The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

E. Lockhart pens narratives with complex, young heroines who often challenge social norms as they explore the world around them and try to understand their place in it. These protagonists often witness or experience the tension created by various types of societal privilege.

Lockhart’s 2014 novel We Were Liars tells the story of Cadence Sinclair, a girl from an affluent family. Her extended family spends their summers on a private island, where they are usually joined by her aunt’s boyfriend and his nephew, Gat. Cadence notices that her grandfather dislikes Gat and his father because they are South Asian. When the novel opens, Cadence is recovering from a head injury that caused amnesia. Two years after the accident, she returns to the island for the summer and discovers that her grandfather’s Victorian home is being rebuilt, though she doesn’t know why. Through her fragmented memories, readers discover that Gat, Cadence, and her two cousins set the house on fire to rebel against the family’s toxic, divisive privilege. The other three died in the fire, and Cadence continues to live with her guilt.

While We Were Liars critiques racial and economic privilege, many of Lockhart’s novels examine the complexities of high school social life. One such novel is The Boyfriend List (2004), the first in the Ruby Oliver series. Ruby, a 15-year-old, experiences romantic misadventures and is publicly humiliated, leading her to become a social pariah and experience anxiety attacks. Prompted by her therapist, she makes a list of all her romantic interests, and she uses the list to gain a greater understanding of herself. The novel highlights the importance of self-knowledge amidst social pressures and personal turmoil.

Again Again (2020) reiterates this theme of self-awareness and acceptance while also focusing on racial and economic dynamics. Set in the same fictional prep school as The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks—Alabaster Preparatory Academy—it uses alternate timelines to explore the protagonist Adelaide Buchwald’s emotions and the social dynamics of her circle. Adelaide is not as wealthy as most of the other students, which creates tension; also, there are few students of color at the school. Ultimately, the novel is “a thoughtful exploration of the expectations Adelaide places on herself and others; in each timeline, she must confront her own fears and shortcomings” (“Again Again.” Kirkus Reviews).

In The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, the author revisits several of these ideas. Like Cadence from We Were Liars, Frankie Landau-Banks breaks rules and must learn to live with the consequences of her choices. Both girls lose the boy they love as a result of the decisions they make. Like Ruby from The Boyfriend List, Frankie chafes against the social dynamics of her school, realizing how quickly she can be excised from a group when she doesn’t follow social rules. Like Adelaide in Again Again, who attends the same school she does, Frankie recognizes that she will never enjoy the privilege her peers do and that she must make difficult choices about her priorities. In all these novels, Lockhart avoids unrealistic happily-ever-after endings, instead presenting more authentic, nuanced, and emotionally complex realities that honor the uncertainties and insecurities of adolescence.