Gayle Forman

Set in the 1980s in California, this poignant yet powerful coming-of-age story follows a young girl and her new friend who learns about family, friendship, allyship, and finding your way in a complicated world over the course of one eventful summer. It’s summer, and all ten-year-old Bug wants to do is go to the beach with her older brother and hang out with the interesting personalities around her Venice, California, home. But Danny is too big to want to spend time with her and Bug’s mom is too busy. Fortunately, their neighbor Philip’s nephew, Frankie, has come to visit. Bug’s not too sure about hanging out with a boy at first, but when they decide to start their own search for a local criminal, they form an instant bond. And as the summer unfolds, old secrets and new truths bubble to the surface, teaching Frankie and Bug some important lessons about life and family, being your true self, and how to navigate in a world that’s not always just or fair.

Frankie & Bug

Stefanie Sugia

"Frankie and Bug. Bug remembered how she'd bristled at that. Now it sounded right, like peanut butter and jelly, two things that went together."

I've read several books by Gayle Forman and enjoyed her writing in the past, but I think this is the first time I read a children's book by her. I was drawn to this book because the cover is incredibly cute and I thought it would be a heartwarming story about friendship. Turns out, my prediction was right but the plot turns out to be a lot more serious than I thought it would be. First of all, it's set in the year of 1987—but unfortunately I didn't know much about that particular period and what people were going through in California or the rest of the U.S. The author also didn't really gave much context at the start, so I went into it pretty much blind and unsure what the whole story is going to be about. I guess I wasn't able to love this book as much as other people did because I couldn't relate to the struggle that was portrayed through the story 🤔.

  "Everyone is prejudiced, Bug... It's what you do with the prejudice that matters.
You can either give in to the prejudice and treat people badly just because they're different from you. Or you can shine a light on it, to understand how arbitrary it all is and judge people for who they are, not what they are."

"It means people are complicated, everyone is weird in their way."
The story focuses on Bug, a ten-year-old girl whose wish is to spend the summer at the beach. At such a young age, Bug tends to have a childish reaction over various circumstances—that's why she was very disappointed when her older brother, Danny, wants to spend time with his own friends instead of accompanying Bug to the beach. And then Frankie came into the picture. Frankie is Philip's (Bug's neighbor) nephew who came from Ohio for the summer. At first, Bug was quite hesitant about befriending Frankie, but they soon bond over their interest in the Midnight Marauder—a serial killer who's been terrorizing Los Angeles. I thought the plot will focus mostly on their investigation to find the Midnight Marauder, so I was quite disappointed when the story took a different turn.

This book managed to keep me curious because a lot of things are concealed—especially from Bug's perspective. I kept questioning the reason why Danny suddenly changed this summer (even though I know for certain that he still cares for Bug like he used to), I was also curious when Frankie kept rejecting Bug's offer to do fun things together, there's also a mystery about their family history, and also the reason why Philip who was suddenly attacked. I won't discuss them in detail in this review to avoid spoiler, but these questions in my mind are what kept me reading until the end even though I'm constantly confused about where the story is actually heading. Towards the end of this book, I finally grasp the situation that the author is trying to convey. Back in 1987, there are a lot of prejudice against LGBT and people who are biracial. The characters who are gay, transsexual, and biracial portrayed the struggle they had to face in finding a place in the world where they are accepted for who they are. Despite that, the way these characters continue to love and support one another regardless of what they are warms my heart.

  "Because the world is as full of love as it is hate. And I want you to marinate in the love a little longer before you see the other side."

"So you get it?"
"Get what?"
"What it's like for people to be mad at you... just for being you."
As I said earlier, I wasn't able to appreciate this book to the fullest because I don't really relate to what the characters are struggling. I was confused most of the time the whole story feels a little bit jumbled, in my opinion. Even so, I still thoroughly enjoyed Gayle Forman's writing style from start to finish. I also love some parts of this book that reminded me how people are complicated sometimes—like Aunt Teri's character who can be mean at times but actually cares deeply for her family. At the end of the book, the author wrote a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saying that change can take a long time, but eventually, things will change for the better—which gives us hope for a better future ❤️.

  "Thanks for reminding me. And for reminding me that it's up to all of us to hurry toward justice."


Read my full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2022/0...

Frankie & Bug

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