Book Review- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

"I, Frankie Landau-Banks, hereby confess that I was the sole mastermind behind the mal-doings of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. I take full responsibility for the disruptions caused by the Order-including the Library Lady, the Doggies in the Window, the Night of a Thousand Dogs, the Canned Beet Rebellion, and the abduction of the Guppy."

I had absolutely no idea what this book was going to be about when I purchased it. The back cover "letter" got me so intrigued, though, that I had to get it without knowing anything else. I had no clue what all that was about but I just had to find out. Turns out, all those mysterious sounding things were pretty cool and funny but the best thing about the book was Frankie.

Frankie, in her sophomore year at Alabaster Prep, has it all. The looks (thanks to a summer growth spurt), a Senior boyfriend and a great supportive roommate, but she wants more. Besides wanting to be accepted she wants to also be seen and respected for who she is. She is smart and resourceful, witty and well-versed and she sees herself as equals to her boyfriend and his friends and hates that they see her as someone to take care of.

I absolutely loved the tone of this book and the author's high level of language and literary references. (P.G. Wodehouse has quite an influence on Frankie.) There was no "dumbing down" of Lockhart's writing that you sometimes see in books for teens. I know what I was capable of reading as a teen and purposely sought out adult literature when I didn't find it in the YA books available back then. I am glad to see that E. Lockhart knows that teens are capable of reading at a higher level than some might think. I would have loved this book in high school and I am sure there are many now that do.

Oh, and on a side note. I absolutely love the cover of this book. The light blue of the envelope and the deep red of the seal wax - love it. 

4/5

YA Challenge

Another book for my "Currently Reading" list

I am sure you have noticed that my reading habit tends to have me reading more than one book at a time. I know I am not the only one, but I wanted to explain all the books over in my currently reading widget. There are four. I know, crazy, huh?

Well, one comes in daily increments over email that I read at rest time every day (or at least that was the plan) while I eat my lunch. One is on my iPhone that I only read when I am out of the house and in need of something to read. One (usually the bulkier or denser read) stays by my bed for nightly reading before I go to sleep. The fourth, usually an easily portable (paperback or small hardcover) and shorter in length book that can be read while relaxing in the bath or while eating and can be tossed in my bag whenever needed.

I picked up that fourth book yesterday since I found myself lacking one. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart and I am loving it already. I can tell that Frankie is going to be a favorite character and I have only read a couple chapters.

So who is Frankie?

Here is a little info on her.

"Between May and September, she gained four inches and twenty pounds, all in the right places. Went from being a scrawny, awkward child with hands too big for her arms, a frizz of unruly brown fluff on her head, and a jaw so sharp it made Grandma Evelyn cluck about how 'When it comes to plastic surgery, it never hurts to do those things before college,' to being a curvaceous young woman with an offbeat look that boys found distinctly appealing." Page 5, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.


Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.