The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

by E. Lockhart
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
published
March 25th 2008 by Hyperion
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binding
Hardcover, 342 pages

characters

isbn
0786838183   (isbn13: 9780786838189)

description
Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:Debate Club.Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 761)



Wordwizard
Wordwizard rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/23/08

Read in April, 2008
recommended to Wordwizard by: Barbara Mader
Wow. What a wonderful book! Mom reccomended it to me and got it for me at the library. I read it in approximately twenty-four hours.

It has many memorable qualities, but the most important to me is that completely captures the on-edge experience of being a girl in a group of guys, a position I'm often in myself. Frankie's boyfriend and his friends constantly underestimate her. I can't say my friends-and-acquaintances do that much (once they get to know me), but the dynamics and feeling...more
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Meave
Meave rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/20/08

Read in August, 2008
Almost as good as the hype. It's just, did everyone have to disappoint her and not take her as seriously as she deserved? I was not nearly so super fantastic in high school, but I had a few friendships that were really intimate and all-consuming, like, much more so than any romantic relationships at that time, and the doubt and denial everyone in our heroine's life has for/about her wasn't there for us. Throughout the book I kept waiting for one character to whom she could confess her scheming, ...more
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Lacy
Lacy rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/16/08

Read in August, 2008
recommended to Lacy by: Leila Roy
I am not a very good feminist. I always thought I was sort of fair to middling, but now I realize that I usually only see something through a feminist viewpoint if someone else points it out to me. It's something I'd like to change.

In fact, I wish I had had this book when I was a teenager (or, more specifically, I wish it has existed when I was a teenager) because it really made some great points about being a young woman in a male dominated society.

Frankie Landau-Banks attends ...more
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Rebecca
Rebecca rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/15/08

Read in August, 2008
holy smokes! I have so many other things on my reading in-progress pile, but this has blown everything else out of the water, in just the past 3 hours.
I am only half-way through, but I am loving this book, and have dog-earred it for 2 friends.

pages 109-113 are MADE for your reading enjoyment, mbw.
neglected positives. yes!

the chapter entitled "Cheese Fries" demonstrates the first real true best example of email in a YA book that I've seen so far--the subject lines mak...more
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E. M.
E. rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
07/01/08

bookshelves: 2008-06, ya
Read in June, 2008
Great book! A must read for every girl!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks follows a young, intelligent girl through her sophomore year at Alabaster Academy. Frankie is quite average, but is a bit of a deep thinking. She’s the type to want to step out of the norm, to shake things up, and to promote positive change.

Her attitude takes a turn toward heinous when she meets Matthew (her love interest) and his friends. It’s Frankie’s sophomore and has met Matthe...more
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Robbie
Robbie rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/15/08

Read in July, 2008
Read more at http://rowijo.void-star.net!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

by E. Lockhart

* Hardcover: 352 pages
* Publisher: Hyperion Book CH [March 25, 2008:]
* ISBN-13: 978-0786838189

Frankie Landau-Banks is a sophomore at the prestigious Alabaster Preperatory School. While the school went co-ed in 1968, there still remains the all-male secret society, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. In ...more
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Felicity
Felicity rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
04/29/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in April, 2008
I had high hopes for this book- it had such an exciting premise. I ended up enjoying the book, but it didn’t make a lasting impression.

Frankie Landau-Banks is the witty, shy daughter of Frances Banks, or as she and her sister Zada call him, “Senior”. She attends the prep school Alabaster, where she is a prominent member of the Debate team. Frankie is not exactly popular, or even close. She had a boyfriend, Porter Welsch, but broke up with him. That was pretty much her boring freshman y...more
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Rachael
Rachael rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/27/08

Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Emily
Emily rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/15/08

Read in August, 2008
Frankie Landau-Banks does for the patriarchy what Little Brother does for homeland security. It's a guide for the uninitiated (Michel Foucault with training wheels!), a call to arms, and a manual for taking action against it.

It also has some great pranks in it.

Frankie is a sophomore at Alabaster, one of the nation's best preparatory schools, which is filled mostly with people who are white, protestant, and richer than God. Over the course of the summer she suddenly becomes hot, ...more
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  1 comments

Brooke
Brooke rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/02/08

bookshelves: books-read-in-2008
Read in May, 2008
The summer before Frankie's sophomore year at an exclusive prep school, she turns gorgeous: "she gained four inches and twenty pounds, in all the right places." Arriving at school, she finds herself the object of Matthew Livingston's affection, a handsome senior in the popular set. Frankie is ecstatic about her new boyfriend, and loves being part of the popular crowd, but soon begins to chafe. Why does Matthew seem to be at the constant beck-and-call of the leader of the clique, a b...more
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Sonia
Sonia rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
10/03/08

bookshelves: ya
Read in October, 2008
First of all, I agree with feminism and equal opportunities and all that, and I appreciate that this book had a "girl power" theme, but the main character was not a good representation of an admirable woman. She was intelligent and competative, but was also the worst stereotype of a jealous, conniving, sneaky bitch. I thought she made girls look totally bad. She was jealous that her boyfriend was in a secret all-male social club, and was somehow insulted that she wasn't invited and ...more
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Navah
Navah rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/24/08

bookshelves: teen
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for: fans of boarding school books
Frankie Landau-Banks’s affectionate family nickname is Bunny Rabbit. She’s the younger sister, the pretty girl, the quiet, innocent, sweet one. When she hooks up with the fabulous Matthew Livingston in her sophomore year at Alabaster prep boarding school, she thinks that she’s finally starting to get noticed. And being with Matthew is fantastic—he’s a golden boy, a member of the in-crowd, and being his girlfriend is Frankie’s ticket to being friends with some of the most fun, enga...more
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Meg
Meg rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
07/10/08

bookshelves: ya
Read in July, 2008
The library loaned me an ARC! Bad library! Reading it anyway.

Now that I'm finished:

I feel like someone poured my head out into a book. And then revised it for the consumption of myself, age 11. You guys I am seriously considering building a time machine for the sole purpose of bringing this book back to myself as a preteen. It would have soothed a lot of nerves, I can tell you that, and then about ten years later it would have served as a memory-beacon. E. Lockhart just totally nails so ...more
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Kevin Fanning
Kevin rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
06/25/08

I'm not even done with it yet, but stop what you're doing and start reading this book.

From an email to Sarah:

I am reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. If the 2nd half is 1/3 as good as the first half has been, it'll be one of favorite books of all time. That's math right there. It's SO GOOD. It's about the battle between good and evil in a teenage girl's soul. I.e. the warring factions of "OMG that boy is so cute I can't believe he wants to kiss me" and &q...more
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Jennifer
Jennifer rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/04/08

bookshelves: trt-reviews
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

Frankie Landau-Banks has gone from geeky to gorgeous over the course of the summer, and she can hardly believe it when Matthew Livingston, the senior she worshipped from afar the year before, seems interested. But being Matthew's girlfriend comes with a lot of things Frankie didn't expect. She feels uncertain navigating the complicated politics of his social circle, and uneasy with the antics of his friends, which often seem to exclude her. Worst of ...more
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Eva
Eva rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/20/08

Read in August, 2008
As in her previous books, Lockhart brings us a heroine who has a very unique and particular way of looking at her life. Frankie has an analytic and active mind, so she is not content to merely rest on her laurels when she miraculously (after becoming pretty and growing boobs over the summer) lands a gorgeous, smart, and nice Senior named Matthew. Most importantly, he is a big man at Alabaster Prep – his friends are not only the most witty and fun students on campus but are also (as Frankie d...more
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  2 comments

Trin
Trin rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/06/08

bookshelves: fiction, ya
From a bare-bones plot summary—a young sophomore infiltrates a secret society at her elite private school, blah blah—this book could easily be mistaken for generic YA fiction. This is unfortunate, because what Lockhart has actually written is a wonderful, vivid, funny, feminist antidote to miserable tripe like Twilight. This book is about Frankie, newly pretty after a summer’s growth spurt, returning to school to find that the popular b...more
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Brandy
Brandy rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/27/08

bookshelves: 2008reads, bildungsroman, library, teen
Read in May, 2008
Frankie Landau-Banks is starting her sophomore year at the elite Alabaster Academy, and has somehow garnered the attention of Big-Man-On-Campus Matthew Livingston. But while most girls would die to be Matthew's arm candy, Frankie would rather be something more than just his girlfriend. When he starts giving vague answers regarding his whereabouts and plans, Frankie does the logical thing: she researches and investigates. When she finds out that Matthew and his friends are part of the elu...more
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Anna
Anna rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
09/12/07

bookshelves: youngadult
Read in September, 2007
Random House was kind enough to send me a galley of this one, and I really enjoyed it. I had also read her previous novel, Dramarama and found that one pretty good, but I liked this one much better.

The center of this story is one Miss Frankie Landau-Banks, a girl about to enter her sophomore year in high school. Over the summer she bloomed from a skinny, frizzy-haired kid whom her family calls, "Bunny Rabbit" into a curvy, curly-haired girl who gets noticed. And the one she ...more
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Worthingteen
Worthingteen rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars