Pages

Monday, August 1, 2016

Another bookish gem...

Title: Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson
First line:  Because the station wagon blew up in the fire, Frank and I took the bus to the hospital.

The Plot:  When reclusive author M. M. Banning runs into financial trouble, she needs to write another book fast. So her New York Editor, Isaac Vargas, sends his young assistant, Alice Whitley, to California to help her out. But what Alice ends up primarily doing is taking care of Banning's nine-year-old son, Frank, and trying to stay out of Mimi's way. Alice soon learns that there are two important rules when it comes to Frank:  Never touch his stuff, and Never touch him. Frank is an exasperating, funny, eccentric, smart, disaster-prone child who does not play well with others. He dresses like an old Hollywood movie star. And while he loves watching old movies, his mother, and their here today, gone tomorrow piano-playing handyman, Xander, he does not love Alice. At least, not at first.

My thoughts:  This is a charming and very entertaining novel. Alice's struggles with both Frank and his mother made me laugh. It was fun to watch her grow up. And I really loved Frank. This bookish gem is essentially a book about families and how sometimes the best ones are made up of people who are completely unrelated to one another. It has both heart and humor, and I liked it a lot.

Happy Reading!

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I love the sound of this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a fun read; I really enjoyed it. And it was different from the other books I've been reading, which was nice.

      Delete
  2. I book with heart and humor. I like that. :-) I haven't really paid much attention to what this book was about until your review. I feel like I want to get to know Frank and Alice now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frank is quite the character...exasperating and loveable at the same time. And very unforgettable.

      Delete
  3. This one sounds perfect! I'll have to look it up. I'd never heard of it till now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get a chance to read it...and that you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

      Delete
  4. This sounds like a good read. And I definitely love books with heart and humour in it. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This has both. You can't help but laugh at all of Frank's quirks...and feel just a little bad for Alice who has to try and deal with them.

      Delete
  5. This sounds quirky! I'm off to investigate this one. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you'd like it! Let me know if you get a chance to read it. :)

      Delete
  6. I just finished it last night! I saw a special offer on it and knew I'd seen a positive review, so I downloaded the book. Couldn't put it down--thanks for the rec, Lark!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it a fun read? I'm so glad you liked it, too! :D

      Delete