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Jan 19, 2015
Lockhart does a great job of hooking you into the story right away; this one starts with a letter of confession from Frankie about her misdeeds at the elite Alabaster boarding school. The rest of the story fills in what happened. It's the tale of a teenage girl who is tired of being underestimated by her peers and family and takes some extreme measures to prove that she is more than what she seems. I was thoroughly engrossed and had a hard time putting it down. Frankie's character raises many questions for the reader. She is smart and funny, but confusing. In her quest to be taken seriously, she seems to define herself by the very people and mindsets she despises. Is it clever or pathetic/obsessive that she inflicts the same schadenfreude on some of the Bassets that they do on others? Frankie never calls herself a feminist--and is she? It's hard to tell (especially with an older sister who attends Berkeley, self-identifies as one, and also shows great concern at Frankie's actions). Certainly, she is a girl growing into her woman's body and figuring a lot of that out, in relation to those around her. There is lots of witty banter, creative pranking and hacking, and plenty of suspense as Frankie pushes the boundaries of respectability. At the same time, I agree with comments by an earlier reader that the frequent use of the omniscient voice that describes Frankie and her mindset was sometimes intrusive. It could have been toned down, at the very least. However, if you're looking for an entertaining read about life among the young elite and the dynamics that rule them, this book is a definite must. Also try Looking for Alaska by John Green.