Frankie & Bug
By Mary Eisenhart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fraught, funny, complex '80s tale of trans tween.
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What's the Story?
FRANKIE & BUG finds 10-year-old Beatriz, known as Bug since before she was born, facing an awful "vacation," as her older brother Danny, with whom she's spent many happy summers at the beach, suddenly doesn't have time for her and her mom won't let her do anything fun because she's a girl. There's a glimmer of hope when their neighbor's 11-year-old nephew Frankie arrives for the summer, but Frankie isn't into going to the beach. He is, however, very interested in studying the behavior of a serial killer who's terrorizing L.A. at the time, and Bug gets involved in spite of herself. Frankie's also really worried about the fact that, anatomically, he's a girl, and it's a struggle to find people who will let him be a boy in peace.
Is It Any Good?
Gayle Forman takes on a whole lot of issues, including homophobia, transphobia, sexism, racism, skinheads, and serial killers, in her fraught, funny, complex tale of two tweens in 1980s Venice Beach. Title characters Frankie & Bug are dealing with quite a lot, as are the adults in their lives, but form a strong bond as they share experiences and work through their differences, discovering in the process that there are worlds they didn't know existed.
"'You keep saying 'queer,'" Frankie said. 'Isn't that a bad thing?'
"'In some circles, I suppose, but I mean it as a term of love for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals.' Flo tossed the quickest look at Frankie before adding, 'You know, all us folk...'
"At the us folk, Bug's breath caught. Did Flo know? Would Frankie be upset? She glanced over. Frankie didn't look upset. He had a funny little half smile on his lips. His eyes were open and shining.
"'Is that what I am?' he asked in a quavering voice.
"'It's not what you are, it's who you are. And that's up to you. But I know plenty like you who call themselves transsexual.'
"'Transsexual,' Frankie repeated. 'So there is a word for it.'
"'Oh, honey, there's a word for everything on God's green earth. And if there isn't, we can just make one up.'"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the difficulties a trans character faces in Frankie & Bug in 1987. How do you think Frankie would fare in today's world? How would he be treated in your school?
Bug, who has a way of cutting through a lot of nonsense, learns that Frankie's father won't let him use the boy's bathroom, and observes "Well, that's just dumb. Who cares where you pee so long as you don't get it on the seat?" "People care," Frankie sighs. Why do you think they care? What do you think?
As the characters in Frankie & Bug discover, there are an awful lof of refugees in this world, and an awful lot of things to be a refugee from. Do you know any refugees? What are they fleeing? Are they finding a safe place to be themselves and live their lives?
Book Details
- Author: Gayle Forman
- Genre: Emotions
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Aladdin
- Publication date: October 12, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 288
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: November 11, 2021
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