Lockhart, E. 
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS
New York : Hyperion, 2008
IL YA
ISBN 0786838183

(4 booktalks)

This effervescent novel is part mystery, part romance, and part case study of a unique girl named Frankie Landau–Banks. Between her freshman and sophomore years at elite Alabaster Preparatory Academy, Frankie blossoms from a scrawny, awkward child into a beautiful, curvaceous young lady. She immediately catches the eye of popular senior Matthew Livingston, who draws Frankie into his influential circle of friends. When she discovers that he’s a part of an all–male secret society called the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, she hopes he will include her or, at the very least, confide in her about the group. But Frankie slowly realizes that although Matthew finds her adorable, he will never welcome her into his boys–only club. Increasingly dissatisfied with her role as Matthew’s arm candy, Frankie capitalizes on a family connection to the Basset Hounds to infiltrate their network and mastermind a series of pranks that shakes up the entire school. How does she orchestrate the, um, bosomy Library Lady, Night of a Thousand Dogs, the Canned Beet Rebellion, and the Abduction of the Guppy? And can she possibly get away with it? Read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau–Banks to find out!  (Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards Program, 2009-2010)

Booktalk #2

Reputable—enjoying good repute; held in esteem.

Disreputable—not reputable.

Frankie was born Frances Rose Landau-Banks, but her father wanted a boy named after himself, so she became Frankie (although her father also called her “Bunny Rabbit”). Frankie was an ordinary, smart-but-easily-overlooked girl until the summer of her 15th year.  With her sophomore year approaching, she bloomed, and with this flowering, she became a force to be reckoned with.
Frankie attends Alabaster Prep, an elite boarding school along the lines of Exeter and Phillips Andover.  Her father had attended Alabaster Prep, which had once been an all-boys institution, with the “old-boy network” still ingrained in the school culture. The more some things change, the more they stay the same, and while Alabaster is now thoroughly co-ed, it still has its longtime all-male secret society, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds.  When Frankie realizes that she cannot join her dreamy senior boyfriend in this secret society, she makes plans to infiltrate the Order. The pranks that Frankie (incognito) incites her friends to pull could alienate her from the rest of the Order, including her boyfriend, as well as the school administration. What will happen when Frankie is found out?   (Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee, 2010)

Booktalk #3

Former ugly duckling Frankie Landau-Banks returns to her elite boarding school tired of being underestimated. She infiltrates her boyfriend?s all-male secret society and begins to orchestrate their elaborate pranks. The unexpected consequences could change her life forever. (Florida Teen Reads nominee, 2010)

Booktalk #4

Frankie Landau-Banks is a sophomore at the elite Alabaster school. She has a popular senior boyfriend, people seem to like her, she gets good grades, etc. She should be happy with her life, right? Well, not so much. Frankie is tired of accepting the roles society has chosen for her. When her boyfriend says she’s adorable, she wonders why he doesn’t say that she’s brilliant. Anyway, Frankie knows that her boyfriend and several other of the school’s most popular guys are members of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, a secret all-male society in which her father was a member during his days at Alabaster. Frankie is tired of being left out of the club’s dealings, so she decides to infiltrate it and pose as their leader. It works, and these guys have no idea that she’s the one pulling their strings. Of course, as is the way of things, chaos inevitably ensues, and Frankie and the Bassets must face up to what has been going on. Will Frankie be exposed in her quest for power? Will she go back to being a docile little girl content with her place in the world? What will happen to the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds? Read The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks to discover the damage an ambitious, brilliant, angry high school sophomore can wreak on the unsuspecting world around her.
Prepared by: Kelly L. Knight, Media Specialist, Woodmont High School for South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees, 2010-2011