The Direputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

After reading some of E. Lockhart's previous books, I was slightly skeptical about starting this one. Not to say that her other books were bad... just not the best out there.

However, I have to say that I rank this book next to Dramarama. Meaning to say, it is one of her best (that I've read).

I won't spend much time summarizing, but basically this book is about a girl in a very elite boarding school. Frankie is not popular, but not a total reject. She somehow manages to snag the hottest guy in school, but there is a problem: he is keeping things from her. All she wants is to be a part of his inner circle of friends. And that's where the fun begins...

I loved the mysterious element of this book. It starts out in a confusing way, but it definitely captured my attention. I wanted to know how this seemingly innocent girl and, I hate to say it, goody-two-shoes, turned into a rebellious wild child. Like Frankie, I also found myself wanting to know just what was going on with the popular guys in the school.

I also enjoyed the tackling of a serious social issue, even if it was addressed in a fun and light-hearted way. The idea of men vs. women's rights is a tough one to address in today's society. There are feminists, and there are men who feel like it's the woman's job to support the man. Women are considered to have equal rights, and yet they only make .78 to every $1 a man makes in the same profession (information found here; let me know if anyone knows of a better source or more accurate information), and women are also widely considered to be the weaker sex, and face abuse and harassment.

Although this review isn't going to focus only on women's rights, although that is a very good topic.

I enjoyed this book because of it's portrayal of this issue. Frankie wants nothing more than to be a part of her boyfriend's club, but he refuses to open up to her because of her gender, despite the fact that she has proven herself to be his intellectual equal. I feel that in the end Frankie learned something: that being a woman means not letting a man tell you no, even if that means letting a man go. This is a lesson to learn, because no woman should be treated as less than equal by any man.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book because of the very interesting story, the humor, and the important message. I think that all young women should read this book because of it's touching on that one important issue.