The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks is a normal 15 year old who happens to go to a very exclusive boarding that like all old boarding schools used to be all male. Now the school is co-ed but all the exclusive clubs remain all male.

Frankie (a girl) has a newly developed knockout figure, a sharp tongue, a chip on her shoulder, and a gorgeous new senior boyfriend. Frankie Laundau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society, definitely not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them, and certainly not when there are so many pranks to be done.

I was surprised by how smart this book is. I always appreciate that. E. Lockhart is known for her fun chick lit books for teens. I liked The Boyfriend List and Fly on the Wall but they weren't particularly earth shattering and they were pretty exclusively girlie. But this title is Printz Honor 2009 and a finalist for 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature plus lots of other awards click here:http://e-lockhart.com/main/?page_id=7.

This was a smart book about relevant feminist issues facing young people today. Now, don't be afraid about the word feminist. "Feminist" means more than equal rights and equal pay; it examines how society views and values the woman's cultural role. This novel explores what is generally accepted as "appropriate" behavior for a young girl, what is equality, and what is the role that girls are expected to fill.

The book was thought provoking without being offensive. The storyline was cute but not unimpressive. The protagonist was a girl but girls don't have to be the audience. In general, this was just a really great book!

Any thoughts?

Printz 2010

Newbery 2010

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

A hero with an incredible talent...for breaking things. A life-or-death mission...to rescue a bag of sand. A fearsome threat from a powerful secret network...the evil Librarians.

Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem destined for anything but disaster. On his 13th birthday he receives a bag of sand, which is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians plotting to take over the world. The sand will give the Librarians the edge they need to achieve world domination. Alcatraz must stop them!...by infiltrating the local library, armed with nothing but eyeglasses and a talent for klutziness.


This was such a funny book. In the introduction, Brandon says that a Librarian will never recommend this title to you. But, it has happened. The book was good and there is a whole series of it.

I still think about this everytime I am late anywhere. Do I have a talent to being late? What a great unexpected hero. Who is your favorite unexpected hero?

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia is haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

This is a illuminating story about one girl's struggle with anorexia. It is stream of consciousness but it has more structure and you can follow with ease what is going on; it jumps around a lot in the narrator's head. I rather like this style because it makes the characters feel so real. I really get inside her head.

I am not sure how helpful books like this are. While it is important to have these issues out in the open, it seems like more sensationalizing the issue that, I think is linked to this "emo is cool" some teens embrace. Now, I understand that some people just tend towards dark expression; I think of Edgar Allen Poe. While, Poe was certainly not a mood/happiness/general life achievement role model--he died drunk in a ditch-- he was being himself and that honesty is commendable. But there are plenty of people who jump on the band wagon and think "it's cool to act like X" or "I will get attention by acting like X." In reality, such behaviors are dangerous and you might end up drunk in a ditch dead. Not a good way to go.

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie.

Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders.

I just finished reading this book and I liked it. Jane has reasonable problems and her hectic life is realistic. Sometimes in a cute romance you get a bunch of problems that aren't really problems. "My hair is way too curly and wild to date someone like that." I'm sorry, shut-up, go buy a brush and date the guy. But Kristina made Jane feel like someone I already know. I enjoy that. Plus, I like coffee!

The only problem I found was that it was too short. It is less than 200 pages. I have a thing. I know it's a weird thing. But I feel cheated when I want more. I don't like poems or short stories because I feel like if the authors really wanted to develop a character they should have written a book. You can go ahead and like short stories and poems, I JUST WANT MORE! It tends to be a theme in my life. But it is good when what I happen to want more is reading and not that evil chocolate cream pie.

OOOooooohhhhh! Chocolate cream pie goes very well with a tall caramel mocha!