skip navigation links

Readers > Talk it Up! > Discussion guides > 2011 Oregon Reader's Choice Award Nominees > The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

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

Discussion guide written by Natasha Forrester.

Summary

After Frankie has a growth spurt between her freshman and sophomore year, her new school year starts with attention from a popular, cute boy. But as the school year progresses, Frankie comes face to face with instances of subtle sexism and enacts a series of anonymous pranks to prove she is more than equal to the males in her school's exclusive, all-male, long-standing secret society.

Booktalk

The summer between her freshman and sophomore year Frankie went from being an unremarkable looking girl to one with a figure that makes boys stop in their tracks. Her contribution to this change, you might ask? A de-frizzing conditioner. Frankie was certainly not one to fuss with her looks.

Even with all of her outward changes she is still a girl "who liked to read, had only ever had one boyfriend, enjoyed the debate team and still kept gerbils in a Habitrail." She is not a girl who anyone would ever suspect of wrongdoing, let alone infiltrating the decades-old secret society, the Order of the Basset Hounds, at her once all-male prep school. But when Frankie starts dating a boy who is part of this group, she slowly comes to realize that they will never accept her as one of them.

So what's a girl to do? If the boys can play, she figures she can play harder. Frankie decides to take matters into her own hands by outsmarting the guys and masterminding a series of brilliant pranks like no one has ever seen before at the school. But with all of her perfect planning, Frankie isn't prepared for what happens when people find out the truth.

342 pages, 7th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. In the beginning of the book, Frankie thinks of the boys as "sure of their places in life" and she seems to envy them that security and confidence. Does she feel the same way at the end of the book? Give examples to support your answer.
  2. Frankie begins to feel that Matthew and the other boys at school don't take her seriously because she is a girl. What were some of the things made her feel that way?
  3. Frankie is intrigued by the concept of the panopticon prison. What do you think interests her about the concept? Do you think the panopticon idea would work in real life?
  4. At one point in the story, a character says, "Secrets are more powerful when people know you've got them." What does that mean?
  5. This story is told from the perspective of a third person narrator who shares Frankie's perspective. Why do you think the author chose to use a third person style instead of telling it directly from Frankie's point of view? How do you think the story would have been different if Frankie was the narrator?
  6. Frankie is fascinated with what she calls "neglected positives" and "inpeas" or "imaginary neglected positives." What are neglected positives and imaginary neglected positives? Give some examples of each.
  7. How would you describe this book to someone else if you only had 30-60 seconds to tell them about it? What key words would you use if you were tagging this for a blog or wiki?

If you liked this book, try

Activities

Learn about codes and write secret messages

Draw images of a panopticon.

Snacks: Frozen custard, goldfish crackers, and puppy chow (rice cereal squares with peanut butter and chocolate, sprinkled with powdered sugar).