The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

by E. Lockhart

About the Book:

When Frankie Landau-Banks returns to her prestigious boarding school for her sophomore year, she comes back with a newly knockout figure and a sharp tongue, all results of a summer of maturing and finding her place in the world. Right away she snags her dream boyfriend, the word-obsessed Matthew Livingston, and easily falls into his popular crowd of friends. But when she finds out Matthew is part of an all-male secret society shrouded in mystery, she just cannot bear to be left out. There are just too many secrets, too many lies, and so many pranks just waiting to be done. So, Frankie takes over the situation and makes things happen. This book is the story of how Frankie became a possibly criminal mastermind.

Miss Riki’s Review:

I fell immediately for this book, from delicious plot to precocious protagonist, and I’d go as far as to say that I think this is a book that all young adults should be reading. It could ostensibly be seen as a book about fitting in and finding your place in the world, but more than that it is a book about power and ambition, and the great lengths that a girl will go to obtain that power.

A lot of reviewers have dissed the narration of this book, with a sort of unnamed narrator telling the story of how Frankie shook things up in her sophomore year of high school, but I really enjoyed it. It felt so very confessional and conversational having a third party tell the story, and I thoroughly enjoyed that broken fourth wall feel of the narration.

As for Frankie, she’s by all means not perfect. She comes across as a bit brash and entitled at times, but her heart is in the right place and her drive and ambition make her really relatable. Who hasn’t wanted to shake things up a bit to fight against the patriarchy and perceived slight? In this book, Frankie does just that, and her eventual fall into obsession with her cause is a fun ride.

This book is a wild ride, featuring secret societies, gender politics, and a lead character that is just plain sick of feeling left out. It is both highly political and wildly funny. With hijinks that could only happen away at boarding school and a delicious sense of revenge, readers will love Frankie Landau-Banks and her endless drive to come out on top.