue.

I only finished it because I HAD to know what happened... And to be honest, I skimmed a lot of the end, not even bothering to read the babies view of things...

I know the copy I won from a GoodReads giveaway was an ARC, so hopefully a few things got tidied up.

[Chelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me from page 1. Francie grabs you and doesnt let go.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

great for a character study, one of the few Canadian lit books that was made better by taking place in Canada, a man could have never written this 🫶🏻

[Philip Nash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Francie runs down a street in a small Canadian city, holding a gun. The story's about how she got it, and we get a tour of her dysfunctional parents, best friend, grandma, and mom's old admirer. The story is jumbled on purpose; Francie herself isn't sure why she's got the gun at first. I thought the voices of the various characters seemed authentic. Author Carrie Snyder previously wrote Girl Runner, a best seller.

[Miki]

Dang. I didn't realize that this is a Buildungsroman. Nope. No, thank you.

[sadie granigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely phenomenal. couldn’t put it down. i loved the chaotic nature of it with the flashbacks and perspectives

[Carolyn Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to review as I'm reading an advance copy and the issues I have may be cleaned up in the final book. There are two separate time lines and multiple points of view which I generally like, but I often found it hard to figure out the timeline and / or the particular character. Maybe I missed visual clues because I was reading an epdf or maybe there were no clues and the reader is supposed to struggle. I expect this book will, at the very least, make the longlists for the big Canadian awards. And be forewarned, your heart will break for Francie.

[janna ✭ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this. It's honestly partially my fault because I didn't realize how young Francie is when I picked this up –I was just intrigued by the premise– and I notoriously don't like to read about/from the pov of kids.

I was actually really interested in the adults and wished the story was only from their perspective. Those chapters were really well written, imo. I just really do not care about kids, I don't care to know what they're thinking about. Some of the chapters in here are literally written from the pov of a toddler and like??😭 What is that adding to the story? The way the kids + the toddler are written makes it seem like they could be either 20 or 5, it was really confusing.

I also didn't like the way the story was told, how the narrative would go back and forth between the present and the past. Honestly, it made it harder to follow everything that was happening and led to the ending being a bit of a letdown because the reveal was so meh.

This is kind of nitpicky and not important, but I was listening to the audiobook and the author would whisper all the lines that the characters are thinking inside their head, which 1) gave me the most horrible misophonia and 2) was just not necessary because it was obvious from context that these lines were said internally.

All this to say, I was listening to this on 2.5 speed and bored to tears.

[Gary D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a long-time fan of all Carrie Snyder's writing. She is a thoughtful, insightful, and very exciting writer.

I’ve just finished reading Francie’s Got a Gun, and have to say I was both surprised (because it seems to me to be an adventurous departure from her previous books, in both narrative and structure), and delighted. Francie is a completely engaging character—and so are the people who form her world: deeply imagined, vividly rendered. To choose one example from many possibilities, Liane is a particularly interesting and strong character, especially given her brief appearances. The narrative—which features a double timeline--is wonderfully crafted: the result is a book that is a real page-turner.

The multiple perspectives from which the story is told work really well. It seemed to me to be very sophisticated and ambitious storytelling. Snyder makes the reader do some work (which is always a good thing, I think), and, while she keeps the narrative under sufficient control, she also—and to very positive effect--leaves some ambiguities and untied ends. The final chapter is beautifully done (and, though I may not be the most perceptive reader--unexpected in several ways). This is a book I will re-read with pleasure.

[Enid Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is literary suspense the way I like it

What a great start… Suspenseful. Tension that you can feel in your body. Fast paced… the story runs like Francie runs… for her life.

This is a solidly - dare I say exquisitely? - crafted novel with a great cast of characters that you will equally love and loathe.

The story reveals itself slowly - layer by layer - like Ravel’s Bolero, alternating between Francie’s now - with the gun - and the backdrop - the story of her life and family. Francie will grab you by the heartstrings and not let you go.

This is truly an ambitious novel - and a less skilled writer would have had difficulty pulling it off. Kudos to Ms. Snyder.

I must disclose that a prior novel, Girl Runner, is still an all time Canadian fiction favourite of mine. Similarities between this novel and that one - and not just the ‘running’ bit - are not lost on me in terms of the appeal of this title.

[Emily Suchanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture This: On a June afternoon in a small city, a wild-eyed girl named Francie dashes down a neighbourhood street, clutching a gun. She doesn't know exactly what she's running from, and she doesn't know what she's heading towards. All she understands is the need to survive.

Thoughts: Carrie Snyder brings together a memorable ensemble of characters, each marked by their good intentions and imperfections, with Francie at the heart of the story. Francie, a vulnerable and imaginative young girl, forms unexpected bonds with those around her. This dynamic, multifaceted novel blends sorrow and humor, fear and love, anger and kindness, creating a rich exploration of social disintegration and the search for connection within a tight-knit community.

Read Next: The Sleeping Car Porter (Suzette Mayr), The Story of Us (Catherine Hernandez)

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this a hard book to review. It is very creative in its structure, with the multiple glimpses of Francie by the people in her world. Some of the writing is exquisite. A number of the characters seemed very disassociated from reality as they tried to absorb what was happening in their world. That troubled me since no one seemed really grounded.

I had a little trouble getting launched into the story and was not truly satisfied by the ending. However, Carrie Snyder is a good author, and I look forward to her future works.

[Liz K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francie, dear child, your story made me want to hold your hand, to give you a hug, to tell you you're incredibly brave and strong. Thank you for letting us into your world, for showing us the joy in a broken world, for teaching us how to sing. I couldn't put your story down, I want all my friends to get to know you too. I want everyone to learn how to find the courage to keep going to find joy in the tops of trees.
This story belongs on top of your to read pile!

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery opens with a girl running with gun in hand, then slowly rewinds through the chorus of characters around her to reveal why. For me, the novel took some time to get going, then it really hit its stride, and finally it dragged to an anticlimactic conclusion. The narrative structure is impressive, and the author captures many characters with emotional depth and care. But the unevenness of the plot and writing made it 3 stars.

[Sohan Van de Mosselaer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but not great. I picked it up at my bookstore McNally because it was on display as a Globe and Mail recommended book, and that carries a lot of weight for me. I did enjoy it, but not as much as I was expecting. The writing was spare, which some people might enjoy, but I really wish this book had a little more meat. It is a great premise and still a touching story but I think more could have been done with it.

[Olivia S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super readable, but pretty bleak. Despite the age of the main character (10), this feels like a firmly adult book to me. I found the format a bit tough to follow at times. I guess I felt like this book ended up being just depressing without really giving me any other kind of point or message, which I'm not a big fan of.

[David Waltner-Toews]

Just finished Francie's Got a Gun. Surprisingly (to me), given the "topic," the perfect book for these hectic and unpredictable times. Snyder's telling of the story, its immediacy, the language, structure, humour, transcends the story itself. Who knew a troubled tale of two girls coming of age could make an old man happy?

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I thought Snyder did an excellent job capturing the innocence and vulnerability of 10-year old Francie who lives a complicated life due to her family's suffering of poverty and substance use. However, the ending felt rushed with too many questions left unanswered. I won an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway so I hope the ending was more clear in the final copy.

[Hayden Epp · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a moment to get into this. I reacted kinda negatively to the first fifty pages or so mostly because of the writing style. But I eventually figured out how this worked and ended up really enjoying this. It doesn’t feel like much actually happens in this book but there’s a beauty to that and I felt it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style (even tho there were too many exclamation marks) and liked the time jumps for the most part but sometimes they were hard to follow. I felt like at times I understood the meaning behind this book and at others felt like it was going right over my head. I wish we knew what happened in the end.

[Lenore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been a 5 star if I just considered the characters but the story left too many questions for me at the end. Written so well that I couldn't help but feel the chaos and my heart went out to Francie.

[Gerstem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! The shifting perspectives in this story of young Francie made for a riveting read. I had to know where she would land and this story did not disappoint! Such a interesting cast of characters too who come alive throughout the “gun run”.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francie is an adorable girl who stole my heart right away. However, this story is told from multiple points of view and it becomes hard to follow along at times. I read an advanced copy of this book so I'm not sure if the final copy will have less viewpoints. A splendid read nonetheless.

[Dilettee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and it would have been 5 stars for me had it not been for the ending. It felt confusing and unfinished. I won an ARC from a Goodreads giveaway and I’m wondering if the ending is different in the final copy. Just waiting for my library to get it in so I can compare.

[Pam Bustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally got my hands and heart wrapped around this one.

What a glorious, heartbreaking, hopeful and beautiful ride. I love this kid! Felt myself sitting on the edge of my seat at the concert, straining to hear her sing out.

And oh oh oh the Tree’s scene. Ahhhh. So good.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many layers in this tragic story. Perhaps the story could have been shorter but I still found the gallery of characters added to our understanding of how Francie ends up with a gun. Lots of compassion from the author for all.