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A review by sashapasha
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
5.0
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks defies the trends-much like Frankie herself. From the moment I read the jacket flap and the first two pages, I knew that I would love this book. It is written with an incredibly fresh intelligence that appeals to the mind, particularly after reading all the YA gunk that is common nowadays.
The History is set at the fictional Alabaster Preparatory Academy, a prestigious school on equal footing with the likes of Exeter and Andover. It details the events that led to Frankie's transformation in everyone's eyes from a sweet, innocent girl to a "criminal mastermind". And it all started with a boy and a lifetime of being the baby of the family.
I loved this book. The middle found me laughing maniacally, fist pumping, and shouting "Go, Frankie, go!" Unlike most YA heroines, Frankie was actually smart, and she did quite a bit of analyzing people's motives, strategic thinking, and manipulation. She made things happen and wasn't content to be treated like a brainless cow. In fact, that was what this book is all about: Frankie's ambition to be viewed as an equal, particularly by a group of fanatically cliquish boys(a secret society) known as "The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds". She wanted inclusion, and she was willing to go to great lengths to get it.
It was silly, it was fun. It was surprisingly cerebral. I think the only beef I have to pick with Frankie was that when things came to light and another student was about to take the fall, she did not immediately go forth and admit her deeds, but waited until someone else outed her to the administration. But I suppose that fit her character. She was a lot of things, but morally pristine was not one of them. To put it in her terms, she was maculate. (I absolutely adored the neglected positives and Inpeas.) I am not saying she was evil, not even close, just that some of her personality traits caused her to make wrong decisions. When I started out reading, and for much of the book, I wanted to be Frankie. She was pretty, witty, strong, and brilliant. But in the end I realized that Frankie was in many ways just like everyone else, searching for true companionship, and also incredibly lonely. No one understood her. The one person in the end that did, couldn't stand the sight of her. However, though I may no longer want to be her, I will always want to be an off-roader, like her.
The History was about breaking out of the strictures society asserts on us. Casting off the sheep mentality. Thinking, instead of accepting; acting instead of being inert. Things that as individuals and as a society, we ought to look into. Frankie consciously acknowledged the invisible constraints, and acted against them, displaying thought and a level of brain power well beyond her years. She analyzed and understood concepts such as those demonstrated by the panopticon, and she deduced and debated the allure of secret societies. In conclusion, it was one of the most unusual, outstanding YA books I have ever read. I recommend it to everyone.
The History is set at the fictional Alabaster Preparatory Academy, a prestigious school on equal footing with the likes of Exeter and Andover. It details the events that led to Frankie's transformation in everyone's eyes from a sweet, innocent girl to a "criminal mastermind". And it all started with a boy and a lifetime of being the baby of the family.
I loved this book. The middle found me laughing maniacally, fist pumping, and shouting "Go, Frankie, go!" Unlike most YA heroines, Frankie was actually smart, and she did quite a bit of analyzing people's motives, strategic thinking, and manipulation. She made things happen and wasn't content to be treated like a brainless cow. In fact, that was what this book is all about: Frankie's ambition to be viewed as an equal, particularly by a group of fanatically cliquish boys(a secret society) known as "The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds". She wanted inclusion, and she was willing to go to great lengths to get it.
It was silly, it was fun. It was surprisingly cerebral. I think the only beef I have to pick with Frankie was that when things came to light and another student was about to take the fall, she did not immediately go forth and admit her deeds, but waited until someone else outed her to the administration. But I suppose that fit her character. She was a lot of things, but morally pristine was not one of them. To put it in her terms, she was maculate. (I absolutely adored the neglected positives and Inpeas.) I am not saying she was evil, not even close, just that some of her personality traits caused her to make wrong decisions. When I started out reading, and for much of the book, I wanted to be Frankie. She was pretty, witty, strong, and brilliant. But in the end I realized that Frankie was in many ways just like everyone else, searching for true companionship, and also incredibly lonely. No one understood her. The one person in the end that did, couldn't stand the sight of her. However, though I may no longer want to be her, I will always want to be an off-roader, like her.
The History was about breaking out of the strictures society asserts on us. Casting off the sheep mentality. Thinking, instead of accepting; acting instead of being inert. Things that as individuals and as a society, we ought to look into. Frankie consciously acknowledged the invisible constraints, and acted against them, displaying thought and a level of brain power well beyond her years. She analyzed and understood concepts such as those demonstrated by the panopticon, and she deduced and debated the allure of secret societies. In conclusion, it was one of the most unusual, outstanding YA books I have ever read. I recommend it to everyone.