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

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Author: E. Lockhart

Publisher: Hyperion

Pub. Date: 2008

Genre: MG to YA

Main Themes: Secret Societies, Gender Roles, Love, Friendship, Popularity

Pages: 342

Plot (from book jacket):

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 bought The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks shortly after it was released in 2008 and I kept passing over it when deciding what to read next out of my ridiculously large TBR pile. A couple weeks ago I decided to head home for the weekend, which is, total, a 10 hour drive. When I was browsing audio books, I stumbled across Disreputable and decided it might be fun to listen to during the long drive - I had no idea just how much fun it would be!

Disreputable was my first audiobook experience and I have to say I think I made a great choice! I will admit to feeling a bit awkward because I was laughing aloud as I was driving along and my mouth would occasionally drop open as new twists in the plot came to light. By the time I got home I was 5 hours into the book and I went straight to my bookshelf to finish up the last hundred pages - I couldn't even wait for the drive back to listen to the rest!

Frankie Landau-Banks is a girl after my own heart. She makes her mistakes and she sticks to what she believes. I could definitely relate to her curious, and sometimes manipulative, nature. I would love to read another novel about Frankie's adventures!

I was in love with the secret society aspect of the novel. I can't say too much about it, as I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read this yet, but it was really well written, and from what I could tell, researched. I liked all the little facts E. Lockhart threw into the the story about different well known societies. All of the history behind the different pranks that were performed was also interesting, and, in many cases, hilarious.

The only part that I wasn't totally satisfied with was the ending of the novel. Again, I can't say much because of spoilers, but I really thought the story would end a bit differently. I still loved it though - ending and all!

Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 9
Characters: 10
Writing: 10
Romance: 10
Originality: 10
Total: 49/50 (A)

I highly recommend The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks... in both audiobook and hardcopy form! The audiobook that I listened to had a great (female) narrator that I felt voiced the characters wonderfully. This book is a fun read that kept me entertained and engaged - even throughout a long and boring drive!