Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
 So much fun! November 10, 2009
Sara (Kalamazoo, MI)
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!
[...] Recommends Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks October 30, 2009
Daisy Whitney The BookChick
You know those hypothetical questions where someone asks "If you could be any character from a book who would it be?" I have my answer now that I've read E. Lockhart's "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks." The answer is Frankie Landau Banks because she is a modern-day rabble-rouser, a provocateur, a troublemaker in the best, most playful sense of the word. Frankie Landau-Banks is a sophomore at the prestigious Alabaster Prep school in Massachusetts (think Exeter, Andover, etc.) when she learns about the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, an all-male secret society at her school. She's fascinated with the camaraderie of the boys in it, their clubbiness, but also their exclusivity. She infiltrates the group and begins commanding them to commit a series of fantastic pranks across the school, all without them having a clue she's the mastermind. And yet it keeps gnawing at her that the only reason she can't be in this group is because she has boobs. Frankie is a feminist, a malcontent, someone who will always question the social order. And that's something we need to see from time to time in young adult literature.
Don't mess with a smart girl September 5, 2009
LisetteBes (Raleigh, NC USA)
Frankie Landau-Banks has transformed into a girl over the summer. Not only did she change so much physically that more boys are noticing her, but her attitude towards her male-dominated, prep-school world has become wrathful. After growing up listening to her father and his buddies regale her with tales of outrageous things they did with their prep-school secret society, The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, Frankie decides that she will join this "renegade" society. To her dismay, she discovers not only are girls not allowed, but the Bassets have fallen from their glory days.
Due to her summer transformation Frankie manages to attract the attention of gorgeous senior Matthew, who happens to be a member of the secret society. Through Matthew, Frankie determines who the leader is and decides to make a little mischief to reclaim the glory that was once so prevalent on campus. Little does she know what sleeping dog she will awaken...
Frankie Landau-Banks is a terrifically accessible character for many younger girls. Always thought of last and disregarded as the "baby of the family" she asserts herself in the ways that most people only dream about. Luckily for the story, instead of everything working out to her benefit, she has to watch as her world mutates into something unrecognizable when she loses control of the monster she has created. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
 Skip the audio version August 23, 2009
Alissa (NJ)
I had a hard time getting into the audio version of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, even thought I think overall this is a good book.
I'm not normally one to quibble over the choice of a narrator in an audio book, but this is one case where I think a better narrator, or, at least, a better choice of a narrator could have made all the difference. I have nothing against Midwestern accents. I find them quite endearing. For a book set in the Midwest or about a Midwesterner they are completely appropriate, but when the story is about Jewish girl from New Jersey, the Midwest accent of the audiobook's narrator can be quite jarring. For me, it just didn't work.
The book did start off a bit slowly, with some back story to get out of the way before we could get into the real meat of the story: Frankie at school coming into her own. The combination of inappropriate narrator and slow beginning almost made me give up on this audio, but I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did.
The story does pick up steam, and once it did I wasn't so troubled by the narrator's accent as I fell into the story. Set at a New England boarding school, a former member of the geek set, Frankie is in her sophomore year when she becomes a member of the cool set and starts dating Matthew, Mr. Popularity himself. Everything seems to be going along fine, but Frankie is too smart to be satisfied with things.
When she learns that Matthew as well as a bunch of the other boys at her school belong to the school's decade-spanning secret society, The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds she becomes resentful of the all-male club and decides to set about shaking things up.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a book that forces readers to question gender stereotypes and the gender inequality that still exists in our world, and in that sense offers up some profound ideas. It has a lot of potential for a book club discussion. My guess is this is a case where the print version of the book, may read a lot better than the audio.
 A Fun and Reputable Book August 22, 2009
Doug (Holladay, Ut United States)
My genius librarian daughter in law recommended this book to me. I had asked her to give me five books in the young adult literature category that I may enjoy. And, I did enjoy the book immensely and raced right through it, tickled here, laughing there, cringing now and then and having deja vu moments going all the way back to high school and those never forgotten times. I do have to wonder if normal high school kids will really understand the book as well as adults. But if they're like Frankie, they'll understand it better than I did.
It's a great and quick read, almost more of a novella. Give it a try when you're in the mood for something old fashioned and clever.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
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