Synopsis: Frankie Landau-Banks begins her sophomore year at Alabaster Preparatory Academy hoping to get noticed by senior hottie Matthew Livingston. When her wish comes true, though, Frankie discovers it's not all that great to be Matthew's girlfriend. Matthew belongs to an all-male secret society, and suddenly Frankie wants to be noticed for more than her looks and who she's dating. Who is this group to exclude women, especially when Frankie knows that she smarter than any of it's members?
Review: With a cover reminiscent of The Secret, this book's secret is that it is a witty, flirty chick-lit novel that offers it's readers so much more than the typical girl trying to get the guy story.
Frankie Landau-Banks, "Bunny Rabbit" to her family, has always felt inconsequential. Her father, an Alabaster alum from the days when the school allowed only men, treats her as if she is a five-year-old. Her first and only boyfriend, Porter, fooled around with another girl and never even apologized. And when she begins her sophomore year and discovers that her big crush, Matthew Livingston, doesn't even remember her from last year even though she was introduced to him twice, it's certainly discouraging. Matthew only notices her when she falls off her bike and gets hurt. Frankie realizes that he totally likes the idea of rescuing a damsel in distress. Why is that? Of course, it does get her invited to a late night golf course party as his date, and soon she becomes his girlfriend. At first, Frankie is totally thrilled to be Matthew's girl, but soon he begins to cancel plans he made with her to go hang with his friend, Alpha. He's also lying about where he's going. Frankie decides to follow him one night and discovers that he belongs to the Basset Hounds, a secret all-male organization dedicated to partying and pranking. Why does this group exclude women when Alabaster is now co-ed? And why does Matthew always ditch her for his friends in the club? With Halloween approaching and the need for an awesome prank, Frankie creates the perfect opportunity for her to become the secret puppet-master of the Bassets.
I really love how this novel takes what we have come to view as typical teenage behavior and turns it 180. In so many novels girls lose their self-worth when the boy their pining for treats them badly. When Matthew treats Frankie badly, she takes action. She becomes the leader of Bassets and does it better than Matthew or Alpha ever could. She creates pranks that have meaning. Her exploits force the school to offer healthier food choices, recognize that school wide meetings should not be held in a chapel, and that the "old boy prep school" attitude is as dried up as an out of use swimming pool. When Matthew rudely and continuously corrects her grammar, she creates her own vernacular based on what she calls "neglected positives" (disgruntled-negative, gruntled-positive). Frankie is an innovator. She can change the world. As she herself thinks at the end of the novel:
"It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can't see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow. It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than shut them on people.
She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her she should be. That Bunny Rabbit is dead."
Although a bit less issue driven, you might also enjoy, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter.
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