Book Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Frankie Landau-Banks has always been intelligent.  But before her sophomore year at a private boarding school, she grows into her body and becomes a knock-out as well.  Dating the most popular senior on campus opens her to a world of opportunities she didn't previously know existed, including inside information about the elusive secret society, The Order of the Basset Hounds, of which her boyfriend is a part.  When she isn't allowed to join because she's a girl, she finds other ways to be involved, which ultimately risk her reputation, friendships, and clean criminal record.

What would you do with instant popularity?  Would it include leading a Canned Beet Rebellion, for example?

I loved this book, primarily because of E. Lockhart's writing style.  The story is told in a sharp, fast-paced way, and even though it's in third person, insights into Frankie's thinking are hilarious and insightful about teenage power structures at the same time.  Lockhart has a keen way of foreshadowing that keeps you on your toes and makes you want to find out what happens next.  Here's an example, starting on page 23:

"Other facts about Alabaster [the school] that are of actual importance to this chronicle:
1.  Frankie's roommate, Trish, was a freckled, horsey blonde who'd spent the first half of her summer doing Outward Bound and the second half on Nantucket helping out in a stable...
2.  Artie, Trish's boyfriend, was a member of the Audio-Visual Technology Club (AVT), which meant that he carried keys to quite a number of buildings on campus...
6.  And last: many of the buildings, built in the late nineteenth century , were connected by steam tunnels--utility tunnels intended for the maintenance of heating pipes that run underneath the ground.  These tunnels were locked, and student access to them was explicitly forbidden by the administration. But there wouldn't be a story here if there weren't a way of getting in."

Check out The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks from our classroom library or another place.  I can't imagine you'll be disappointed.