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The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

E. Lockhart (Goodreads Author)

3.80 · Rating details · 48,480 ratings · 5,395 reviews

The hilarious and razor-sharp story of how one girl went from geek to patriarchy-smashing criminal mastermind in two short years, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud.

* National Book Award finalist *
* Printz Honor *

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:

Debate Club.
Her father's "bunny rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly compe ...more

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Paperback, 342 pages

Published August 25th 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published March 25th 2008)

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May 20, 2011 Emily May rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Emily May by: Tatiana

Shelves: young-adult, 2011

ooh... secret societies and gender politics...

If you're female and between the ages of about 12 and 25, I cannot think of a single reason why you shouldn't read this book. It's fantastic. Both highly political and incredibly funny - it's the book I wish I'd been given to see me through being a teenager and to prepare me for later life. And no, I never went to an elite prep school with a bunch of stuffy trainee 'old boys' and a 60 year old all-male secret society... but I, like every girl I know, ooh... secret societies and gender politics...

If you're female and between the ages of about 12 and 25, I cannot think of a single reason why you shouldn't read this book. It's fantastic. Both highly political and incredibly funny - it's the book I wish I'd been given to see me through being a teenager and to prepare me for later life. And no, I never went to an elite prep school with a bunch of stuffy trainee 'old boys' and a 60 year old all-male secret society... but I, like every girl I know, could have done with the reassurance that being your own person is more important than fitting the mold and that women are worth more than just a chest measurement. The story spoke to me on many levels and addressed issues that I have written articles on and feel very strongly about.

On the surface, it's a high school tale of cliques, first loves and mischief - quite like the author's The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver and the other Ruby Oliver books. I enjoyed reading about Ruby and frequently related to her but, for me, Frankie Landau-Banks was all the more kick-ass, funny and just so memorable. She's a 5-star heroine and the perfect partner in crime... if only she were real.

The writing in this novel was flawless with some hilarious dialogue between the characters, particularly regarding some of Frankie's ridiculous neglected positives, it's such a silly idea that shouldn't be so funny but I have no idea how many times I must have laughed. Little scenes like this are what made the book for me:

"They're not puppets, they're muppets," said Frankie. "I have a serious and justified love for Kermit that I will parage to the end."
"Parage?"
"Parage. The neglected postive of disparage."
"You mean defend. You will defend Kermit to the end."
"Parage."
"Praise?"
"Parage. I will parage him. And Animal, too. I love Animal. I used to watch that show on DVD all the time when I was little."
Trish changed the subject. "We should do facials and paint our toenails Friday before they pick us up. What do you say, blow through dinner and come back here for girlie stuff?"
Frankie said, "You're on. When we're finished, we'll be absolutely sheveled."
"You'll be sheveled," said Trish. "I'm a normal person."

I mean, come on, that's funny. And she's so effin' stubborn it's great. I just loved Frankie and loved the plot and loved the book. I took notes on the damn thing. No, really, there are parts of this book that you just have to note down. By 'you', of course, I actually mean me.

I also want to point out for all you cynical people who "bah humbug" at novels set in high schools following a girl through her relationships and pranky misdeeds... this really is a great political statement. But it's in the dialogue and Frankie's awesomeness that it's revealed, sometimes subtle and sometimes not. My favourite thing about it is how the school represents today's society as a whole and the truths about the equality myth. Because, sadly, even though men and women are supposed to have the same opportunities and they are now allowed into the same professions, they sit at the same tables and they even become friends, beneath it all there is still an inner circle - rather like a secret society - that continues to slam the door in a woman's face. But better than this metaphor is the message behind it: that if you put your mind to it, you don't have to accept the way things are. That you have the ability to change the way of the world. Or the way of a prep school. Like Frankie does.

...more

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Oct 30, 2008 zan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: recent-favorites

Next time I see a 15-year-old girl reading Twilight, I will promptly yoink it from her hands and replace it with this. (As long as she's not already dressed as a vampire.) ...more

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Sep 06, 2015 Ariel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A solid, teen, feminist novel!

I really enjoy e. lockhart's writing and this book didn't let me down! A story about a girl navigating a boarding school where boys have some /special/ privileges over girls, she starts to fight against that system. I liked the main character, enjoyed the boarding school setting, and really appreciated the feminist angle. My only reason for not giving this 5 stars is that I don't think that a) it did anything particularly new with plot or character development, and ...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Nataliya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, awesome-kickass-heroines, for-my-future-hypothetical-daughter, 2014-reads

You need to look past the surface cuteness to see this story for what it really is.

- It's about power. The allure of it, the desire for it, the sharp understanding of it.
- It's about ambition, unashamed and unabashed.
- It's about forcing your way through the doors that are not meant to open for you.

It's about the formation of a future astute politician.

Meet Frankie Landau-Banks.

“And so, another possibility—the possibility I hold out for—is that Frankie Landau-Banks will open the doors she is

“And so, another possibility—the possibility I hold out for—is that Frankie Landau-Banks will open the doors she is trying to get through.
And she will grow up to change the world.”

E. Lockhart is a mastermind who knows very well how to play with her readers' perceptions and expectations. In writing a story about a young woman trying so hard to grow out of being a 'Bunny Rabbit', a 'harmless' 'pretty package' sweet and sensitive young girl supportively watching her boyfriend and his friends learn to grow into their birthright of securely powerful WASPs, she created a story that can be so temping to pigeonhole:

- into the story about a boarding school and secret societies.
- into the story of learning about feminism.
- into an unfortunate love story.
- into a coming of age story.
- into a story about the silly problems of those who have all the privilege and none of the real struggle.

But it's more that any of the above.

And I stick with my idea that the glue that keeps this story together and elevates it head and shoulders above so many others is precisely the theme of power and ambition and politics; all this in a young woman who typically is not associated with any of the above, whose role is traditionally supposed to be something different - so different, that when she deviates from it, she's viewed somewhere on the borderline between 'obsessed' and 'psychotic'.

But Frankie knows what she wants.

“Matthew had called her harmless. Harmless. And being with him made Frankie feel squashed into a box—a box where she was expected to be sweet and sensitive (but not oversensitive); a box for young and pretty girls who were not as bright or powerful as their boyfriends. A box for people who were not forces to be reckoned with.

Frankie wanted to be a force.”

Frankie Landau-Banks comes from a life of privilege. Her family is rich and connected. Her exclusive New England preparatory school is a feeder school for Harvard. Everyone is rich (but , of course, tastefully not flaunting it), mostly WASP, smart and well-spoken and bristling with security that befits those destined by birthright and money to make it big in this world, to rule. Forging connections here is important because Frankie's classmates will be the ruling elite. One of them may even run for President one day.

“Senior’s boyhood days were still the largest looming factor in his conception of himself. His former schoolfellows were his closest friends. They were the people he golfed with, the people he invited for drinks, the people whose country homes he visited on vacation. They were people he recommended for jobs; people who sent him patients and asked him to sit on boards of arts organizations; people who connected him to other people.”

The problem is: while they can strive to be the President, in this world Frankie's brightest ambition *should* be the First Lady. Support on the sidelines. A pretty package. Unable to enter the Old Boys world.

And that stings.

“And because of her sex, because of her age, because (perhaps) of her religion and her feminism, she could sit at their table every day and she would never, never, ever get in.

Frankie had fallen in love not only with Matthew but with his group of friends. And she knew they didn’t rate her as anyone important.”

That's where this book drew criticisms from many: that Frankie wants to assert power by infiltrating the world of the secret boy society, that she does not instead go and start her own thing (like her Berkeley-educated sister suggests), that she does not find something worthier than the Old Boy power squabbles, that she wants to take over something that the 'old society' created instead of proudly denouncing it and building something new.

Maybe her idealism is simply lacking?

“Please, that is so antiquated. The institutions of male supremacy only have real power over you if you buy into that notion. Go found your own club and tell them they can’t join. Or better yet, drop the idea of clubs altogether because they’re exclusionary, and embrace some other, more flexible way of connecting with people.”

“But, Zada.” Frankie wanted to explain about the door being closed, about wanting to push through the door, about wanting not to feel small and second-best at the table. But Zada cut her off.”

Or maybe Frankie already realizes at the age of fifteen, in the middle of her “intellectual explosion sophomore year”: the power is where it is, and instead of carving herself a niche on the outskirts of the 'old boys' universe - a niche that the ones in power can go on blissfully ignoring - she does not see why exactly she cannot just join, participate - and, perhaps, overtake.

She wants in, and she wants her share of existing power. She refuses to be kept on the sidelines, and in order to avoid it you need to step into the WASP nest. You need to go off the beaten path of creating your own niche and claw your way into the rigid the world that already has power, and bend it into the shape that suits you - instead of waiting for someone else to finally hand you what you deserve.

“Frankie Landau-Banks is an off-roader.

She might, in fact, go crazy, as has happened to a lot of people who break rules. Not the people who play at rebellion but really only solidify their already dominant positions in society—as did Matthew and most of the other Bassets—but those who take some larger action that disrupts the social order. Who try to push through the doors that are usually closed to them. They do sometimes go crazy, these people, because the world is telling them not to want the things they want. It can seem saner to give up—but then one goes insane from giving up.”

Frankie's plans may have not exactly gone as she expected. Yes, she was misunderstood. Yes, the ones wanting to pigeonhole her found ways to continue doing it instead of taking a good look at their perceptions and prejudices. Yes, the others may have thought the problem was with Frankie and not the rest of her insular world. Yes, she was hurt and lonely and angry.

But none of this made her doubt even for a moment that there are things that need to be changed, and things that she wants, and that she is not going to quit doing exactly what she wants to do and achieve what she wants to achieve.

“Frankie did not accept life as it was presently occurring. It was a fundamental element of her character. Life as it was presently occurring was not acceptable to her.”

And it's for this tenacity, perseverance and refusal to neatly fit into the predetermined role in somebody else's universe that I love Frankie Landau-Banks.

Don't cross her path and try to hold her back.
Because the power is hers and she will do amazing things with it someday.
We can only hope those great things will also be good.

“It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can’t see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow. It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people.

She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her she should be. That Bunny Rabbit is dead.”

...more

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May 28, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, mg-not-ya, hipster-ya, dnf, underwhelmed, annoying-main-characters, brain-candy, caper, read-2012

I've pushed through to 100 pages, but I just can't go on. For all its braininess, this book feels very juvenile to me, except that girls in most middle grade books are rarely this boy-crazy--and few of them have so little else going on their lives.

Here are some things that make it feel very young to me:

--the story seems to be centered around a "caper" in which Frankie tries to infiltrate a secret boys club
--three boys who don't recognize Frankie after her body develops (or pretend not to, anyway ...more

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Sep 18, 2010 karen rated it liked it

Shelves: and-so-this-is-grad-school, why-yes-i-ya

mary lou retton two times!!

this is the teen fiction the good girls read. girls without problems like anorexia or cutting or promiscuity or retrograde amnesia. the ones whose mothers don't need to worry about them rotting their brains on vampires and rainbow parties. the ones janis ian envied:

"high school girls with clear skinned smiles who married young and then retired"

i mean, it is published by disney, so i wasn't expecting smut and guts, but it's pretty precious and twee, qualities which usua mary lou retton two times!!

this is the teen fiction the good girls read. girls without problems like anorexia or cutting or promiscuity or retrograde amnesia. the ones whose mothers don't need to worry about them rotting their brains on vampires and rainbow parties. the ones janis ian envied:

"high school girls with clear skinned smiles who married young and then retired"

i mean, it is published by disney, so i wasn't expecting smut and guts, but it's pretty precious and twee, qualities which usually give me the angers.

reading the prologue, i thought i was going to hate it - all those cutesy perky wordplays - eventually you learn there is a reason for it, but that doesn't make it any less irritating.it is like the kid sister of special topics in calamity physics, a book i rather enjoyed, but i can totally understand other people's hatred of.

at the end of the day, it is a cutesy adventure story for spunky girls. like... like... mary lou retton!

there are a number of positive things about this book; smart girl with energy and a mischievous mind who tries to overthrow an all-male secret society (who hasn't been there, right??) but for all her grrl power, she ain't no feminist. even when attempting flirtation with her older boy love interest, she mentally tests and rejects a number of responses, rating them on the basis of "how he will respond and what it will say about me as a person." what happened to just being yourself, and not a weirdly manipulative and calculating freak? where is sassy magazine c. 1991 for this chick??

and at the end THIS IS WHERE I AM TALKING A LITTLE ABOUT THE ENDING OF THE BOOK, DIG?? when she fails to win the respect of the boys she has been following around and on the one hand being a secret leader to, but on the other hand, really just trying to impress them so they will accept her regardless of her gender, she gets a little shrieky and petulant which just makes her come across as a victim, which is way unattractive. plus, the club she wants to get into is super-lame. a real girl-power book would have her start her own secret society with the couple of girls who are worth anything in this book and like band together in a prank-off (i mean, isn't this practically a disney template?? stop slacking, mickey...) and then it would all end in a spectacular floor routine in a leotard the color of victory.

it's not painful to read or anything, but i have a feeling elizabeth would fulking HATE it...

come to my blog! ...more

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Apr 26, 2010 CeJayCe rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I'm more than a third of the way into it and, I've gotta say, I'm disappointed. There's too much build up. So far, all I'm getting is a over-analyzation of every aspect of Frankie's relationship with Matthew. You'd think this far in I'd at least get some kind of clue as to what she's done that was so big.

Now I've gotten to Porter and the cheese fries and, even though she may be making a valid point--Porter shouldn't be more worried about her well-being now just because she's prettier, she sound ...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Tatiana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: 2009, printz, 2016, 2018, 2010, i-am-so-over-you, ya, national-book-award, book-club

Update 8/21/2018
What a difference 2 years make. It feels like this book has aged 30 years since I read it last time in 2016. Amazing how much the conversation around feminism and privilege changed in such a short time. Hard to recommend this book now though.

Update 9/16/2016
Considering it's a 8-year old YA novel and how much YA has improved over these 8 years, I think it held up pretty well. Maybe not 5 stars any more, but still worthy of a read.

Originally
This is definitely one of those clever a ...more

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Apr 24, 2008 Kevin Fanning rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

June 2011:
Just re-read this over the weekend. Still so good. I can't even comprehend how you write an ending like this. Absolutely one of my favorite fictional characters.

April 2008:
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 ...more

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Sep 20, 2014 Summer rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: definitely not for people who want to become feminists

Shelves: contemporary

It's a feminist novel, they said. It won a Printz-award, they said.

What I say:

***

The synopsis should have set off sirens in my head.

From the summary alone, what does this seem like? The story of a Mary Sue obsessed with herself. Oh, goody. *eye roll*

In reality, this was a book about a girl who thinks she's better than the entire female population and spends the majority of her high school career trying to prove herself to guys.

Now tell me, how is this in any way "feminist" (which ...more

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Jan 12, 2010 Minli rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, awesome-writing, sucky-endings, adorable, book-soulmate, contemporary, favourites

5 Things I liked about The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

1. The female protagonist does NOT spend it lamenting her appearance or lack of popularity/finesse. Nobody likes a sue, but some people actually are curvy, good-looking, confident, funny and smart--though of course they all have insecurities from time to time. But woo-hoo for being well-adjusted! Though we get a lot of Frankie's internal dialogue, she did not strike me as whiny. One of the best things I like ab 5 Things I liked about The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

1. The female protagonist does NOT spend it lamenting her appearance or lack of popularity/finesse. Nobody likes a sue, but some people actually are curvy, good-looking, confident, funny and smart--though of course they all have insecurities from time to time. But woo-hoo for being well-adjusted! Though we get a lot of Frankie's internal dialogue, she did not strike me as whiny. One of the best things I like about this book is that the protagonist is RATIONAL. She analyzes. She thinks! She debates!

2. Lockhart writes 'old school prep' in a way that's realistic (at least, as realistic as I can imagine, myself being on the fringes of that sort of society) and that doesn't make my eyes roll. Frankie seems very conscious of the prestige, wealth, networking and tradition that goes with a stuffy school like Alabaster. Popularity and entitlement are not wish-fulfilling fantasies, but essential elements that make up her world.

3. Frankie is by no means a perfect character. In fact, the flaws in the main characters are what makes the novel so fantastic: Frankie herself, Matthew, and Alpha, and to some lesser extent Elizabeth and Porter. My favourite supporting characters were probably Trish (the cookie baking feminist who is not ashamed of liking goofy guys who treat her nice and staying away from loud drunken parties) and Zada (Frankie's sister in her first year of college, who decided to go to Berkeley instead of Harvard, breaking their father's heart).

4. The story is set at a boarding school, with emphasis on school. There are lessons involved. Frankie learns things in classes that are later important to the plot. The schoolwork is interesting! I liked the musings on grammar, sociology/behaviour, surveillance and feminist studies.

5. The judicious use of the emails, notes, school papers and handwritten letters in the text. Some of the emails are laugh-out-loud funny, and the ones that aren't are interesting.

A fantastic read--if I liked to write, it would be the kind of book I wish I'd written. The only quibble I have with it is the ending, and that's just out of personal preference--I would have liked it to end on a more optimistic note, like perhaps at a Geek Conglomerate meeting where Frankie realises that there is more to Alabaster than the prestige/brotherhood of The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. And she knows it in her heart, but that scene with Matthew so many weeks later with Frankie still hurt over his cold rejection, just makes me shake. She's brilliant, and the book would have been more satisfying to me if the empowering part of the coda was longer. ...more

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Aug 21, 2008 Sonia Reppe rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: boarding-school, young-adult-teen-lit

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 that he would 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 that he wouldn't tell her about it. Frankie, it's a secret boys club! Start your own secret girls club! That's my opinion. She was so annoying. If a character said something like, for example, "boys are more agressive than girls because of their testosterone"—which is true, right? (I personally believe there wouldn't be any wars if there weren't any men) she jumped all over them with a smart rebuttal. Her boyfriend couldn't even call her "adorable" or give her his shirt to wear without arising the debate of: is he marking his territory or does he respect her for her mind? These are good questions to ask, but the problem I have is, I did not buy that Frankie was in love with Matthew at all, even though the book said she was. The book also did not acknowledge any such thing as chemistry between them. Frankie was all sore that Matthew's buddies had higher status than she did with him; how DARE he put them before HER when she has been going out with him for THREE WHOLE MONTHS! OMG! Maybe another reason I didn't connect with Frankie was the brisk tone of the book. Her story was chronicled with a hip, journalistic brevity. My last thoughts: guys love to do guy things; what's wrong with that? They will play video games and watch sports till the end of time, and ignore their women while doing it. Frankie, ironically, seemed so needy. I thought Frankie went about making her point in the wrong way (she basically broke a lot of rules) and ultimately, it was about getting the attention of the boys. ...more

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Sep 26, 2014 Kristina Horner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Gah, I loved this book so incredibly much, but upon finishing I find myself so RILED UP and ANGRY on Frankie's behalf and I understand her frustrations so fully. The feminist themes in this story were executed with grace and keen wit, and it never felt preachy. I just wanted to reach in the book and hug Frankie and let her know that some day, people on Tumblr would totally understand what she's going through. Her struggles were so real and I just enjoyed it so immensely. Highly recommend. ...more

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May 03, 2008 Emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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, and catches the 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, and catches the eye of Matthew Livingston, who is cute, and powerful, and rich, and funny.

He also happens to be one of the Kings of Alabaster's secret (and all-male) Loyal Order of Basset Hounds. Frankie knows, vaguely, about the Hounds - her father was one - but when she comes to realize that she'll always just be a girl in Matthew's social circle, there to be adorable but never powerful, always underestimated, always disposable, always erasable, she decides to mastermind the Basset Hounds' return to their former pranking glory.

It's icing on the cake if she can finally get some decent vegetables in the salad bar.

This doesn't do justice to how well Lockhart writes about the social order. I couldn't get into Tamora Pierce because she is writing about the overt, out-loud sexism to which I've never really been exposed. But I've lived through what Lockhart is talking about: the way you pretend it's interesting to watch your guy friends play video games because you don't want to be relegated to the role of that girl who bakes crumbles while her guy friends are playing video games. The way that you get subtly ignored and underestimated.

And what's cool is that for all it's such a feminist book, Frankie is allowed to read gossip magazines, and paint her nails, and basically - she's allowed to be stereotypically feminine AND bring down the patriarchy. I don't do stereotypical femininity very well, but that only has so much to do with feminism. It's NOT about the big power structures that Frankie goes up against. And Frankie is also allowed to be prideful, and insecure, and way too much in love for her own good, and that never undermines who she is as a criminal mastermind.

One of the year's best YA books. ...more

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Dec 08, 2014 Melanie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, books-i-own, contemporary, could-have-been-so-much-better, bleh, romance, young-adult

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

Reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks just goes to show that loving one book by an author doesn't guarantee you'll love every book by that said author. (I should know this after reading so many books but no, I am a person who never learns ._.) I read We Were Liars almost a year ago and well, let's just say it made my top 10 reads of 2014. (If you want to know why I loved it, I suggest you check out the discussion review/fangirling session C ...more

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Dec 04, 2017 Dannii Elle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-academia-ambition, contemporary-cuteness, young-adult-books-read

This book has aged so well. I am continually impressed with this author's compelling story-lines and unforgettable characters, and this book is no exception. Frankie's feminist ideologies and consistent challenging of the patriarchy made this book have continual resonance and relevance today. Definitely one of the thematically strongest contemporary stories I have read. ...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Keertana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kick-ass-heroines

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, especially since I found the first third of the novel to be excruciatingly boring and hard to get through, not to mention I hated the narration style with a passion. Yet, despite all that, Lockhart's novel truly spoke to me. It's marketed as being a feminist novel and while in some ways it definitely is, in more ways than one I feel as if it is simply a coming-of-age story about a girl who was discovering herself, what s ...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Clare Cannon rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Adults

Shelves: young-adult, adults

Frankie is a 15-year-old knockout who graduated so recently from geeky girlhood that’s she’s still dusting its dirt from her clothes. With her newfound popularity comes a dawning ambition for power. She seeks recognition not just for her looks and smart comments, but for her superior intelligence and ability to do what she wants, even if the way is barred.

She became the girlfriend of idolised Matthew Livingstone by falling off her bike, prompting him to gallantly come to her aid. But she doesn’t ...more

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Jan 08, 2009 Sara rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: young-adult, did-not-finish, 2009

Blah. Having heard so much good buzz about this book (and this author), I decided to check it out. Unfortunately, I couldn't even finish the book, and it makes me wonder why this book is on anyone's list of the best books of the year. The writing style irritated me, as it was trying overly hard to be cutesy and funny, with lots of paragraphs reading like, "She thought ____. Then ______. And then ____." Lame. Furthermore, I didn't even like any of the characters, and Frankie (the main character) ...more

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Aug 13, 2019 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, literary, contemporary, physically-owned-books, lol, unexpectedly-good

Sleek, smart, artistic and yet very subtle, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a very entertaining, very funny YA boarding school story that takes up pranks and secret societies to a whole new level and in the process rightfully condemning patriarchy and proudly raising the flag of feminists.

I enjoyed the use of word play so much, the neglected positives. I thought they were really funny. I was very much “turbed” with the writing because I was definitely not “perturbed.” Lol.
B ...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Megan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, not-mine-library, ya-summer-challange-2011

How is it that this book so popular and well received? Frankie Landau-Banks is a bright, witty girl with issues. Lots and lots of issues which never get resolved let alone addressed. We meet her at the beginning of her sophomore year at the highly prestigious boarding school, Alabaster Preparatory Academy. In a moment that is clearly a blatant Three’s Company rip-off, Frankie is so distracted by the butt of her longtime crush, Matthew Livingston, that she falls from her bicycle. Matthew hears th ...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Jo rated it it was amazing

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Awhh, hell yeah.

High Points.
Everything about this book is a high point for me. We have girls kicking ass. We have posh public school. We have secret societies. We have the most amazing pranks IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. We have full on belly-laughter. We have full on heartbreak. And, most importantly, we have arrogant boys getting their just desserts. FIST PUMP.

Low Point.
I have only two low points about this book. The first being that I didn’t read this when I was in high ...more

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Mar 12, 2011 reading is my hustle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Excellent read about a sassy, smart, and fearless young woman who is determined to be more than arm candy and uses her shrewd intellect to outsmart the boys. Part grrrl power, part social commentary, AND equal parts wicked fun.

This is one of those books that I wish schools would use as part of the curriculum instead of Lord of the Flies. Reading about Frankie subverting the power structure of an elite boarding is MUCH more interesting.

Essay question:

What does it mean that once Frankie's crimes ...more

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Feb 09, 2011 rachel rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, lady-lit, 2011

I think I should flag myself here and now from reading any more teen books that are rumored to have "feminist" messages, short of sci-fi/fantasy girl survivalist sorts of books. Because the pressures of real life teen girlhood seem too complex to yield a fully realized heterosexual, cisgendered, and feminist heroine who happens to still be in high school. Horomones are raging too strong. Boys matter too much at that age and, in the interest of honesty, even after it too.

Frankie Landau-Banks is n I think I should flag myself here and now from reading any more teen books that are rumored to have "feminist" messages, short of sci-fi/fantasy girl survivalist sorts of books. Because the pressures of real life teen girlhood seem too complex to yield a fully realized heterosexual, cisgendered, and feminist heroine who happens to still be in high school. Horomones are raging too strong. Boys matter too much at that age and, in the interest of honesty, even after it too.

Frankie Landau-Banks is not your usual YA main character, which means she's good-looking, fairly well off, undamaged, and not cruel. She's starting her sophomore year at an elite private high school, where, having blossomed into this pretty, smart girl over the summer, she's quickly snatched up by the boy of her dreams, popular senior Matthew Livingston. He's a little condescending and wants more to protect her and show her off than to treat her as a capable, intelligent person of her own. Frankie doesn't like it, but she likes the way she feels being on Matthew's arm. When she finds that he's a member of a secret society of pranksters -- the cream of the crop club at the school, and membership is boys only -- she gets mad. Like all famous spitfires in history, Frankie comes up with a plan to get even.

Let's start with the good: the book is well written. Lockhart writes in a sweeping, textured, whimsical third person omniscient style that sort of emulates all of the kids lit classics (Peter Pan, The Secret Garden immediately came to my mind). When you read a book that's written in this way and is well done too, you can't help but feel that you are reading about An Important Person, even if the story is a little less than satisfying.

That said, the problems I had with this book are as follows:

1.) I like highly intelligent female main characters. Lockhart apparently does too, since she keeps reminding us over and over (and over) again that Frankie is beautiful and basically a teenage prodigy. To me, her demonstrated intelligence actually seems more like savviness -- which is a form of being smart, but "smart" and "savvy" are not synonymous. So the repetition of her ~*~*superior*~*~ intelligence without it actually being demonstrated bothered me in the way that all Mary Sues bother me.

2.) Frankie does what she does to subvert the order of the Good Old Boys. That's what Lockhart tells us. But Lockhart also tells us that Frankie wants the boys to be impressed by her, keeps reminding us that she personally likes the boys even though she wants to teach them a lesson. This is a nice look at the conflicting desires of a teenage girl in her budding feminism, but I don't think Frankie is meant to be as complex a character. I think she's meant to be a heroine. At the end of the book, Lockhart gives us this speech about how a girl like Frankie will change the world. I can't help but think that wanting the approval of the boys along the way as she does, wanting personal recognition and inclusion by the boys (rather than starting a group of her own) will continue to be a hindrance. Frankie's spunky, but she's not the undaunted, righteous Sister Suffragette I sorta hoped she'd be.

3.) Even more problematic than Frankie wanting to win the admiration of the boys she likes as a "feminist character" is her relationship to other girls in the story. She thinks that the girl her ex-boyfriend cheats on her with is plain, a trade in of her "model" for "another model who's not that great". Frankie gets to know another sophomore girl who's dating a senior boy, and this girl is characterized as way too dense to be real, an obvious foil for that intellect of Frankie's. And she actually calls the secret society's "alpha dog" character's girlfriend "the She-Wolf," for how the girl doggedly follows her boyfriend around. Surely we can have a feminist character who doesn't condescendingly disparage other women in the process?

But I don't know. Because again, I think maybe it's unreasonable for me to expect a 15 year old girl in the beginning stages of feminism to be fully realized. She's not as mean about these other girls as she could be at that age. She's not totally subservient to the boys, and at least makes an effort to reject their hold on her in favor of a little empowerment. It's a step up AND IT'S TEEN FICTION, YES, but I kept thinking "you've got a long way, baby." ...more

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Jan 09, 2015 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, young-adult, contemporary, allen-and-unwin, review-copy

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Feminism is an important topic, especially for those who unknowingly reinforce these gender stereotypes without realising how it impacts societal attitudes. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks features a character who believes she is feminist, but this is not a feminist book.

Frankie Landau-Banks annoyed me to no end. She’s obsessed with her crush, Matthew, and is delighted when he starts taking an interest in her This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Feminism is an important topic, especially for those who unknowingly reinforce these gender stereotypes without realising how it impacts societal attitudes. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks features a character who believes she is feminist, but this is not a feminist book.

Frankie Landau-Banks annoyed me to no end. She’s obsessed with her crush, Matthew, and is delighted when he starts taking an interest in her. Despite being several years younger, she loves to run with her assumptions that he only sees her as a “cute, pleasant and beautiful young girl”. When she discovers his involvement in the male society of the Basset-Hounds, her behaviour becomes increasingly fixated, immature and obsessive. She wants to prove that she’s good enough to be a part of it, even though it’s historically been an order of males.

A healthy individual would either form her own female club, empower other females, or talk to Matthew about her concerns, but instead she stalks the guys for the entire book and plans on infiltrating their club. Why anyone would want to be part of a male exclusive club who plays pranks and swims around naked is only my guess. But it’s clear Frankie has some sort of inferiority complex for being born a woman.

Although there are some healthy topics and discussions of feminism, Frankie is annoyingly loud-mouthed, opinionated and righteous person who would go off at anyone who she perceives as anti-feminist. Some of these things, like alpha males wanting to protect women, could be right. But others, like Matthew and the boys not including her in the plans of the Basset-Hounds, aren’t so much and it was annoying when Frankie would spout off about being excluded. Her use of negative positive wording such as “gruntled” instead of “disgruntled” in normal conversation reinforces her superiority to everyone. I didn’t like Frankie and thought she had a whole heap of issues and I craved for them to be addressed in a healthy way.

Having read and loved We Were Liars, I was surprised at how different The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks was. It features long-winded, dry and dull writing, and is primarily about a teenage girl who feels insecure amongst men. Frankie is the type of person I would stay far away from and the book could have addressed feminism in a more meaningful manner. It does contain some good topics of discussion though, but the way it was executed just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Allen and Unwin Australia for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more

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Aug 13, 2017 Maddie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Frankie Landau-Banks was such a breath of fresh air. I absolutely loved her character and how she questioned literally everything about how boys and girls are treated in relationships and the real world. I was living for the boarding school secret society shenanigans and how Frankie was holding a middle finger up to the patriarchy but in such a brilliant and untraceable way.

Every girl, teenage or otherwise, needs to get their hands on this book and enjoy witnessing a man's world get turned upsi ...more

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Nov 24, 2008 Becky rated it liked it · review of another edition

I may get a few boos for this one. But I couldn't quite like it*. Blame it on the tense. Third person past tense (as far as I can reckon). Or blame it on the expostulating tone, purposefully pretentious and off-putting. A blend of intelligence and condescension. It's not like every page was of this style, but there were little asides by the narrator--I suppose it's the narrator--that just intruded in on the story. Created too much distance for my taste. Added in too much reflection.

How does a p I may get a few boos for this one. But I couldn't quite like it*. Blame it on the tense. Third person past tense (as far as I can reckon). Or blame it on the expostulating tone, purposefully pretentious and off-putting. A blend of intelligence and condescension. It's not like every page was of this style, but there were little asides by the narrator--I suppose it's the narrator--that just intruded in on the story. Created too much distance for my taste. Added in too much reflection.

How does a person become the person she is? What are the factors in her culture, her childhood, her education, her religion, her economic stature, her sexual orientation, her race, her everyday interactions--what stimuli lead her to make choices other people will despise her for?
This chronicle is an attempt to mark out the contributing elements in Frankie Landau-Banks's character. What led her to do what she did: things she would later view with a curious mixture of hubris and regret. Frankie's mental processes had been stimulated by Ms. Jensson's lectures on the panopticon , her encounters with Alpha, her mother's refusal to let her walk into town on the Jersey Shore, her observation of the joy Matthew took in rescuing her from her bicycle accident, and her anger at Dean for not remembering her. All these were factors in what happened next... (107)

I do like several things about it however. I just have a love-hate relationship with the narrative style. There are paragraphs that I love, and there are paragraphs that I hate. Phrases that I think are a bit too much, and phrases that I think are just right. I like how the first chapter begins, for example, "Though not, in hindsight, so startling as the misdeeds she would perpetrate when she returned to boarding school as a sophomore, what happened to Frankie Landau-Banks the summer after her freshman year was a shock." I think both the prologue and the first few chapters offer quite a hook or incentive to readers.

Frankie is a boarding school student whose sophomore year presents great opportunities for adventure and misadventure. She'll experience the ups and downs of having a relationship with a "popular" boy, a real somebody. Rich too. Her old friendships will be threatened by the aforementioned relationship and all that brings about. Frankie is smart. She's determined. She's got her own way of seeing the world. And none of those things are bad. All quite good actually.

It's not Frankie that I dislike but the meddling narrator who likes to tell instead of show.

*I'll qualify this statement. Based on the all the buzz, the hype, I couldn't "like" it as much as I "should". See, this is one that has been getting love all over the place. People saying it's the best of the best, one of the year's must-reads. A book people are just raving about. I didn't think it was that good, that deserving. But it's a good read. A solid read. I wouldn't put this one in my top ten of the year. I probably wouldn't even have it in the top twenty. But it is a good book all the same. In other words, I've read dozens and dozens that I disliked more than this one.

This is neither here nor there. But one of the things I found unbelievable was that Frankie's sister, Zada, took her under her wing. Zada's a senior. Frankie was a freshman. She let Frankie sit with her and her junior and senior friends at lunch. She allowed Frankie to tag along with her. To be a part of her "cool" set of friends. I have a hard time believing that even a good sister would do this. I shared two years of school with my sister, we overlapped two years I mean, and never once would I have been encouraged/allowed to sit with her at lunch. To hang out with her friends at school. It was one thing to be allowed to tag along after school (on occasion) or at home.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews ...more

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Oct 13, 2008 Virginia rated it did not like it · review of another edition

A story about a weak chick whose world revolves around what guys want her to do.

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Apr 15, 2009 Arlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-contemporary, read-2009, young-adult

I was definitely 'gruntled' when I read this book *you'll have to read the story to understand what that means* :) There are several reasons why I'm giving this book 5 stars (1) I'd definitely read this story over again, (2) I have no hesitation recommending it to others and (3) the storyline is original and very well written. I truly enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

Frankie Landau-Banks, the main character, attends Alabaster Academy, a widely-known boarding school for the kids of influe ...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Carla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: forever-love

I have a confession. I did what bloggers are not supposed to do. I googled the book and read bad reviews of this book. *gasp* I know, sue me. See the thing is, no one has ever recommended this book to me, I've never heard anyone talking about this book or telling me why I needed to read it. Stuff like this makes me curious, because I know people know who E Lockhart is, and I know a lot of people love the Ruby Oliver series. So why the radio silence on this book. Was it that it this book was so h I have a confession. I did what bloggers are not supposed to do. I googled the book and read bad reviews of this book. *gasp* I know, sue me. See the thing is, no one has ever recommended this book to me, I've never heard anyone talking about this book or telling me why I needed to read it. Stuff like this makes me curious, because I know people know who E Lockhart is, and I know a lot of people love the Ruby Oliver series. So why the radio silence on this book. Was it that it this book was so horrid and would damage my corneas by just reading the filth of the pages, or was it that this book was quite possibly so amazing, they didn't want anyone else to discover it, like they were hatching some plan to keep Frankie under wraps so they could keep her all to themsleves. Or maybe, I was so woefully, ignorantly out of the loop through my own fault.

I would like to start the shennanigans by stating that Frankie Landau-Banks might just be one of my favourite heronies. Not only is she so kick ass she could probably knock the karate kid down a notch, but she makes up words for fun. For fun. Now, most of you don't know me personally, but making up words is one of my favourite past times, like pretending to be able to speak forgein languages and dancing in front of the mirror with my remote. Plus, she is this crazy insane mastermind, I even think if she put her immensely clever mind to it, she could probably plot world domination and not even get caught. I can't even steal glances at people without getting caught.

So Frankie goes to this ultra posh boarding school also known as Albaster Prep School, this year she is hot and seems to have grown quite an impressive rack over the summer, which of course means that when she goes back to school as a Sophomore, she is the prime piece of arm candy for the hottest guy in school. The hottest guy in school is also called Matthew, though, Alpha was most definately my favourite. 1, he was blond, 2, he was actually cleverer than he let on, and disguised intelligance makes me feel kind of sweaty. Him and his friends are part of this secret society called The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, not that Frankie is supposed to know about this, but go with it, (she's like a spy with fashion sense!) Not only does Matthew not tell Frankie about his secret boys only club, but her tries to start bossing her around, which does not go down well with Frankie.

Now, any other girl would just accept that her boyfriend had this boy club and not actually care that she was never invited to join or let into the camerarderie of it all, which even she admits, is the thing she cares about most of all. Not Frankie. Sick and tired of feeling underestimated and unworthy, all because she owns a pair of boobs, Frankie fights back. I will say it now, girl power is one of the best kinds of power. Sticking it to the Man, she infiltrates the group, masquerading as one of their own and commands them to pull a series of well thought out, insanely clever pranks. Shes like a puppet master pulling their little boy strings and making them do whatever she asks, without them even knowing it was her. If that is not pure love rolled up into a mastermind sneaky troublesome feminist, then I dont know what is.

My favourite thing was that although she loved hanging with Matthew and his friends, Frankie was never scared of saying what she thought, she wouldn't fade into the shadows of their exclusivity, she was her own person dammit and she wanted them to see her for the person she was, rather the person she was with. Social order could suck it as far as Frankie was concerned, who cared that the club had been only open to males since it originated, wasn't this the 21st century, where women were now classed as equals to men. They had the right to vote, so why not the right to join some crummy club a bunch of grodie boys were running into the ground.

Conformity is never something i've been comfortable with, I don't like to be told what to do and I hate being undermined by people. Its rude and unneccesary, so when Frankie basically give them all the finger and was like "screw you, i'm going to do what I want, and none of you nimwits can stop me, because i've got more brains in my big toe than you've got in that delicious head of yours" (shes talking to Alpha or Matthew here I suspect) I nearly broke out the awesome dance. Like, if I could've put the book down for one second, the dance would've been danced. This book made me question everything, it made me realise that young adult literature needs more fiesty kick ass girls, girls who can outsmart boys headed to Harvard.

This is a book that makes me happy I read YA, it was witty, intelligent, and a genius new spin on feminisim and how fighting back against the social order is something each and everyone of us should try sometime, even if its some lame ass unspoken rule. So next time i'm on the bus i'm going to talk to myself and not care that people think i'm crazy, i'll just be sticking it to the Man. Brilliant, one of the best books i've read this year. ...more

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About E. Lockhart

E. Lockhart

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E. Lockhart is the author of Again Again, Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and several other novels.

website: www.emilylockhart.com
Instagram: elockhartbooks
Twitter: elockhart
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“It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can't see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow. It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people.

She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her to be. That Bunny Rabbit is dead.” — 439 likes

“She will not be simple and sweet.
She will not be what people tell her she should be.” — 281 likes

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