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

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Published: Allen & Unwin Jan 2015

Status: Read from January 28 to 29, 2015 — I own a copy {Courtesy the author}

My Thoughts:

“This chronicle is an attempt to mark out the contributing elements in Frankie Landau-Banks’s character. What led her to do what she did: things she would later view with a curious mixture of hubris and regret.”

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is an intelligent, witty story of a contemporary teenage girl’s determined rebellion against the expectations of those that surround her.

“”She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her she should be. That Bunny Rabbit is dead.”

This novel has a definite message. Alabaster Prep School is a microcosm of wider society, and within it, Lockhart explores some major issues including social order, the hierarchy of power and gender inequality. Frankie is determined to challenge the status quo by surreptitiously taking charge of The Loyal Order of the Basset Hound – the all male secret society on campus, and giving the pranks she devises a politically motivated agenda. Frankie’s motives aren’t entirely pure though, and inevitably neither do things go exactly to plan.

I liked Frankie, she’s smart and feisty though she also has her flaws, but it’s the contradictions in her actions and her thought processes that makes her so interesting, and I think is probably the point of the whole novel. Frankie may be slightly more self aware than many teen girls but she hasn’t yet got everything figured out. Like most girls, Frankie struggles with her desire to be true to herself and her wish to fit in. This is particularly an issue in her relationship with the handsome, wealthy and charming Senior, Matthew Livingston. Frankie is delighted by his attention, proud to be chosen by him, even when she realises that he isn’t really interested in what she wants or thinks.

“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.”

Despite the serious themes, the overall tone of the novel is lighthearted. The narrative is often witty and the story is well paced.

I enjoyed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, it’s a thought provoking novel that, from my perspective, explores some interesting contradictions. I’ve passed it on to my teen daughter and I’m eager to see what she thinks.

Available to purchase from

Allen and Unwin I I Booktopia I Amazon AU I via Booko