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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Okay, when I rated this book five stars, I didn't mean "OMG THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK EVER EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS FREAKIN BOOK!!!!!" I mean, everyone should read this book, but my point is that this book is not my favorite book. It was, however, amazing, which is the definition of five stars of goodreads.
So, if you haven't read this book and deciding if you should, then my advice to you is to read it. Especially if you love-hated "We Were Liars." I feel like that's e lockhart's style. She makes you hate every character, especially the main character. I don't know if I would call it realistic, because her books can seem like dreams, but the characters are just so vivid. Each of the main characters have such massive character flaws that it makes you more than mad. You will be furious the whole time, but both this book and "We Were Liars," if you haven't read that, will change your life. So you really should read this freakin book, because you will love it. It may seem cliche-ish at first, but trust me, e lockhart takes cliches and twists them into something completely unrecognizable.
And now, for the people who have read this book. HOLY CRAP. Like what?? Frankie is literally a psychopath, but I didn't notice until the end. Like, did anyone else realize this earlier? The reader is so into the book, so engrossed in her mind, that the reader thinks that Frankie's decisions are reasonable. The first sign of her insanity was her overanalyzing everything Zach said. She would go over all his words and then try to reply with something that would give her some sick advantage in the relationship. Then she got obsessed with creating those elaborate pranks for this society that didn't even know she was making them do it! Like, what was she gaining from this arrangement? So she could finally accept herself?
So yeah, this is kind of my first review of a book, and I would love to discuss that fascinating idea that we do things because someone could be watching us, even if nobody is. And I would discuss this, but I won't, not only because I can't remember the name of the idea, but also it kind of feels like I'm talking to myself. So yeah, amazing, mind-blowing book. Five stars.
So, if you haven't read this book and deciding if you should, then my advice to you is to read it. Especially if you love-hated "We Were Liars." I feel like that's e lockhart's style. She makes you hate every character, especially the main character. I don't know if I would call it realistic, because her books can seem like dreams, but the characters are just so vivid. Each of the main characters have such massive character flaws that it makes you more than mad. You will be furious the whole time, but both this book and "We Were Liars," if you haven't read that, will change your life. So you really should read this freakin book, because you will love it. It may seem cliche-ish at first, but trust me, e lockhart takes cliches and twists them into something completely unrecognizable.
And now, for the people who have read this book. HOLY CRAP. Like what?? Frankie is literally a psychopath, but I didn't notice until the end. Like, did anyone else realize this earlier? The reader is so into the book, so engrossed in her mind, that the reader thinks that Frankie's decisions are reasonable. The first sign of her insanity was her overanalyzing everything Zach said. She would go over all his words and then try to reply with something that would give her some sick advantage in the relationship. Then she got obsessed with creating those elaborate pranks for this society that didn't even know she was making them do it! Like, what was she gaining from this arrangement? So she could finally accept herself?
So yeah, this is kind of my first review of a book, and I would love to discuss that fascinating idea that we do things because someone could be watching us, even if nobody is. And I would discuss this, but I won't, not only because I can't remember the name of the idea, but also it kind of feels like I'm talking to myself. So yeah, amazing, mind-blowing book. Five stars.
I took around 3-4 days to finish this, so I'm pretty sure I have already forgotten things due to my undiagnosed short term memory span.
Okay, so I have mixed feelings about this one.
Things I liked:
1. I thought the plot's interesting compared to many other boy-meets-girl books (Not that there's anything wrong with those, but it just gets a little repetitive after a while.).
2. That's about it because I can't think of anything else.
Things I didn't like:
1. The writing style. The book is mostly written in third person POV but then a narrator pipes up out of nowhere and that pissed me off.
2. I don't get the main protagonist's motive, that is, I don't buy it. I don't know why exactly she did the things because she herself was dubious about that matter. My inner feminist complains about the fact that she may have acted like she did to get the attention On the other spectrum my inner feminist (I know it sounds like 'My inner goddess' from a goddamn popular series. May be I DID get influenced by it despite bitching about it.) feels happy that this girl was brave enough to come out of her stereotype. But like I said, the girl herself was confused so I'm not sure how to react to it.
3. I don't get Alpha's deal either. Why did he flirt with her in the beach and then feigned memory of it later? Are we supposed to come up with our own conclusion? I'm not that smart or patient enough so meh.
I went ahead and read this without even glancing at the blurb. I think I got this on a pack of other ebooks and I started reading it because the name kinda intrigued me. Can you tell that I couldn't come up with a conclusion so I just blabbered? BTW, thank you for reaching this far of this oh-so-boring review, I really appreciate it.
Okay, so I have mixed feelings about this one.
Things I liked:
1. I thought the plot's interesting compared to many other boy-meets-girl books (Not that there's anything wrong with those, but it just gets a little repetitive after a while.).
2. That's about it because I can't think of anything else.
Things I didn't like:
1. The writing style. The book is mostly written in third person POV but then a narrator pipes up out of nowhere and that pissed me off.
2. I don't get the main protagonist's motive, that is, I don't buy it. I don't know why exactly she did the things because she herself was dubious about that matter. My inner feminist complains about the fact that she may have acted like she did to get the attention
Spoiler
of her pretty boyfriend.3. I don't get Alpha's deal either. Why did he flirt with her in the beach and then feigned memory of it later? Are we supposed to come up with our own conclusion? I'm not that smart or patient enough so meh.
I went ahead and read this without even glancing at the blurb. I think I got this on a pack of other ebooks and I started reading it because the name kinda intrigued me. Can you tell that I couldn't come up with a conclusion so I just blabbered? BTW, thank you for reaching this far of this oh-so-boring review, I really appreciate it.
fast-paced
Engaging, clever YA novel for those of us who are, or were, smart teens with a keen sense of justice. I had to stay up late to finish it. E. Lockhart is such a great author!
(2.5) This book is a hard to rate because:
1. I can see that the are good parts and ideas of this book
2. Frankie is a reasonable ‘role model’ for the main people who would read this book
3. It has a good feminist message which is good
The problem is... I didn’t really enjoy it.
I found the constant shouting at people and deciding she is more important that others because she is a girl very tiring. I know this definitely is not what everyone has experienced reading this book but I just found her cocky and annoying a lot of the time instead of being a inspirational young feminist.
Towards the end of the book, she considers trying field hockey. She then goes on to discard this idea because she doesn’t want to play a sport that boys don’t play or watch. So this choice doesn’t really make any sense considering the entire idea of the novel (that being: I don’t want boys to tell me what to do! I don’t need a man! Don’t underestimate me!) So she doesn’t play hockey because the boys won’t watch her! That really spoiled the ending for me - I was finally warming up to the book by then! Basically she spent the entire book doing exactly what she thinks will make her look cool and get respect from idiot boys then finally when she could do something she likes, IGNORES IT BECAUSE THE BOYS WILL NOT WATCH HER.
I just got a lot of mixed messages from this book but the general idea seems pretty good.
1. I can see that the are good parts and ideas of this book
2. Frankie is a reasonable ‘role model’ for the main people who would read this book
3. It has a good feminist message which is good
The problem is... I didn’t really enjoy it.
I found the constant shouting at people and deciding she is more important that others because she is a girl very tiring. I know this definitely is not what everyone has experienced reading this book but I just found her cocky and annoying a lot of the time instead of being a inspirational young feminist.
Towards the end of the book, she considers trying field hockey. She then goes on to discard this idea because she doesn’t want to play a sport that boys don’t play or watch. So this choice doesn’t really make any sense considering the entire idea of the novel (that being: I don’t want boys to tell me what to do! I don’t need a man! Don’t underestimate me!) So she doesn’t play hockey because the boys won’t watch her! That really spoiled the ending for me - I was finally warming up to the book by then! Basically she spent the entire book doing exactly what she thinks will make her look cool and get respect from idiot boys then finally when she could do something she likes, IGNORES IT BECAUSE THE BOYS WILL NOT WATCH HER.
I just got a lot of mixed messages from this book but the general idea seems pretty good.
Aware of my strong feminist leanings, my sister has been urging me to read this book for something like two years, but as often happens, other books/activities pushed it to the bottom of the pile. Finally, my sister's persistence became so... aggressive, that I finally decided to sit down and read it. My sister ended up being very much right about how much I would like it. I read it in one sitting, only getting up for necessary eating/shower breaks. This book ended up being a fantastic articulation of my own experience with sexism, and I came away from it wanting to force it on every woman I know.
For me, Frankie is an extremely relatable character, both for my teenaged and current self. She is intelligent, independent, and fierce, but she's also a girl who sometimes wishes she could just be as nice and sweet and soft-spoken as her boyfriend wants her to be. The feminist issues this book brings to light are especially relevant for younger women who are beginning to understand the ramifications of misogyny in dating. I myself seethed with empathetic anger every time Matthew corrected her or told her to "please don't get her feelings hurt" (as opposed to apologizing for hurting her feelings), and I think many women will share in Frankie's anger as she is constantly underestimated by the people around her.
And yet, the boys Frankie interacts with (and are the most guilty of this error in judgement) are never painted as straight-up villains. Frankie admires and even loves them. Her purpose is not to "stick it" to the boys, but to gain their approval and inclusion into their group. The boys are young, attractive, and charming, and altogether unaware of the sexism driving their actions. Like most teenage boys, they do not wake up thinking, "I'm going to be sexist today," but instead act according to the patriarchal rules that have been subconsciously drilled into them since childhood.
All in all, I thought Lockhart's novel was a great demonstration of the subtlety of sexism in our society-- today's misogyny is rarely an out-in-the-open denial of women's rights, but instead is often muted, sneakily making its way into subconscious, then our conscious, and finally our words and actions. I wish I could force all of the teenagers I teach to read it, both boys and girls. One day, when I get the chance to deploy my "SMASH THE PATRIARCHY!" unit plan, it may make an appearance.
For me, Frankie is an extremely relatable character, both for my teenaged and current self. She is intelligent, independent, and fierce, but she's also a girl who sometimes wishes she could just be as nice and sweet and soft-spoken as her boyfriend wants her to be. The feminist issues this book brings to light are especially relevant for younger women who are beginning to understand the ramifications of misogyny in dating. I myself seethed with empathetic anger every time Matthew corrected her or told her to "please don't get her feelings hurt" (as opposed to apologizing for hurting her feelings), and I think many women will share in Frankie's anger as she is constantly underestimated by the people around her.
And yet, the boys Frankie interacts with (and are the most guilty of this error in judgement) are never painted as straight-up villains. Frankie admires and even loves them. Her purpose is not to "stick it" to the boys, but to gain their approval and inclusion into their group. The boys are young, attractive, and charming, and altogether unaware of the sexism driving their actions. Like most teenage boys, they do not wake up thinking, "I'm going to be sexist today," but instead act according to the patriarchal rules that have been subconsciously drilled into them since childhood.
All in all, I thought Lockhart's novel was a great demonstration of the subtlety of sexism in our society-- today's misogyny is rarely an out-in-the-open denial of women's rights, but instead is often muted, sneakily making its way into subconscious, then our conscious, and finally our words and actions. I wish I could force all of the teenagers I teach to read it, both boys and girls. One day, when I get the chance to deploy my "SMASH THE PATRIARCHY!" unit plan, it may make an appearance.
It was fine. I didn’t hate it, but I wouldn’t read it again.
Genre: feminism, entertainments of the rich and bored
Summary: Frankie Landau Banks is a 15 year old girl on the cusp of womanhood. During her sophomore year at a private boarding school, Frankie radically changes the social life at the school, by infiltrating a secret all-male society, masterminding elaborate pranks and making social commentary. Frankie does all of this because she was barred. She rebelled against social structures that kept her confined to a traditional female role just because she could. Even though her pranks are mostly harmless, the tone and message of her plots start to rile some authorities and eventually, it all unravels. The up side is she isn't pushed back into her former life and she is left to figure out her new role in life.
Response: This book made me want to shout in triumph but also hurl the book across the room. While this book is a fascinating monologue on feminism, the way that Frankie goes about defending her individuality and intelligence is grating. If the only reason why a person goes after power and influence is merely to be in control,then you have a good recipe for a tyrant, which I felt Frankie was turning into. Along the same lines, watching her torment over being a "normal" girl and being "Alphadog" was hard to read. What was wrong with being the girl who likes to cook? Her fight for "equality" seemed to disregard thousands of women who find joy and fulfillment in their roles as mothers and wives and homemakers. While there was a double standard that existed between her boyfriend's perception of her skills and his buddy's skills,I would have liked Frankie to stand up for herself in a more open manner, and not alienate everyone around her. I believe that you can be a strong, intelligent woman without manipulating everyone around you.
Summary: Frankie Landau Banks is a 15 year old girl on the cusp of womanhood. During her sophomore year at a private boarding school, Frankie radically changes the social life at the school, by infiltrating a secret all-male society, masterminding elaborate pranks and making social commentary. Frankie does all of this because she was barred. She rebelled against social structures that kept her confined to a traditional female role just because she could. Even though her pranks are mostly harmless, the tone and message of her plots start to rile some authorities and eventually, it all unravels. The up side is she isn't pushed back into her former life and she is left to figure out her new role in life.
Response: This book made me want to shout in triumph but also hurl the book across the room. While this book is a fascinating monologue on feminism, the way that Frankie goes about defending her individuality and intelligence is grating. If the only reason why a person goes after power and influence is merely to be in control,then you have a good recipe for a tyrant, which I felt Frankie was turning into. Along the same lines, watching her torment over being a "normal" girl and being "Alphadog" was hard to read. What was wrong with being the girl who likes to cook? Her fight for "equality" seemed to disregard thousands of women who find joy and fulfillment in their roles as mothers and wives and homemakers. While there was a double standard that existed between her boyfriend's perception of her skills and his buddy's skills,I would have liked Frankie to stand up for herself in a more open manner, and not alienate everyone around her. I believe that you can be a strong, intelligent woman without manipulating everyone around you.
Matthew rlly said "don't smash the patriarchy you're so sexy hahaha"