Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

# of pages:  345 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

2010 Iowa Teen Award Winner

Frankie Landau-Banks was always known as “bunny rabbit” to her family, but as she enters her sophomore year at Alabaster Academy she realizes that she wants to be known for more than just being adorable.  The most popular senior boy, Matthew, asks her out and she cannot resist dating him.  It begins to bother her that he expects her to be there whenever he asks but never feels bad canceling plans on her in order to be with his friends.  He also shows no interest in her clubs, classes, or friends.  He just wants her to be around and look pretty.  When she learns that he is a member of the secret all male society, the Bassets, she decides to become a member whether they like it or not.  She feels it is unfair and outdated to exclude women from a group where life long connections are formed that would positively impact future careers.  As she infiltrates the group she is surprised by how the group responds to her ideas without knowing they are coming from her.  She wonders if all of her efforts will be worth it in the end.

This book takes a while to set up the plot line with the Bassets, but once it does the story takes off.  The writing style is very sophisticated and can encourage students to think about traditions, unwritten rules, and even grammar that everyone just accepts and never questions.  There are many instances in our lives in which we come across some of these expectations and we often adhere to these rules without thinking about the choices we are making.  Frankie asks people to stand up for ideas and procedures that need to be updated.  This is something all of us could think about.