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abaugher's review against another edition
4.0
another strong central female character! i'm inevitably drawn to this type of book. I liked the word play too, and the concept of the Panopticon as how our society functions--people always feeling that they are being watched and so they modify their behavior based upon that feeling.
norabelle's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mfalcon948's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alidottie's review against another edition
3.0
This was one of those YA books that feels like it is truly for YA. I'm sure I liked it less because I listened to it instead of reading though. It is fun enough and empowering to girls enough, but it just wasn't as witty or powerful as I would have liked.
baileyrosethornton's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
renuked's review against another edition
4.0
The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds is mysterious and secretive. It propagates confusion, disorder, and anarchy. It's about connection and bonding. And Frankie Landau-Banks wants in.
The book was cute, funny and entertaining. It empowered women. But more than that, this book analyzed the perceptions of power. Frankie Landau-Banks is a girl on a mission - to cause as much disturbance as possible, and to prove herself. The characters were good, especially Frankie herself. She was motivated, intelligent and hilarious. The boys were all equally intriguing and irritating. The writing was beyond fabulous, especially the neglected positives of words (ex. maculate, gruntled, mayed, nocuous).
The only thing I didn't love were the pranks themselves (they just didn't feel grand enough), and how Frankie's secret was exposed. I wanted her to gather power around her, create a following. I wanted to see the complete shock and disbelief on the people who had doubted her and were now forced to eat their words. I wanted more retribution. Instead, for me at least, the ending fell a little flat. Frankie deserved better than the way the bottom fell out of the book and just petered out. I wanted her to go out with a bang; create the ultimate prank. (Sigh, I guess I'm just wishing for crazier shenanigans).
There were many high points. I really enjoyed the dialogue and Frankie's determination to overset tradition. She wasn't a regular character, she was hungry for control and she took it. Everything she did had social significance and I loved it. Overall, it was pretty outstanding even though it wasn't quite disreputable enough.
PS. Out of all the boys, I liked Alpha the best. But they were all jerks anyway.
The book was cute, funny and entertaining. It empowered women. But more than that, this book analyzed the perceptions of power. Frankie Landau-Banks is a girl on a mission - to cause as much disturbance as possible, and to prove herself. The characters were good, especially Frankie herself. She was motivated, intelligent and hilarious. The boys were all equally intriguing and irritating. The writing was beyond fabulous, especially the neglected positives of words (ex. maculate, gruntled, mayed, nocuous).
The only thing I didn't love were the pranks themselves (they just didn't feel grand enough), and how Frankie's secret was exposed. I wanted her to gather power around her, create a following. I wanted to see the complete shock and disbelief on the people who had doubted her and were now forced to eat their words. I wanted more retribution. Instead, for me at least, the ending fell a little flat. Frankie deserved better than the way the bottom fell out of the book and just petered out. I wanted her to go out with a bang; create the ultimate prank. (Sigh, I guess I'm just wishing for crazier shenanigans).
There were many high points. I really enjoyed the dialogue and Frankie's determination to overset tradition. She wasn't a regular character, she was hungry for control and she took it. Everything she did had social significance and I loved it. Overall, it was pretty outstanding even though it wasn't quite disreputable enough.
PS. Out of all the boys, I liked Alpha the best. But they were all jerks anyway.
suedd's review against another edition
4.0
Frankie is smart and spunky. Her difficulty transitioning from Bunny Rabbit to beauty to independent thinker is well portrayed. Boarding school setting and lots of pranks should make this high interest, but probably only to girls.
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
The summer before her sophomore year at the esteemed Alabaster Prep boarding school, Frankie “Bunny Rabbit” Landau-Banks grows into an attractive young woman. With her new physique comes male attention in the form of Matthew Livingston, the handsome and self-assured senior Frankie’s had her eye on for a while; admittance into his enviable group of friends…and not much else, she soon begins to realize. For everyone only knows her as “Matthew’s Girl,” and if she even tries to make a semi-intelligent comment or argument, no one seems to really hear her.
So Frankie decides to take things into her own hands. There is a secret society at school, The Loyal Order of the Basset Hound, that stands for camaraderie, disorder, pranking…and masculinity, for it is an all-male club. Frankie’s ultra-WASPy father was a proud basset hound, and so, now, are Matthew and his best friend, Alpha (correlation to his “pack” status totally intentional). But lately the Loyal Order of the Basset Hound has been slipping a bit in terms of the quality of prankstership. I mean, seriously, sticking forks in the grassy quad? How lamer can you get?
When Alpha leaves campus for a few days before Halloween, members of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hound begin to receive emails from the mysterious [email protected], instructing them of what they have to do in order to carry out delightfully roguish pranks. Soon the whole school is in a stir over the “social activism” of the Basset Hounds’ pranks; students laud—or just laugh—at the pranks, while the faculty is worried about these students’ mode of expression for their dissatisfaction in, say, cafeteria food.
Alpha gallantly accepts credit for being TheAlphaDog, the mastermind of the recent great pranks, but when TheAlphaDog’s identity is compromised and they must reveal who they are, who is it really? And what are the consequences for that student for usurping the brotherly bond that is the Loyal Order?
E. Lockhart takes us through a delectable romp of the secret lives of boarding school students in a lively novel that combines feminism, teenage boys, and a hearty dose of pranking.
So Frankie decides to take things into her own hands. There is a secret society at school, The Loyal Order of the Basset Hound, that stands for camaraderie, disorder, pranking…and masculinity, for it is an all-male club. Frankie’s ultra-WASPy father was a proud basset hound, and so, now, are Matthew and his best friend, Alpha (correlation to his “pack” status totally intentional). But lately the Loyal Order of the Basset Hound has been slipping a bit in terms of the quality of prankstership. I mean, seriously, sticking forks in the grassy quad? How lamer can you get?
When Alpha leaves campus for a few days before Halloween, members of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hound begin to receive emails from the mysterious [email protected], instructing them of what they have to do in order to carry out delightfully roguish pranks. Soon the whole school is in a stir over the “social activism” of the Basset Hounds’ pranks; students laud—or just laugh—at the pranks, while the faculty is worried about these students’ mode of expression for their dissatisfaction in, say, cafeteria food.
Alpha gallantly accepts credit for being TheAlphaDog, the mastermind of the recent great pranks, but when TheAlphaDog’s identity is compromised and they must reveal who they are, who is it really? And what are the consequences for that student for usurping the brotherly bond that is the Loyal Order?
E. Lockhart takes us through a delectable romp of the secret lives of boarding school students in a lively novel that combines feminism, teenage boys, and a hearty dose of pranking.
labunnywtf's review against another edition
5.0
Despite the fact that it is She Who Shall Be Shunned who recommends this, I am interested in giving it a try.
(It is, after all, her fault I'm a fan of John Green)
-----
When there's a negative word or expression-- immaculate for example-- but the positive is almost never used, and you choose to use it, you become rather amusing. Or pretentious. Or pretentiously amusing, which can sometimes be good.
----
He had brought her Strawberry mentos, after all. Shouldn't that be enough?
See status update re: stupid fucking themes in Twilight done properly in other works. The "I want to be with my boyfriend no matter what" is in play with this book, but it's done the right way, and it thrills me to no end.
-----
I will admit here and right now (for now) (only) (and only about books) that Lisa is right in her book recommendations.
And only books recommendations.
Because otherwise she sucks. Ask her to show you the John Green-signed proof of such.
This book is beyond every definition of awesome. Frankie is such a fantastic heroine. Not a Katniss heroine, kicking ass and taking names. She's smart, and sharp. You see that intelligence and wit grow as the book progresses, though she's not too shabby when we open.
She starts as Bunny Rabbit, a name that is given to her to equate her with softness and fluffiness. She's just a girl, a girl who's blossomed and is beautiful, but is still not really meant for much other than looking pretty and eventually finding a boyfriend to take care of her. She mentions it herself, that she's being put into the box. The box of beautiful, sensitive (not too sensitive), attentive, but not too curious. All these bunny boxes that she's not interested in nesting in.
Being that my nickname has been Bunny for almost 20 years, I don't consider being a Bunny to be anything close to softness and light.
Luckily, Frankie doesn't end up being quite the sociopath I am.
And it actually irks me that at the end, after all of these amazing and fantastical escapades she's masterminded, everyone starts shoving her into a new box. The Psychopath Box.
I can understand the headmaster flipping out (though not really, the pranks were harmless and brilliant), but for everyone to tell her she needs medication and therapy?
Pfft. Rich people.
There is a thread that was left hanging, though. All through the book, Alpha and Matthew seem to be having some kind of pissing contest when it comes to Frankie. It didn't seem in any way like a jealousy thing, neither that Alpha was jealous of Frankie for taking away Matthew, or that he was jealous of Matthew for dating Frankie. But this whole, "I can't talk to Matthew, and you know why."
No. No, we don't. Why, again?
A part of me was hoping it would turn out that Alpha was actually gay, and was interested in Matthew, but that didn't happen. Would've been a fantastic twist.
The pranks were so brilliantly thought out, I am in awe of Ms Lockhart. The neglected positives, I wish my brain worked fast enough to come up with those on the spur of the moment. So fun, so unexpected. It takes my obsession with using vocabulary too big for regular conversation and turns it up to 11.
Indubitably.
Lastly, here's my thing about themes in YA done better than Twilight.
Frankie becomes obsessed with keeping Matthew in her life. She wants to be part of his life, part of his world (insert singing here), and goes so far as to essentially stalk him to find out what the hell is going on.
Now. In the hands of some Stephenie Meyers who shall remain nameless, this is pathetic, and sad, and sets women back about 100 years.
But here's the thing. She doesn't just want to keep her boyfriend. She wants to keep the life that exists around her boyfriend. The dog pack, as they were, were this group of guys (and their occasionally vapid girlfriends...did anyone else picture Sara Gilbert from Roseanne as Elizabeth She-Wolf?) who lived larger than life. She came from a group of "geeks" who were great fun, had parties, were a world she was good at.
But she wanted more. She wanted in to this world. Sitting at the senior table when no one else was there was trying to become part of the world. It wasn't about needing to be there to spend time with her luuuurve, it was about, "Hey, I'm part of you guys now, so I will sit here in my spot until the rest of you arrive."
Being part of the Snoopy Dog Society (heh) was part of that. It was part of that world. And sadly, being part of it was a HUGE let down. She wanted to enact change. She wanted to plan these over-the-top pranks and damn the man, save the empire, and the pack she wanted so badly to be a part of were like, "Cool. Let's go drink beer."
This is the theme of, "Oh, no, my boyfriend is going to leave me," but with the best. possible. twist. I cannot express enough how much I loved this book.
FLB, if she were a real person, would grow up to smash the patriarchy to bits and pieces. I hope there are millions of FLBs in the world, just waiting for their chance.
(It is, after all, her fault I'm a fan of John Green)
-----
When there's a negative word or expression-- immaculate for example-- but the positive is almost never used, and you choose to use it, you become rather amusing. Or pretentious. Or pretentiously amusing, which can sometimes be good.
----
He had brought her Strawberry mentos, after all. Shouldn't that be enough?
See status update re: stupid fucking themes in Twilight done properly in other works. The "I want to be with my boyfriend no matter what" is in play with this book, but it's done the right way, and it thrills me to no end.
-----
I will admit here and right now (for now) (only) (and only about books) that Lisa is right in her book recommendations.
And only books recommendations.
Because otherwise she sucks. Ask her to show you the John Green-signed proof of such.
This book is beyond every definition of awesome. Frankie is such a fantastic heroine. Not a Katniss heroine, kicking ass and taking names. She's smart, and sharp. You see that intelligence and wit grow as the book progresses, though she's not too shabby when we open.
She starts as Bunny Rabbit, a name that is given to her to equate her with softness and fluffiness. She's just a girl, a girl who's blossomed and is beautiful, but is still not really meant for much other than looking pretty and eventually finding a boyfriend to take care of her. She mentions it herself, that she's being put into the box. The box of beautiful, sensitive (not too sensitive), attentive, but not too curious. All these bunny boxes that she's not interested in nesting in.
Being that my nickname has been Bunny for almost 20 years, I don't consider being a Bunny to be anything close to softness and light.
Luckily, Frankie doesn't end up being quite the sociopath I am.
And it actually irks me that at the end, after all of these amazing and fantastical escapades she's masterminded, everyone starts shoving her into a new box. The Psychopath Box.
I can understand the headmaster flipping out (though not really, the pranks were harmless and brilliant), but for everyone to tell her she needs medication and therapy?
Pfft. Rich people.
There is a thread that was left hanging, though. All through the book, Alpha and Matthew seem to be having some kind of pissing contest when it comes to Frankie. It didn't seem in any way like a jealousy thing, neither that Alpha was jealous of Frankie for taking away Matthew, or that he was jealous of Matthew for dating Frankie. But this whole, "I can't talk to Matthew, and you know why."
No. No, we don't. Why, again?
A part of me was hoping it would turn out that Alpha was actually gay, and was interested in Matthew, but that didn't happen. Would've been a fantastic twist.
The pranks were so brilliantly thought out, I am in awe of Ms Lockhart. The neglected positives, I wish my brain worked fast enough to come up with those on the spur of the moment. So fun, so unexpected. It takes my obsession with using vocabulary too big for regular conversation and turns it up to 11.
Indubitably.
Lastly, here's my thing about themes in YA done better than Twilight.
Frankie becomes obsessed with keeping Matthew in her life. She wants to be part of his life, part of his world (insert singing here), and goes so far as to essentially stalk him to find out what the hell is going on.
Now. In the hands of some Stephenie Meyers who shall remain nameless, this is pathetic, and sad, and sets women back about 100 years.
But here's the thing. She doesn't just want to keep her boyfriend. She wants to keep the life that exists around her boyfriend. The dog pack, as they were, were this group of guys (and their occasionally vapid girlfriends...did anyone else picture Sara Gilbert from Roseanne as Elizabeth She-Wolf?) who lived larger than life. She came from a group of "geeks" who were great fun, had parties, were a world she was good at.
But she wanted more. She wanted in to this world. Sitting at the senior table when no one else was there was trying to become part of the world. It wasn't about needing to be there to spend time with her luuuurve, it was about, "Hey, I'm part of you guys now, so I will sit here in my spot until the rest of you arrive."
Being part of the Snoopy Dog Society (heh) was part of that. It was part of that world. And sadly, being part of it was a HUGE let down. She wanted to enact change. She wanted to plan these over-the-top pranks and damn the man, save the empire, and the pack she wanted so badly to be a part of were like, "Cool. Let's go drink beer."
This is the theme of, "Oh, no, my boyfriend is going to leave me," but with the best. possible. twist. I cannot express enough how much I loved this book.
FLB, if she were a real person, would grow up to smash the patriarchy to bits and pieces. I hope there are millions of FLBs in the world, just waiting for their chance.
christiana's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so wonderful it kept me up half the night. Stop what you're doing and read this book right now. You can thank me later.