The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

What do you get when you cross Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret with The Catcher in the Rye with Gossip Girls? E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks! Adolescent angst, problems with the way the world works, and an elite boarding school? Genius!

Allow me to just say - I am this girl. No, really. It's like Lockhart was inside my head when she wrote Frankie. I actually did the randomly sitting at the cool kid table to see what would happen thing in middle school! Really! It worked fine, they accepted me and dealt with it, but their conversation was terrifically boring, so I decamped back to my beloved geeks.

And oh - pranks. I know how to pull pranks. And I've always been astounded at how lame most pranks pulled are. Lockhart's reference list for this The Disreputable History includes a text by one Neil Steinburg entitled If at All Possible, Involve a Cow: The Book of College Pranks. I have got to get my hands on that book. She also has her main character, Frankie, reference SantaCon. Ah, glorious.

Furthermore, I know a bit more than I ought about certain tunnels in town, and I also know who has a master key. I'm just saying.

I think most girls know what it's like to be judged on their sweet little faces and figures and placed in a mental box with a bow on top. Generally whenever this is happening (with the exception of an impending speeding ticket, when I use it like mad) I find a very direct and polite way to indicate that I am not sweet or little, I am hell on wheels, and I will run you down, probably figuratively with my intellect, but an eighteen wheeler might be an option too.

Frankie is dealing with this same issue, but it's somewhat complicated by her adorable, rich, old money boyfriend and his adorable crew of friends. To be accepted and fake or to live up to your potential? Don't worry, Frankie chooses the right path.