Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
Author: E. Lockhart (sidenote: LOVE) (other sidenote: I wish I could come up with an awesome penname like E. Lockhart. I mean, REALLY.)
Published: March 2008 by DisneyHyperion
Where I got it: Local indie <3
Why I got it: I was hungry. Just kidding, Hannah Moskowitz said she liked it. Plus I loved Lockhart's Ruby Oliver series...

Okay, before I get started on saying anything, I have to get this off my chest: The whole time I was reading this, I imagined Matthew Livingston looked like Matt Lewis. Yes, Matt Lewis who was Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies. I don't really know why he kept popping into my head, but I am highly suspicious of their similar names being the culprit.

I mean, seriously! Totally Matthew. In my head.

Here's the description from 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 have to admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of that little blurb thing. Parts of it seemed eh at best. I mean, Debate geek to knockout? Gorgeous senior boyfriend named Matt Lewis--I mean, Matthew Livingston? Criminal mastermind? "This is the story of how she got that way"? (I mean, really. That's just a little cheesy.)

Okay. Sounds like a dream come true. So what's the story?

To my relief, the book was close to nothing like the hook on the back of the book, and I'm glad I read it. It was witty and definitely an enjoyable read, and I found myself cheering for Frankie the whole way through. True, she may have been a bit... overdependent? on Matthew sometimes--he was pretty much constantly on her mind, and she was always worried about what he would think about what she was doing. This may annoy some readers, but when I think about it in retrospect, I feel like this aspect of Frankie added to her character, not necessarily in a positive way, but in that it made her more like a real teenage girl, which is something a lot of authors who are writing "strong female characters" might shy away from. I felt like Lockhart was able to embody the strong girl-power image while not alienating girls who, in the end, really really really want to impress their boyfriends. Which can be viewed by some as pathetic. But come on. She's a sixteen year-old. And if you have a significant other that you really really really REALLY like a lot, don't tell me you wouldn't like to impress them with your smarts.

The plot of the story was great as well--I found the pacing enjoyable, moving at a speed that kept me entertained, which is always a good thing. I laughed reading this multiple times, and I stayed up until 2:30AM reading this, so apparently it kept my attention, too! This book has a great cast of characters (though some weren't as well-rounded as I would have liked), and if you're into quirky and E. Lockhart, you'll definitely enjoy this book.

Pack bandaids for when you fall into the pages!