My Friend Frankie Landau-Banks

Frankie Landau-Banks this story is about a girl who makes a typical transformation, or what most teenage girls wish was a typical transformation. As a freshman she is a geeky girl barley noticed by her classmates except through her senior sister Zada. She comes back as a sophomore with a new and improved figure, which catches the eye of Matthew Livingston, the hottest senior in her school.

The novels protagonist is somewhat of a role model for teen girls. She fights for her independence when it comes to her mother and she knows that she does not want to be the kind of girlfriend who looses herself when she gets a boyfriend. However, weather she is doing it to get what she wants, or has taken this step, is not obvious to us as a reader. The real role model in the book is Zada, Frankie’s sister. Zada is there every time Frankie wants to talk about Matthew to remind her that she should not let him take over her life and when he is gone life will go on.

I think teen girls can relate to Frankie if they know it or not. I know thinking about my years in high school I found many parallels between me and the protagonist of this story. Feeling as if you are so into your boyfriend and he is the only person that can make you happy; wanting to do any and everything you can to make him happy! (Sounds sad but its the cold hard truth!)

The book centers on a secret club that is “boys only” and this drives Frankie insane. So insane she makes it her mission to join this club. Once she sees that membership is highly unlikely she decides to take over. Now that she has become the mastermind behind the club and its pranks, unknowing to the boys because it is all done via e-mail, she thinks she could get respect from Matthew.

The thing that I really liked about this book is the third person narrative. Usually with third person the story is told in an unbiased way. However in this story the narrator is very compassionate when it comes to Frankie.

I think this book might be to “girle” for upperclassmen, especially boys. I would recommend this book to a freshmen class because I feel like, they, more than anyone would be able to either relate to it, or discuss how much they are not like Frankie.