Full of Grace and Mischief Synopsis
Maureen and Fran – the Dynamo Duo! – are the co-authors of the Full of Grace series, which recounts the lives of two close friends in Savannah, Georgia in the 1960s. Book One follows the protagonists Mary Margaret Puccini and Theresa McDermott as they encounter life’s challenges. They doubt their Catholic faith, endure death, heartbreak, and witness inappropriate behavior among clergy. Their shared experiences deepen and cement their friendship before they both have their lives derailed.
Full of Grace and Mischief is told with warmth and humor and peppered with unforgettable characters. This novel is the result of a collaboration between two close friends who grew up in similar circumstances. Their experiences growing up affluent and Catholic in the South in the sixties beg to be recorded in this fast-changing world. Using creativity in combining these elements, together Maureen and Fran have crafted a compelling coming-of-age story.
A Tale of Two Friends
Mary Margaret Puccini and Theresa McDermott meet at Camp Villa Veronica, a Catholic camp where they spend months of the summer pulling pranks, sneaking out for smokes, and getting in daring contests with boys. It would be idyllic, but even the nuns can’t keep the real world totally at bay. A near-death experience, the loss of friends, and predatory priests ensure the girls’ bond is built as much out of joy as it is strife.
After a particularly egregious prank the girls are banned from camp after sneaking off to Tybee beach. Together they face high school, fierce and fun friendships, social-climbing bullies, first loves and heartbreaks.
Dictating their own fate in a world that wants to pick it for them feels unrealistic as a tragic accident, an unwanted pregnancy, and a shotgun wedding interrupt plans for travel and college. Privilege does not protect them from misfortune. Can these friends, now on such different life tracks, find a way to salvage their friendship and their future?
A story of resilience, joy, and growth, Full of Grace and Mischief explores how two girls face strict Catholic mores and old social norms as they pursue their dreams. Both a love letter and a critique of a bygone age, this half-memoir, half-fictional tale of growing up a female in the Deep South celebrates the strength of its characters and the powerful bonds of friendship.
