The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks Review

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Author: E. Lockhart

Series: None

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

Genre: Realistic Fiction; Contemporary; Young Adult; Mystery

Pages: 345

Format: Hardback
goodreads

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

“I, Frankie Landau-Banks, hereby confess that I was the sole mastermind behind the mal-doings of the Loyal Order of the Bassett Hounds.”

As Frankie Landau-Banks returns to her high-class private school as a sophomore, she has changed– whether for the better or for the worse is uncertain. Her body had filled out in all the right places and people, especially boys, are starting to notice. While she can’t complain about the radical change, she does resent that she is still the “bunny rabbit” in the family. She is not taken seriously by anyone and underestimated by everyone. When her dream guy finally takes notice and becomes the boyfriend she always hoped for, she can’t help but want to be more than just a pretty girlfriend. When she learns that her boyfriend is part of a secret society called the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, she decides to take matters into her own hands. As a result of her evil genius ideas, the Basset Hounds become infamous and notorious for brilliant pranks all around the school. When Frankie’s ideas suddenly become a serious problem for the administration, and someone is blamed for her ideas, she must make decisions that will change her entire of idea of who she is and what she wants to become.

This book was as amazing as any book can be. Witty, sarcastic, and intellectual in most brilliant of ways, it is hard to do anything but love this book to its very spine. I fell in love on page one, and kept adoring it until page 345. The Disreputable History is the reason why I read books. I love to find ones that are as creative and intelligent as this one. Every character, even the dumbest, was smart and witty, in ways I can only wish to be like. If everyone talked like how people talked in the Disreputable History, then I would like people a whole lot more.

“In some ways, we can see Frankie Landau-Banks as a neglected positive. A buried word.

A word inside another word that’s getting all the attention.

A mind inside a body that’s getting all the attention.”

Frankie Landau-Banks (is that just the coolest name you have ever heard, or what?) is a woman who dreams of being seen as more than just a woman. She is extremely resourceful and smart and wants nothing more than being seen as such. She recognizes the unfairness in the world where woman are seen inferior to men. She resents that femininity is seen as weakness, and balls are a symbol of courage. I related to Frankie like she was one of my best-friends, and I wish she were a real person so I could get to know her more.

The language in this book was astounding. I had to read a few sentences over and over just because I loved them so much, and didn’t want to forget them. The idea of neglected positives was enthralling and amusing. Lockhart used words how they were meant to be used; how they were meant to be seen and understood. E. Lockhart is an amazing author that I would love to meet. I can’t wait to read more of her in We Were Liars, a book already climbing charts and reaching a well-known popularity.   

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is an amazing book that everyone should read. I loved it, and it reminds why I love to read in the first place.

“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.”