The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

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

This was fabulous! I haven't sat down and spent the day (about 5 hours) reading an entire book in practically one sitting since Harry Potter. This is a book that teens can relate to. A geeky girl wanting to date one of the popular boys, what is she willing to do to get the boy, balancing her own friendships and identity with that of the popular boys, and the whole clique issue. And, there is the lure of secret societies to draw people in and give it more adventure.

At first I was thinking this was just another Fly on the Wall which I also couldn't put down, but it was primarily about the teen relationships. This on the other hand really gets you thinking about several things:

1. Words and language: Frankie plays with words, creating what she calls "neglected positives". Mathew comes from a family of newspaper editors so is always correcting everyone's misuse of language creating a juxtaposition that really gets you thinking about words and language. Plus, there are a lot of great rare words throughout the book making it great for vocabulary development.
2. The Cities, Art and Protest Class Frankie takes introduces a lot of great philosophy, like panopticon, that is perfect for teens to start thinking about as they form their ideas about themselves and the world they live in. And, the author ties in real news events, articles, and books that at first one may think are fictitious like Santarchy.
   
3. Feminism and the patriarchal establishment.
4. Analyzing why we do things. Is it for power, acceptance, revenge, to help other, loyalty, or schadenfreude (happiness at the misfortune of others). This explores a lot more motivations than than the typical teen novel, but within the typical teen experience.
5. The author "made use of Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk."
6. Secret societies are fascinating! What is the driving force: the ritual, loyalty, friendships/alliances, the mission? Why do people join them, how do they impact members' lives, how do they impact others?

There is practically no sex, violence, or bad language that some people find objectionable. But, there is a lot of ideas about rebellion and great ideas for pranks. While most kids will probably think about the motivations of those who are rebellious and pranksters and the effects of those behaviors on others, some kids may use it as a handbook.