Francine is trying to figure out how to live her life in the aftermath of her mother’s death. When she rescues a 10 year old kid from some bullies she becomes a big part of his life. Determined to help him out, she meets his foster family and realizes that Davie’s foster mother was a girl that Francine had a crush on in high school.

While the book does have some lighthearted and fun moments, it’s definitely more serious than the cover design makes it seem. The story deals with grief, bullying, suicide, ableism, colorism, toxic relationships, past sexual assault, abusive parenting, and so much more. I don’t think anything in the book was poorly handled, but there were definitely a lot of times where I felt like things were just being glossed over instead of diving in deep. Like at a lot of points there were time jumps that made me feel like I was missing out on being able to see important developments happening. So often it felt like things were just occurring out of nowhere.

In the end I did enjoy seeing the journey that Francine went on with figuring out what she wants from her life and building up a community of people around her. I’d recommend this for readers who enjoy coming of age stories about adult characters, found family, and complex queer characters.

This story is SO messy and Francine seriously angers the reader so often. Thankful for the sounding boards of some side characters that speak to what the reader is thinking. David and Francine’s relationship is beautiful but challenging at times.
Jeanette is just bad news from the beginning and SO unlikeable. There are moments of hope through this book, but ultimately, Francine DID indeed crash and burn.

3.5 stars

With a cast of larger-than-life characters and a heavy dose of drama, this is a book you won't soon forget! The story is packed with heavy themes, exploring everything from grief to self-esteem to childhood trauma and assault and much more. Francine's life is a mess, and reading about her difficulties and poor decisions sometimes made this book frustrating - I wanted to yell at her through the pages so many times! - but Francine's descent to rock bottom was needed to help her turn her life around.

What I appreciated most about this book was that none of the characters were perfect. Everyone had their struggles, and the author presented them in very real and relatable ways. No one felt like caricatures or stereotypes, just representations of different types of people trying to do their best in life.

Davie stole the show in this story and, despite his young age and his own struggles, seemed to be the one with the most wisdom. I wanted a happy ending for him so badly!

Although this book was much heavier than I expected, I thought it was handled very well and it made me feel a broad range of emotions. I also found the characters memorable and appreciated the diverse representation handled with so much respect.

3.5 stars

This was not a light read. The ending is somewhat hopeful, but up until 99% of the book, you are pretty much worried this terrible time will somehow get worse. It discusses some heavy topics like grief, internalized homophobia, sexual assault, grooming, child abuse, intimate partner violence, colorism, poverty, and ableism. I think it's a story many could learn something from, but it really made for a unhappy reading experience. So, be warned about that.

The writing style is quite succinct and not super florid. While the story is quite angsty, it didn't feel melodramatic. Honestly, there were some scenes that went south quickly that were unexpected because the writing style was pretty matter of fact in its description of what was happening. There was only one point where the story buried a lead about one of Francine's bad experiences in high school that I found a tiny bit cheap in presentation, but the overall meaning of it was understood. It's a bit insane how many awful things she experienced before turning 30, but it created something for Jeannette to "bond" with her over.

I appreciated Kenji as a character a lot. Surprisingly, even in the first meeting where I'm sure the reader was meant to dislike her, I found her interesting. She exists to be one of the few people around Francine that didn't bully her when she didn't act as desired. I liked that her and partner were in the story to sort of serve as a baseline for normal relationships. I actually liked and felt sorry for Aunt Liane. I understood where she was coming from with Francine and her sister, but her way of trying to force them into being okay wasn't the answer. Uncle CJ was great, as well.

Davie is the real standout here. He's the catalyst for most of the events in this book and he becomes someone that makes Francine look outside herself. I find it a bit concerning she went from spending most of her life taking care of her mother to immediately signing on to take care of a child not long after her mother's passing. I'm a little surprised if her therapist thought that was a good idea. However, I did tear up at the end of the book.

Francine is a mess. I'm glad the book showed her seeing a therapist to try to unpack some of her issues. I also appreciated that I didn't feel the narrative wanted her to let sympathy for Jeannette's trauma incite unearned forgiveness. Jeannette suffered a lot, but that doesn't excuse her behavior. I truthfully didn't understand what Francine saw in Jeannette that was desirable, but I chalked it up to her having to learn that she deserved better treatment from people. That's a lesson I think a lot of people would appreciate.

Tentative recommend, but be mindful of the trigger warnings and that I wouldn't personally describe this as a hopeful book. Up to 99%, it's still quite heavy.

Thank you, Tiny Reparations for the e-arc!

This book is truly an emotional roller coaster. Francine is a character I will not be forgetting about any time soon.

The book takes place just moments before Francines mom's passing, this book is a journey of Francine coping with her mothers loss and trying to live in a world without her. Francine is a complex character, not many will agree with her actions or the situations she finds herself in but it's her own experience.

Francine's grief was written really well, we don't see Francine have a typical "healing" journey with grief. It's very raw and emotional, you can't help but want to give her a big hug.

Francine in her grief meets a young boy named Davie, who randomly starts showing up to her house and quickly they form a heartwarming friendship.

Davie is on the spectrum, the way that Francine understands this. Her friendship with Davie is one filled with love and recognition. Davie being part of the foster system and also having lost his mother, Francine sees herself and Davie and for that she creates an environment in which Davie feels safest in. Literally cried over how loving she was with Davie.

This would've been a full 5-star book but I felt like Francine's drug use was glossed over. I really wish that we got to see more about what steps she was taking to get sober. The book glossed over when it came to Francine taking meds that weren't hers so I really wish this was addressed as well.

I do want to make clear that this is not a love story. Francine's relationship with Jennette is one built off trauma. Francine is constantly getting used by Jennette and there are several boundaries that Jennette crosses. I think the book does a great job at highlighting the fact that Jennette isn't 100% a bad person. She is someone who needs help and was wronged by a system as well.

Francine also has Bell's Palsy that is triggered by stress, this is something that is important to understanding her character! We see her actively struggle with her views with her condition throughout the book, she learns to not be afraid of her condition, but she does receive a lot of bullying and harassment about her condition.

This book can be heavy at times, but I really do encourage others to read it, please take care of yourselves, my friends.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC! I really enjoyed this book! It was just the pick me up I needed as I found myself chuckling throughout the book and relating to the main character and her relationship with her mother. Love the disability representation and the multifaceted relationships shown between Black people and other POCs in the book.

Francine is a young woman dealing with low self-esteem, a very needy and agoraphobic mom and no family other than a distant aunt and uncle. When tragedy strikes she starts to fall apart and consider suicide until she witnesses a young boy being bullied by bigger kids. Meeting Davie will change her life forever but not without a lot of drama and self-doubt that she'll need to overcome.

I was so surprised by this! I feel like Francine’s journey with grief, not just for the loss she experienced but for everything she went through – was so deeply understandable and devastating. I was rooting for her to find her footing in life, and I really enjoyed seeing her journey with photography (as a photo girlie myself I was so inspired by her). I also found the side characters intriguing and really added to the story. And DAVIE!!! I loved him so much 😭 I need a sequel to see how they’re doing I swear

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publishers who sent me this ARC to read & review! <3

I started this on the plane back from Kauai, and it was just interesting enough to keep my attention. Francine loses her mother suddenly after trying to force her out of the house which she hasn't left in a while due to a combination of depression and agoraphobia. Francine has been in an unhealthy co-dependent relationship with her mother her whole life, and when her mother dies Francine contemplates dying too. However, a young boy finds his way into her life, and bring with him his foster mother who just so happens to be the queen bee of Francine's old high school.

Francine is such a mess that everything she does is bound to blow up in her face, and the book deals very well with her clear issues, and how they cause her to make the very worst decisions. Davie is the saving grace of this story, with his macabre slave facts (which he spouts when he is upset) and his obsession with Steve Jobs ("Steve and Steve! Ha!" became my favorite line of the book). How he gives Francine a strange little community and ultimately a family makes this a very sweet read. It took a little bit of work to get into this (the beginning is pretty sad and messed up as we take stock of Francine's life so far) but once Davie makes an appearance you know things are on the upswing.

3.5 stars.

About a Boy, renewed. Francine is lonely and directionless after her mother's sudden death. With no friends and little family, she doesn't what to do or where to start. What she does know is that the talkative, odd boy she saved from neighbors bullies won't leave her alone. And maybe she doesn't want him to.

I was really on board for the first half or so. The writing was present (though past-tense, it really told the story). The second half, though, felt like it was just telling the highlights. And while I understand why Francine would make some of the choices she did, I was getting really annoyed at her. Her "crash and burn" was mostly of her own doing.

DNF'd 20%- this wasn't for me. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Catchy title and cover. There is a LOT going on in this book. At times it is hard to follow, but I feel like that might be considered par for the course with being neurodivergent. Being queer is a large part of the book, but just in a fact that a person is, not as if it's as life altering as some people treat it.

*Francine's Spectacular Crash and Burn* by Renee Swindle is a sharp, witty, and heartwarming novel that blends humor with a deep exploration of self-discovery. The story follows Francine, a woman who's seemingly got it all together—until everything starts falling apart. In a whirlwind of career setbacks, personal struggles, and unexpected events, Francine is forced to confront her flaws and the truths she’s been avoiding.

The writing is brisk, engaging, and filled with sharp observations about life, love, and the pressures of perfection. The humor in the narrative is both lighthearted and poignant, offering a refreshing take on the ups and downs of modern life. Swindle’s relatable characters and clever prose make the book one of my favorites of the year so far. "Francine's Spectacular Crash and Burn* is an enjoyable read for anyone who’s ever felt like life was a little too much to handle—but still worth living.

4.5 stars

✨This book has humor, depth, a main character you can’t help but root for – and a little boy that wanders into her life that will absolutely steal your heart.

✨It’s not often that such a layered and nuanced story also makes me laugh out loud so often. I love it when an author can make me laugh and cry and feel such emotion.

✨The character development and dialogue in these pages are absolutely incredible. I really couldn’t put it down. I hope you’ll give it a read. I can’t wait to check out the author’s backlist and will be anxiously waiting to see what she writes next.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Neurodivergent rep
✨LGBTQ rep
✨Mental illness rep
✨Healing from grief narratives
✨Bighearted stories
✨Contemporary fiction

My thanks to @tinyrepbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn reads as if it was intended to be a film script, not a novel. That’s both a compliment and a criticism. The dialogue is sharp and quick, but the prose is paper thin. An individual conversation between two characters has more rhythmic back and forth and forward momentum than the novel’s entire narrative. But while the pacing lags—the descriptors too threadbare—the characters themselves always come to the page fully-formed through their dialogue. It’s that nagging suspicion, that the cast haven’t been placed in the correct medium, one where they could thrive to their absolute fullest, that holds Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn back.

An important heads-up for potential readers: the novel’s cover isn’t entirely representative of the content. It invokes the feeling of a light-hearted romantic comedy and, while there’s certainly humor present and some familiar tropes, Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn is a drama first and foremost. The narrative tightly centers on generational/familial cycles, mental-health, and abuse. There is one particular scene, where a character recounts a sexual assault, that I had to take a pause while reading. The subject matter is well handled, but I don’t think the cover adequately illustrates what Renee Swindle is trying to accomplish.

The strongest elements that stand out here, head and shoulders above the rest, are the ways in which Swindle approaches the subjects of chosen family, particularly parenting, and narcissistic abuse. The latter is handled with such unflinching realism and grace, tracking how a narcissist—whether consciously or not—gloms instinctually on to those with low self-esteem; constantly pushing the boundaries as to what they can get away with… and what they can take. The dynamic between Francine and Jeanette presents how this escalates and metastasizes so clearly.

While the relationship between Francine and Davie, a chance encounter that blossoms into an endearing relationship between a surrogate mother and son, runs through the heart of the entire book; encapsulating parenting and the immense responsibility it holds, and how one’s choices aren’t simply dictated by their singular wants or needs anymore. This relationship forces Francine to grow, to rethink her usual self-destructive tendencies, in order to put Davie first.

The character work and dialogue in Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn is the best part about it. I just can’t help but think the story would be better served as a miniseries—perhaps a long-form six to eight episodes.

(Thank you to Penguin Random House/Dutton for allowing me the opportunity to preview this title before its release.)

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel as it reminded me of Nightcrawling by Laila Mottley. Which is a good thing. This novel was just as good but not so dark. The main character having dating issues gave it a bit lightheartedness to the story.. because anytime a child is involved and is being put into the system, the story is always so sad for me. The authors writing style was good and easy to follow. It made for a senseless reading experience. I can’t wait to see the continued hype this novels deserves once it’s released.

Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn deals with incredibly sensitive, challenging topics, and does so with the clear intention of humor and life. You feel for Francine right off the bat, as it seems she’s been forced to hold a lot of responsibility. Grief that undercuts that responsibility is the sort of thing that leads to crashing out, and in Francine’s case, that’s absolutely correct.

Despite this premise, which seemed right up my alley, and the lovely off-kilter energy of the main character and the people she interacted with, I was not grabbed by the narrative style or any of the characters. At an objective level, I cared about Francine. I wanted her to succeed. On the page, however, I felt that she came across as a paper character in a play– in many ways, her reactions and actions didn’t feel authentic, but instead madcap and unpredictable. Unpredictable could have been good, but it wasn’t in an intentional way– it was in a way that took me out of the book and forced me to question the reality of this person. People around Francine felt even more flat, which led me to really not caring about any of the events, despite a literal death via overdose and the aforementioned crashing out.

I see a good deal of potential in Renee Swindle’s writing, and her humor is delightful. I giggled at most of her snarks, gags, and jokes. I believe that as she continues to publish, her characters likely will grow to be a little more fleshed out and a little more three-dimensional. I do think there will be an audience for this, and hope that the audience finds it. For now, though, that audience is not me.

i fell in love with this book almost immediately. the characters are so honest and real and at times you want to punch them in the face but you also want to do that when you know the people you love are making bad choices. while this book can be beyond frustrating at times, it all ends up worth it at the end and i will be recommending this to everyone i know in the future

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Francine's Spectacular Crash and Burn.

From the title and book cover, I thought the narrative was going to be more rom-com, but it contains serious themes include foster care, mental illness, grooming, sexual abuse and domestic violence so readers should be aware.

Despite it's serious themes, the novel contains many cliches and tropes:

Francine is an awkward young woman who falls to piece when her mother dies unexpectedly.

She lacks confidence, self-esteem, is socially awkward, has no friends, and poor relationships with her relatives.

Davie is really smart, and on the spectrum, and Francine may be as well.

Despite her education and partly due to her sheltered upbringing, Francine lacks maturity and street smarts, making her an easy target for Jeannette, her #1 girl crush from high school, when they reconnect.

As their relationship escalates and tensions run high, Francine realizes her mother still has her back, but only she can change the course of her own life.

I didn't like or dislike Francine but she reminded me of similar characters popping up in novels now; awkward, no friends, needs a kick in the pants to evolve and discover their true path in life.

The author does make a good point in the scenes where Francine is being called out for being 'bougie' or speaking like a white girl.

Racism occurs on all levels, including people from our own ethnic group.

The writing was good, but there's nothing memorable about the premise.

Naturally, everything is resolved at the end and tied up with a big bow.

FRANCINE'S SPECTACULAR CRASH AND BURN is such a heartfelt story that had me laughing one moment and crying the next. Thanks to NetGalley and Tiny Reparations Books for the advanced copy!