The Disreputable History

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks was an interesting story about a clever young girl who decides to defy the all-boys society by beating the boys at their own game. It is a smart novel that keeps readers interested in what the outcome will be. I do think that this book would be a good read for young adults, especially young girls. It was easy for me to get through the book, which makes me think that young adults would also enjoy this book. It has some good lessons, but I do think that it is more dedicated to a female audience.

~Spoiler Alert~

This next session will be dedicated to details within the text. Themes, characters, what I thought of it, and possibly how it ended. If you don't want the ending to be given away then please don't continue!

The novel begins with Frankie telling about how she has changed throughout the summer. She is at the beach with her family and decides to go off by herself, wanting to get away. Even in her first conversation with her family readers can see how smart Frankie is. She is very persuasive and gets what she wants. She describes how she "bloomed" over the summer and went from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan. Frankie goes back to school, eventually dating the boy she has had a crush on for years. Frankie's boyfriend is one of the leaders of The Secret Order of the Basset Hound, which is a all boys society. Frankie is not allowed in the society, which makes her want it even more. Frankie's genius mind comes out in the novel when she takes matters into her own hands and decides to play her own games with the boys.

This book is a great read for young girls. Frankie deals with keeping her individuality while she is in her relationship. While reading the book I saw how badly she was being treated by her boyfriend, which made me think over past relationships and what I put up with. Frankie's decisions in her relationships can be a help to daughters because it can show them how easy it is to lose yourself while dating someone.

The book also shows how sensitive teens are to certain issues. I know that I would have been able to relate to the issues Frankie was dealing with when I was a younger adult in high school. Frankie decides that it is unfair for her boyfriend to seclude her simply because she is a girl, so she decides to fight back. Although Frankie is staying in an unhealthy relationship, she does decide to take matters into her own hands by fighting back. This is a good thing for young girls to read about because it shows that discrimination should not be accepted.

Overall, I really liked the book and think that it would be great for young girls to read. It is interesting from the very beginning and deals with some issues that are important to all young girls.