Frankie
Shivaun Plozza
Frankie is a hard hitting teenager faced with expulsion from school for smacking someone over the face with a dictionary. Apart from that, she’s just discovered that she has a half-brother and that love isn’t always what you expect it to be.
I found myself confused at times. I don’t think it was ever explained exactly why Frankie was angry, even though the events surrounding her life were certainly messy. I’m not sure I’m objecting about this, except that perhaps the blurb focusses on that anger too much and not enough on Frankie’s changing life.
I feel completely inside Frankie’s character. She lept off the page at me, and then spent the rest of the novel in my head, narrating the well-depicted scenery. I could understand how each of her actions was motivated, and how easy it was to keep lying once she had started. That’s often how it works isn’t it…
There’s a great range of character relationships here. It’s not as straight-forward as Frankie falling in love and everything being happy after that. Instead it’s a meaty drama that explores complicated family relationships, how far you will go to protect someone you think you know, and friendship.
The ending! Devastating. But as expected I suppose. I didn’t know how else it could end. Well, I can guess. But the way it ended was just perfect as far as I was concerned. Ahh. Happy.
4 stars from me, a fabulous contribution to teenage literature that should be on the shelves of every school library.
