Frankie is everything I enjoy in a heroine -- funny, smart, and unafraid to call boys on their bullsh-t.

I really enjoyed this novel. On the surface it's a brilliant tale of boarding school life and some serious pranks orchestrated by a teenage girl. But below that it is an exploration of feminist ideas, relationships between men and women, and the concept of a cultural panopticon. The novel moves easily between these two elements and it does so while following Frankie who is a thoroughly fascinating character. While I didn't always like her, I could sympathize with some of her emotions and I was thoroughly intrigued by her quest to prove herself.

It's been a couple of years since I read this book, but when I saw the cover image scroll by I had to leave a comment. This book, though it was not fantasy, was fun, energetic, and it made me think. This book was about bending the norm. It was about breaking tradition. It was about teaching a bunch of uppity guys a lesson. What can I say, the feminist in me applauds the main character and her ingenious male manipulations. But the book wasn't centered around feminism. Frankie was trying to find her place like all teenager/young adults. What was so different about her was her deep thoughts and philosophical proofs: do we make society fit us or do we follow society's rules. Whenever I look at a sidewalk i'll always think of Frankie and wonder if I'm the type of person who walks on the lawn to get to a class because it is the shortest distance and most convenient to me, forcing the university to build a sidewalk on my path or suffer an imperfect lawn, or do I walk on their sidewalk to get to class even if it is out of my way because I let society rule over me. Even without the philosophy, this book was a scream. I couldn't put it down. Frankie's pranks were epic.

This book was nothing like I expected, to the point that I told myself at 50 pages I was going to put the book down.... and I didn't. Not a shocker to anyone who knows me, I picked this up because of the Basset Hound ties. I have a Basset Hound so am very excited anytime I find one referenced in literature. So I was expecting a book about the shenanigans of a Teen and her Basset Hound...instead I got a wonderful commentary on gender segregation in society, specifically an elite boarding school and the story of a spunky teenage girl who decided she was tired of it and was going to fight back. Frankie's shenanigans and ability to manipulate the boys who were members of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds kept me turning the pages until the story ended. I enjoyed every minute of the story (once I accepted the fact it was not about actual Basset Hounds). The only thing that really upset me was the fact that none of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds forgave Frankie, or even attempted to understand her. I got the impression from the last e-mail that Alpha did, but the ending still left me a bit unsatisfied. Maybe because I wasn't to see her and Alpha work things out and become friends. Either way, the ending left me wanting. However, despite not quite ecstatic feelings about the ending, I really did love this book and I loved how Frankie decided she was tired of being overlooked because she had a chest. I liked the fact that she wasn't really acting out just to get attention (although she was tired of being ignored), she really wanted to change the way the people at the university were thinking.

Manages to be both hysterically witty and thoughtfully clever.

I had to stop reading after a few chapters because I didn't like Frankie or even the plots. It was kind of boring.

I liked the wit and how frankie was trying to overthrow some of those boundaries between men and women, but i think she carried it too far. now everyone hates her, or the people who don't hate her think she should go to a counselor. she got the whole admiration thing in the end, but she lost her friends. that might be good for her, but i think that going through life admired but not liked is lonely. frankie ended up being one of those people who try to get attention in a way they think will get everyone to like them, but just gets everyone disgusted in them. all in all, the humor and the power of women theme was good, but the ending was bad.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a fun book about a teenage girl who attends a posh private school on the East Coast. Frankie is very opinionated and becomes determined to figure out and infiltrate her new boyfriend’s secret society. Learning that it is an all male society, Frankie nevertheless decides to become a part of it. This is a good book, and would be especially enjoyed by teenage girls. E. Lockhart is a really good writer, and apart from some occasional cliché statements, this book is a very accurate representation of what a private boarding school would look like from the viewpoint of a teen.

This is the story of a young woman who is trying to break down any and all gender and age barriers that exist at her boarding school. Frankie Landau-Banks has qualities that many girls her age--including myself--can relate to: she struggles with pleasing her parents while also being herself, she has a perfect boyfriend who's starting to seem not-so-perfect, but most of all she wants people to respect her for who she is. This is a great read for pre-teen and teenage girls who are looking for something relatable and light, but still exciting and full of wit.

This book was smartly written and made me think, but I didn't really like the main characters.