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

Frankie attends Alabaster Preparatory, an elite school for both old and new money alike. She begins dating Matthew Livingston, one of the most popular senior boys, her sophomore year. Matthew is a member of the school's most secret male society and Frankie wants in. Underestimated by the boys and tired of being "adorable," she makes it her mission to become the brains behind the brawn.

I've reviewed Frankie Landau-Banks before.  But I had the urge to listen to it again while waiting for the next Bloody Jack book to come in.  It's been about 2 years since I first listened to it.  I found Matthew to be a very frustrating character.  The way that he doesn't even noticed Frankie for who she really is and, even when she tries to express her feelings, he doesn't get it.  Maybe that is the product of being a teenage boy.  But his constant refrain of "Don't be mad" and "You are adorable" are the wrong approach to someone like Frankie and it does reduce her to only being a little girl in the exact same way her family calls her "Bunny Rabbit."  It's a serious underestimation of Frankie.  But like Alpha says it would be hard to overestimate Frankie.  I don't want to boil down Frankie's ambitions to her liking Alpha, but I think her need for him to notice her and respect her is part of what drives her taking over the Bassets.  If he had acknowledged her when they first meet in school, maybe things would have been different.  Alpha proves himself to be the better counterpart in the end, much more so than Matthew who is really just a follower, not a leader.  Frankie and Alpha are both leaders.

And so, once again, this book gave me a lot to think about.  I can say this is truly one of the best books to read and I'm sure this is not my last time with Frankie.

 

6 hours

Tanya Eby is the narrator and I love her voice for Frankie.  She doesn't really do voices for the rest of the characters but it's still easy to tell them apart.  She really reads Frankie with the right tone and speed. 

Whisper in My Ear

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Audio)

Frankie attends Alabaster Preparatory, an elite school for both old and new money alike. She begins dating Matthew Livingston, one of the most popular senior boys, her sophomore year. Matthew is a member of the school's most secret male society and Frankie wants in. Underestimated by the boys and tired of being "adorable," she makes it her mission to become the brains behind the brawn.

I've now read everything by E. Lockhart with the exception of Fly on the Wall. And I've enjoyed everything I've read. She writes such smart, witty, and real girls. Frankie is an amazing girl even I felt like smacking her now and then. She lives in a world of privilege but doesn't want to accept the status quo and won't let herself become regulate to being one of the girlfriends or just a cute girl. She wants to be powerful and recognized for her intelligence. I admire the way she went about getting what she wanted and recognize that ambition in myself. Not to the point of Frankie, but still that need to be the one in charge, to be the controller. The boys I recognize from school and from friends, boys who just are without needing to try. The way they effortlessly exist while the girls have to watch what they say or how they act lest someone assign a label to them. I think that is what Frankie is looking for, to be herself without being labeled.

Tanya Eby is the narrator and she does an excellent job. At first I thought that she read too quickly, but later realized it was tailored to the scence. Her voice is pleasant and she makes everything Frankie does seem natural and intelligent.