The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks – Emily Lockhart (2008)

misskleber
Jan 10, 2018
2 min read

Frankie Landau-Banks is a sophomore at Alabaster Preparatory.

Frankie becomes the champion of the Geek Conglomerate, a group of previously disconnected Geek societies (Chess Club, Debate Team, AV Club) when she starts dating the most popular, most attractive, senior at Alabaster.

But dating a guy like Matthew Livingston is not all it seems, Matthew welcomes Frankie into his group of friends and his life, but only so far.

Matthew belongs to The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, a secret society which Frankie’s own father was part of when he was at Alabaster.

The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds is best known for it’s silly pranks and all-male membership.

But Frankie wants to join in, she does not want to be “Bunny Rabbit” anymore, she wants to make a mark, her mark.

So Frankie hijacks the Bassets, manipulating the Loyal Order to do carry out the pranks she’s designed, all entertaining while still providing a political commentary upon the male-dominated nature of the school.

It is better to be alone, she figures, that 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.

The story is supplemented with email dialogues which are fast paced and provide a lot of detail. Witty, funny, and entertaining, Lockhart even quotes P. G. Wodehouse, bringing the humour of Wodehouse to a modern audience.