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A review by ajackson
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
5.0
4.5 stars
I didn't really get into this book until at least halfway through (I was reading the e-book version, so it's a little harder for me to figure out exactly where I was when it started getting good); however, once it got good, it was great! I loved the social commentary and the positive look at female roles in politics and society. My favorite parts of the whole book were the email exchanges between Frankie and the various other characters - they made me smile in fiendish glee and wish to perpetrate my own evil masterminds (and they also seemed the most real - see next paragraph).
My main qualm is as follows: The narration seemed too self-aware- maybe because I recently heard the author speak at a local library, but I definitely read the entire thing with her voice in my head. As a result (or maybe not), I felt like Frankie was sanitized a bit and didn't have as much realistic characterization as perhaps other characters in other books. The third person narrative added a lot of perspective that I'm not sure felt realistic. Don't get me wrong, as an adult reading this, I appreciated it - it just didn't feel real - and it felt old.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book - I've been on a bit of a reading hiatus, and this snapped me out of it! I hope that this book has inspired a wave of social commentary among students nationwide - because, frankly (haha, see what I did there?) there is much that needs to be changed, and ordinary people will be the ones to lead the way!
I didn't really get into this book until at least halfway through (I was reading the e-book version, so it's a little harder for me to figure out exactly where I was when it started getting good); however, once it got good, it was great! I loved the social commentary and the positive look at female roles in politics and society. My favorite parts of the whole book were the email exchanges between Frankie and the various other characters - they made me smile in fiendish glee and wish to perpetrate my own evil masterminds (and they also seemed the most real - see next paragraph).
My main qualm is as follows: The narration seemed too self-aware- maybe because I recently heard the author speak at a local library, but I definitely read the entire thing with her voice in my head. As a result (or maybe not), I felt like Frankie was sanitized a bit and didn't have as much realistic characterization as perhaps other characters in other books. The third person narrative added a lot of perspective that I'm not sure felt realistic. Don't get me wrong, as an adult reading this, I appreciated it - it just didn't feel real - and it felt old.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book - I've been on a bit of a reading hiatus, and this snapped me out of it! I hope that this book has inspired a wave of social commentary among students nationwide - because, frankly (haha, see what I did there?) there is much that needs to be changed, and ordinary people will be the ones to lead the way!