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The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt
“The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a literary bottle rocket—loaded with whimsy, pizzazz, and heart.”
—Adriana Trigiani
“Is it possible that I have just read/experienced/devoured the most delightful book ever published? Do not argue with me: There is magic here and genius.”
—Elinor Lipman
“A ripping yarn of emancipated girlish adventure.”
—Audrey Niffenegger
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a visually stunning, totally unique, full-color novel in the form of a scrapbook, set in the burgeoning bohemian culture of the 1920s and featuring an endearing, unforgettable heroine. Caroline Preston, author of the New York Times Notable Book Jackie by Josie, uses a kaleidoscopic array of vintage memorabilia—postcards, letters, magazine ads, ticket stubs, catalog pages, fabric swatches, candy wrappers, fashion spreads, menus and more—to tell the tale of spirited and ambitious Frankie’s remarkable odyssey from Vassar to Greenwich Village to Paris, in a manner that will delight crafters, historical fiction fans, and anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story ingeniously told.
—Adriana Trigiani
“Is it possible that I have just read/experienced/devoured the most delightful book ever published? Do not argue with me: There is magic here and genius.”
—Elinor Lipman
“A ripping yarn of emancipated girlish adventure.”
—Audrey Niffenegger
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a visually stunning, totally unique, full-color novel in the form of a scrapbook, set in the burgeoning bohemian culture of the 1920s and featuring an endearing, unforgettable heroine. Caroline Preston, author of the New York Times Notable Book Jackie by Josie, uses a kaleidoscopic array of vintage memorabilia—postcards, letters, magazine ads, ticket stubs, catalog pages, fabric swatches, candy wrappers, fashion spreads, menus and more—to tell the tale of spirited and ambitious Frankie’s remarkable odyssey from Vassar to Greenwich Village to Paris, in a manner that will delight crafters, historical fiction fans, and anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story ingeniously told.
233 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2011
45 people are currently reading
18701 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Preston
7 books270 followersAs a girl growing up in Lake Forest, Illinois, Caroline Preston used to pore through her grandmother’s and mother’s scrapbooks and started collecting antique scrapbooks when she was in high school. She attended Dartmouth College and received a master’s in American Civilization from Brown University. Inspired by her interest in manuscripts and ephemera, she worked as an archivist at the Peabody/Essex Museum and Harvard’s Houghton Library.
Preston is the author of three previous novels. Jackie by Josie, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, was drawn from her (brief) researching stint for a Jackie O. biography. Gatsby’s Girl chronicles F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first girlfriend who was the model for Daisy Buchanan.
In The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, she has drawn from her own collection of vintage ephemera to create a novel in the unique form of a 1920’s scrapbook.
She lives with her husband, the writer Christopher Tilghman, in Charlottesville, Virginia and has three mostly grown-up sons.
Preston is the author of three previous novels. Jackie by Josie, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, was drawn from her (brief) researching stint for a Jackie O. biography. Gatsby’s Girl chronicles F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first girlfriend who was the model for Daisy Buchanan.
In The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, she has drawn from her own collection of vintage ephemera to create a novel in the unique form of a 1920’s scrapbook.
She lives with her husband, the writer Christopher Tilghman, in Charlottesville, Virginia and has three mostly grown-up sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 903 reviews
March 11, 2012
My thoughts upon beginning this book: Why, oh why, didn't *I* write this book? It has everything I love; scrapbook/diary format, 1920s, ambitious young writer heroine, and oodles of beautiful vintage ephemera. Sigh.
My thoughts upon completing this book: Still sighing/swooning over all the "full-color vintage memorabilia on every page" that the cover so giddily promises. Since one of my favorite relaxing pastimes is browsing vintage greeting cards and magazines on etsy.com (and buying a few of my very favorites when they are affordable and I have the spare change), and since I am especially drawn to the 1920s, I really could not be happier with Frankie's scrapbook.
Frankie, herself, is another matter. I really wish I could have found her a kindred spirit, but ultimately I don't think we would have been very chummy. Of course, I appreciated her ambition, her tenacity, her desire to become a writer. I was very happy she went to Paris so we could get some French ephemera into the scrapbook. And of course she was awfully lucky to meet all of those famous writers.
But I'm not sure I liked all the things she did along the way. I ended up liking some of her friends more than I liked her. Not sure why, just something in her personality didn't click. And not that Frankie is that different from many girls, even today, but I guess I am so I couldn't quite love her story as much as I'd hoped to. Guess I need to go back to hanging out with Anne Shirley, Emily Byrd Starr and Jo March ;-)
Too, I felt the ending was all a bit too rushed, a bit too convenient, to be quite the stuff of genius some of Preston's fellow authors raved about in their reviews. All in all, I did enjoy the story well enough but I just had this lingering sense of unease while I read it and I can't quite pinpoint why...
Vintage Ephemera = 5 STARS
Story = 3 STARS
Total = 4 STARS
My thoughts upon completing this book: Still sighing/swooning over all the "full-color vintage memorabilia on every page" that the cover so giddily promises. Since one of my favorite relaxing pastimes is browsing vintage greeting cards and magazines on etsy.com (and buying a few of my very favorites when they are affordable and I have the spare change), and since I am especially drawn to the 1920s, I really could not be happier with Frankie's scrapbook.
Frankie, herself, is another matter. I really wish I could have found her a kindred spirit, but ultimately I don't think we would have been very chummy. Of course, I appreciated her ambition, her tenacity, her desire to become a writer. I was very happy she went to Paris so we could get some French ephemera into the scrapbook. And of course she was awfully lucky to meet all of those famous writers.
But I'm not sure I liked all the things she did along the way. I ended up liking some of her friends more than I liked her. Not sure why, just something in her personality didn't click. And not that Frankie is that different from many girls, even today, but I guess I am so I couldn't quite love her story as much as I'd hoped to. Guess I need to go back to hanging out with Anne Shirley, Emily Byrd Starr and Jo March ;-)
Too, I felt the ending was all a bit too rushed, a bit too convenient, to be quite the stuff of genius some of Preston's fellow authors raved about in their reviews. All in all, I did enjoy the story well enough but I just had this lingering sense of unease while I read it and I can't quite pinpoint why...
Vintage Ephemera = 5 STARS
Story = 3 STARS
Total = 4 STARS
December 7, 2011
I never really understood the scrapbook craze of the early 2000s—you know, the factory-produced, mass-marketed “hobby” characterized by rubber stamps, paper stencils and tubes of glitter. My wife and I have been “scrapbooking” since we first started dating. If you go to our upstairs guest bedroom and pull down a large book with swollen pages, you'll find a pair of movie theater ticket stubs for Flashdance and a small bouquet of dried violets. It's the artifact from a particular night of young, heady romance.
That’s why I could never wrap my brain around the new era of scrapbooking. It’s a mystery why otherwise-perfectly-sane women would want to collect scraps of made-in-China crap and paste them in large albums, each of them looking nearly identical to the ones made by a thousand other scrapbookers with glitter-sparkles caught in their hair. These aren’t true scrapbooks, they’re merely excuses for (primarily) women to gather, gossip and glue.
(Lest you think I’m spouting male chauvinism and petty disdain for all things frilly, please bear in mind that this is coming from a man who went through a serious cross-stitching phase, circa 1987-1995, and who would still be needling long into the night if it weren’t for my failing eyesight and ever-dwindling hours for “hobbies.” So, yes, I’ve been a frequent Jo-Ann’s shopper.)
This modern pre-fab scrapbooking is nothing like the scrapbook of Jazz Age ingenue Frankie Pratt. In a self-same-titled novel by Caroline Preston, Frankie’s pages burst into life with postcards, sheet music, wine labels, playing cards, charm bracelets, gum wrappers, swatches of fabric, photographs and ads for freckle cream. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is subtitled “A Novel in Pictures,” but it really should be called “A Novel of Ephemera.”
When we first meet her in 1920, the titular heroine is a spunky high school senior with worldly ambitions. The first page of her scrapbook is headed with the paper label “The Girl Who Wants to Write.” On the next page is a picture of her father’s old portable Corona typewriter (“Mice had chewed the case but it still works!”). And from there, we’re off on a whirlwind tour of Frankie’s life as a blossoming woman, all of it told completely through items in her scrapbook and the occasional typed comments.
Preston, whose previous novel was Gatsby's Girl, does a remarkable job breathing life into Frankie through the material objects she collects. We follow her as she heads off to Vassar, tries the bohemian life in Greenwich Village after graduation, finds work writing for True Story, travels to Paris aboard the S.S. Mauritania where she meets some Russian princes and a “spinster adventuress,” and eventually rents a room above the famed Shakespeare & Company bookstore run by Sylvia Beach. Along the way, she falls in love twice, has her heart broken an equal number of times, and comes to learn what true love really is by the last page of the book. It’s less Fitzgerald and more Faith Baldwin, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from falling deeply in love with this book.
Leafing through The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is like opening a 90-year-old time capsule from a cornerstone of Jazz Age culture. For example, Frankie types:
The most congenial spot for the unemployed is the Automat in Times Square. Search the want ads, read a novel, scribble on a story without any dirty looks from a waitress. Sit undisturbed from 8 until 6—like going to an office. All that’s required is spending a nickel every few hours on a bowl of oatmeal, an egg salad sandwich, a slice of pie (lemon meringue highly recommended), and yet another cup of coffee.
As we turn the pages of Frankie's scrapbook, the artifacts accumulate: The Charleston. Vogue patterns. Marcel-waved hair. Lillian Gish in Way Down East. A Radiola (“It runs on batteries & is totally portable. It only weighs 39 pounds.”). Cigarette holder (“to brandish like a rapier”). Josephine Baker at the Folies Bergere. Lucky Lindy in the sky.
Through this dizzying, dazzling array of bits and bobs of 1920s pop culture, Preston not only takes us on an authentic Time Machine odyssey, she so completely immerses us in one character’s life that in all honesty, I’d have to say Frankie Pratt was the most vivid and memorable of all the fictional population I encountered this year. Preston does this with a minimal amount of words and almost entirely through magazine ads, movie tickets and matchbooks.
And isn't this true of all of us? In the end, aren’t we merely the sum total of our possessions? We may not be able to judge a person by the color of their skin, but surely we can know them through the contents of their scrapbook.
(This review originally appeared at The Quivering Pen blog)
That’s why I could never wrap my brain around the new era of scrapbooking. It’s a mystery why otherwise-perfectly-sane women would want to collect scraps of made-in-China crap and paste them in large albums, each of them looking nearly identical to the ones made by a thousand other scrapbookers with glitter-sparkles caught in their hair. These aren’t true scrapbooks, they’re merely excuses for (primarily) women to gather, gossip and glue.
(Lest you think I’m spouting male chauvinism and petty disdain for all things frilly, please bear in mind that this is coming from a man who went through a serious cross-stitching phase, circa 1987-1995, and who would still be needling long into the night if it weren’t for my failing eyesight and ever-dwindling hours for “hobbies.” So, yes, I’ve been a frequent Jo-Ann’s shopper.)
This modern pre-fab scrapbooking is nothing like the scrapbook of Jazz Age ingenue Frankie Pratt. In a self-same-titled novel by Caroline Preston, Frankie’s pages burst into life with postcards, sheet music, wine labels, playing cards, charm bracelets, gum wrappers, swatches of fabric, photographs and ads for freckle cream. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is subtitled “A Novel in Pictures,” but it really should be called “A Novel of Ephemera.”
When we first meet her in 1920, the titular heroine is a spunky high school senior with worldly ambitions. The first page of her scrapbook is headed with the paper label “The Girl Who Wants to Write.” On the next page is a picture of her father’s old portable Corona typewriter (“Mice had chewed the case but it still works!”). And from there, we’re off on a whirlwind tour of Frankie’s life as a blossoming woman, all of it told completely through items in her scrapbook and the occasional typed comments.
Preston, whose previous novel was Gatsby's Girl, does a remarkable job breathing life into Frankie through the material objects she collects. We follow her as she heads off to Vassar, tries the bohemian life in Greenwich Village after graduation, finds work writing for True Story, travels to Paris aboard the S.S. Mauritania where she meets some Russian princes and a “spinster adventuress,” and eventually rents a room above the famed Shakespeare & Company bookstore run by Sylvia Beach. Along the way, she falls in love twice, has her heart broken an equal number of times, and comes to learn what true love really is by the last page of the book. It’s less Fitzgerald and more Faith Baldwin, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from falling deeply in love with this book.
Leafing through The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is like opening a 90-year-old time capsule from a cornerstone of Jazz Age culture. For example, Frankie types:
The most congenial spot for the unemployed is the Automat in Times Square. Search the want ads, read a novel, scribble on a story without any dirty looks from a waitress. Sit undisturbed from 8 until 6—like going to an office. All that’s required is spending a nickel every few hours on a bowl of oatmeal, an egg salad sandwich, a slice of pie (lemon meringue highly recommended), and yet another cup of coffee.
As we turn the pages of Frankie's scrapbook, the artifacts accumulate: The Charleston. Vogue patterns. Marcel-waved hair. Lillian Gish in Way Down East. A Radiola (“It runs on batteries & is totally portable. It only weighs 39 pounds.”). Cigarette holder (“to brandish like a rapier”). Josephine Baker at the Folies Bergere. Lucky Lindy in the sky.
Through this dizzying, dazzling array of bits and bobs of 1920s pop culture, Preston not only takes us on an authentic Time Machine odyssey, she so completely immerses us in one character’s life that in all honesty, I’d have to say Frankie Pratt was the most vivid and memorable of all the fictional population I encountered this year. Preston does this with a minimal amount of words and almost entirely through magazine ads, movie tickets and matchbooks.
And isn't this true of all of us? In the end, aren’t we merely the sum total of our possessions? We may not be able to judge a person by the color of their skin, but surely we can know them through the contents of their scrapbook.
(This review originally appeared at The Quivering Pen blog)
May 1, 2012
Book 5 of 52
I was pleasantly shocked that something like this existed. And more than a little excited to see if the format would actually tell a fulfilling story.
The vintage memorabilia was simply breathtaking, I loved all the little touches, and the style was completely accurate. It all felt very real. At one point a newspaper clipping mentioned "the little old lady in Dubuque Iowa" which I got very excited about, since many moons ago I was a proud Iowan. When I mentioned the clipping to my Dad he said he'd heard that quote before and there's actually a statue somewhere based off that quote. Who knew?
The characterization was especially interesting considering that there was hardly more than half a dozen conversations recorded in the book. I liked Frankie in a general way, but felt like giving her a good shake most of the time. Talk about bad desicion making! (SPOILERS: I can chalk up the first Jamie thing to innocence and youthful indiscretion. But a second time really? This man VIOLATED you Frankie. How on earth do you justify trusting him??)
My favorite character was her Spinster Adventuress boat friend. I would actually be more interested in a book about her than Frankie, she was too much fun :-)
The storyline wasn't anything new. The standard: "writers must travel and do stupid things and have multiple love affairs (at least one must be with someone who turns out to be gay) to be a good writer" storyline. Thankfully the writer in this one smartened up a bit and managed to get a happy ending.
I was pleasantly shocked that something like this existed. And more than a little excited to see if the format would actually tell a fulfilling story.
The vintage memorabilia was simply breathtaking, I loved all the little touches, and the style was completely accurate. It all felt very real. At one point a newspaper clipping mentioned "the little old lady in Dubuque Iowa" which I got very excited about, since many moons ago I was a proud Iowan. When I mentioned the clipping to my Dad he said he'd heard that quote before and there's actually a statue somewhere based off that quote. Who knew?
The characterization was especially interesting considering that there was hardly more than half a dozen conversations recorded in the book. I liked Frankie in a general way, but felt like giving her a good shake most of the time. Talk about bad desicion making! (SPOILERS: I can chalk up the first Jamie thing to innocence and youthful indiscretion. But a second time really? This man VIOLATED you Frankie. How on earth do you justify trusting him??)
My favorite character was her Spinster Adventuress boat friend. I would actually be more interested in a book about her than Frankie, she was too much fun :-)
The storyline wasn't anything new. The standard: "writers must travel and do stupid things and have multiple love affairs (at least one must be with someone who turns out to be gay) to be a good writer" storyline. Thankfully the writer in this one smartened up a bit and managed to get a happy ending.
August 26, 2016
This was such a fun book. It wasn't full of literary complexity but I love books that pair art with writing. I thought all the pictures were excellent and the historical references were very interesting. I especially loved reading the old advertisements. It's just sweet. I would say for 15 and up because there's a bit about sex Ed class. I will definitely check out her other books!
June 26, 2012
Original post at One More Page
I'm one of those people who tries to scrapbook. I say try because as much as I try, I can't really make my scrapbook pages look...well, as pretty and cute as the ones that other people do. That, or maybe I just don't have that artsy vibe (and the patience) to do them. But anyway, that never really stopped me from having fun with my planners, though:
[Click to embiggen]
Top row: 2006 planner - thesis defense+birthday week, Kalinga Luzon
Bottom row, left: 2010, 25th birthday week
Bottom row, right: 2012, February, word of the year
So it's not as pretty, but it serves well as my own memory bank. That's pretty much why I was delighted to receive The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston from one of my co-moderators in our book club on my 26th birthday (Thanks, Kuya Doni!). I had no idea what the book was about, but looking at the first few pages, I knew I was going to like this if only for the visual treat that it has. If I can't make pretty scrapbook pages, then I would live vicariously through others', even if it is from a fictional character.
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt tells of a story of Frances Pratt, who received a scrapbook and her father's old Corona typewriter as a high school graduation present. In here she documents her summer after high school where she decides to forgo a college scholarship to help her mom out, but she is smitten by an older man. Her mom finds a way to get her to college to keep her out of the influence of her unsuitable suitor, and Frankie finds her world opening up to more possibilities than she can imagine. We follow Frankie's adventures in college and in her meeting Vassar alumna Edna St. Vincent Millay, who inspires Frankie to go to New York to pursue her dreams. But when heartbreak finds her there, she sets sail to Paris to make it on her own. All Frankie wants is to find herself and the love of her life, but will she ever find it when she gets called home to be with her sick mother?
If I were to describe this book in a just one word, it's gorgeous. I loved every page of the book with all the typewritten (and some handwritten) words and the photos and the 1920's memorabilia. Some of them makes me wish they were real and I can pluck them off the page and keep them for myself! Look at some of these photos from the inside of the book (warning, slight photo dump):
The story feels just a little bit ordinary. I don't mean that in a bad way -- but if you've read the book's dust jacket, you pretty much know the story save for what happens in the end. It didn't have that much revelation, and it read like a coming-of-age story, but again, I didn't find ittoo shocking. But then...life doesn't have to be shocking to be extraordinary, yes?
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a relaxing book to read for all its gorgeousness, and maybe that really is the charm of the book. It may not end up as a favorite, but I will keep it on my shelf whenever I need to look at some pretty stuff, and maybe even get inspiration for the other pages of my planner when I get the mood to scrapbook again. :)
I'm one of those people who tries to scrapbook. I say try because as much as I try, I can't really make my scrapbook pages look...well, as pretty and cute as the ones that other people do. That, or maybe I just don't have that artsy vibe (and the patience) to do them. But anyway, that never really stopped me from having fun with my planners, though:
[Click to embiggen]
Top row: 2006 planner - thesis defense+birthday week, Kalinga Luzon
Bottom row, left: 2010, 25th birthday week
Bottom row, right: 2012, February, word of the year
So it's not as pretty, but it serves well as my own memory bank. That's pretty much why I was delighted to receive The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston from one of my co-moderators in our book club on my 26th birthday (Thanks, Kuya Doni!). I had no idea what the book was about, but looking at the first few pages, I knew I was going to like this if only for the visual treat that it has. If I can't make pretty scrapbook pages, then I would live vicariously through others', even if it is from a fictional character.
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt tells of a story of Frances Pratt, who received a scrapbook and her father's old Corona typewriter as a high school graduation present. In here she documents her summer after high school where she decides to forgo a college scholarship to help her mom out, but she is smitten by an older man. Her mom finds a way to get her to college to keep her out of the influence of her unsuitable suitor, and Frankie finds her world opening up to more possibilities than she can imagine. We follow Frankie's adventures in college and in her meeting Vassar alumna Edna St. Vincent Millay, who inspires Frankie to go to New York to pursue her dreams. But when heartbreak finds her there, she sets sail to Paris to make it on her own. All Frankie wants is to find herself and the love of her life, but will she ever find it when she gets called home to be with her sick mother?
If I were to describe this book in a just one word, it's gorgeous. I loved every page of the book with all the typewritten (and some handwritten) words and the photos and the 1920's memorabilia. Some of them makes me wish they were real and I can pluck them off the page and keep them for myself! Look at some of these photos from the inside of the book (warning, slight photo dump):
Can you imagine how much effort the author went through for each and every page of this book? I'm no expert in vintage, but this book just screams it from the cover all the way to the last page, and it made me a bit more interested in the 1920's (even if I have a feeling I don't think I can carry a flapper dress, LOL).
The story feels just a little bit ordinary. I don't mean that in a bad way -- but if you've read the book's dust jacket, you pretty much know the story save for what happens in the end. It didn't have that much revelation, and it read like a coming-of-age story, but again, I didn't find ittoo shocking. But then...life doesn't have to be shocking to be extraordinary, yes?
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a relaxing book to read for all its gorgeousness, and maybe that really is the charm of the book. It may not end up as a favorite, but I will keep it on my shelf whenever I need to look at some pretty stuff, and maybe even get inspiration for the other pages of my planner when I get the mood to scrapbook again. :)
November 14, 2019
I'm giving this 2 stars only because I love the scrapbooking style of this. The story itself gets 1 star.
This was so contrived and boring. I kept wishing this was shorter. The story was very cliché, poor girl meets rich, older guy who sort of seduces her. Mother sends her away to college to get her away from this man, who also happens to be married. Of course.
Girl is independent and modern for her day and age and fools herself into thinking she's not waiting for love or a man to rescue her from spinsterhood, but realizes that she does need a man. Alas, the man she finally thinks she's fallen for and thinks will propose, she ends up finding in the closet with another man.
She decides to go to Paris, where she happens to find her first suitor. He wants her to work for him. She agrees as it is very hard for her to find a job as a woman writer. They pick up their romance once again.
This guy never had the intention to do her proper so on the pretext that her mom is sick in the States, he buys her a ticket back to America so he can break up with her via a letter. It's not you, it's me. I don't want to hold you back. I want you to find someone who will make you happy even though it will break my heart. Blah, blah, blah. We've all heard this story time and again. Yawn.
Cannot really recommend.
This was so contrived and boring. I kept wishing this was shorter. The story was very cliché, poor girl meets rich, older guy who sort of seduces her. Mother sends her away to college to get her away from this man, who also happens to be married. Of course.
Girl is independent and modern for her day and age and fools herself into thinking she's not waiting for love or a man to rescue her from spinsterhood, but realizes that she does need a man. Alas, the man she finally thinks she's fallen for and thinks will propose, she ends up finding in the closet with another man.
She decides to go to Paris, where she happens to find her first suitor. He wants her to work for him. She agrees as it is very hard for her to find a job as a woman writer. They pick up their romance once again.
This guy never had the intention to do her proper so on the pretext that her mom is sick in the States, he buys her a ticket back to America so he can break up with her via a letter. It's not you, it's me. I don't want to hold you back. I want you to find someone who will make you happy even though it will break my heart. Blah, blah, blah. We've all heard this story time and again. Yawn.
Cannot really recommend.
March 6, 2020
I absolutely loved, loved, loved, this amazing and completely one-of-a-kind book. Usually I hate graphic novels, but this rollicking Twenties story was like nothing else I have ever read. On every page there are beautiful images of flappers and old-time dresses (and gorgeous Arrow shirt men) that just jump off the paper and you can't stop looking and looking. And at the same time the story is so rich, so entertaining, so full of romance and humor and heartbreak.
I should say that I have always loved Twenties stories. But that doesn't do Frankie justice. Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson is probably the worst book I have ever read or reviewed on Goodreads. And yet, it is set during the *exact* same time period, in some of the *exact* same locations, with some of the *exact* same tropes. (All-American girls looking for romance and adventure in Twenties NYC.) Yet it's like night and day. Frankie Pratt is so genuine, so courageous, so innocent and brave and hopeful, you just want to hug her on every page. And it's all the more amazing in that you never "see" her. She's dozens of different girls cut out from different magazines, and each one seems to add something to her personality.
This was such a basic, Forrest Gump style story -- Frankie always seems to magically appear wherever something exciting is happening. And yet, you never feel like she's a Mary Sue because her problems are so real. And even though lots of people hurt her in different ways, she never seems to judge them. And all of them are so interesting that instead of hating them you keep wanting to know what will happen to them next.
I read this whole book in one day while covering in the high school library. By the end of the day I felt like running all over school and yelling "you have to read this! This book is amazing!"
I should say that I have always loved Twenties stories. But that doesn't do Frankie justice. Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson is probably the worst book I have ever read or reviewed on Goodreads. And yet, it is set during the *exact* same time period, in some of the *exact* same locations, with some of the *exact* same tropes. (All-American girls looking for romance and adventure in Twenties NYC.) Yet it's like night and day. Frankie Pratt is so genuine, so courageous, so innocent and brave and hopeful, you just want to hug her on every page. And it's all the more amazing in that you never "see" her. She's dozens of different girls cut out from different magazines, and each one seems to add something to her personality.
This was such a basic, Forrest Gump style story -- Frankie always seems to magically appear wherever something exciting is happening. And yet, you never feel like she's a Mary Sue because her problems are so real. And even though lots of people hurt her in different ways, she never seems to judge them. And all of them are so interesting that instead of hating them you keep wanting to know what will happen to them next.
I read this whole book in one day while covering in the high school library. By the end of the day I felt like running all over school and yelling "you have to read this! This book is amazing!"
December 22, 2011
This book is absolutely breathtaking! It is composed of page after page of gorgeous pictures, advertisements and assorted other memorabilia that, along with the typed scraps of paper, tell the story of Frankie Pratt, an ambitious girl from New Hampshire who sets her sights on becoming a writer. We follow Frankie to Vassar College, a scholarship girl amongst over-privileged girls who are looking for a husband, not a career. She travels to New York, Paris and back to New Hampshire, all the time learning about life, love and what it really means to live.
The appeal of the scrapbook makes you feel like you are sharing something personal and sacred with Frankie and that you really know what is going on in her heart and mind. You cheer for her, sympathize with her and ultimately feel you are leaving her content and happy at a new stage of life when you turn the last page. The inclusion of famous and infamous people, places and businesses bring you right into the mix of the roaring 20's. This is a book unlike anything I have seen before and I cannot WAIT to see if the author writes another one like it!
The appeal of the scrapbook makes you feel like you are sharing something personal and sacred with Frankie and that you really know what is going on in her heart and mind. You cheer for her, sympathize with her and ultimately feel you are leaving her content and happy at a new stage of life when you turn the last page. The inclusion of famous and infamous people, places and businesses bring you right into the mix of the roaring 20's. This is a book unlike anything I have seen before and I cannot WAIT to see if the author writes another one like it!
February 26, 2012
A very interesting concept: a novel told in the form of a scrapbook, complete with 1920s era memorabilia. Frankie Pratt is a young woman from small-town New England who wins a scholarship to Vassar then moves to New York and, later, Paris to follow her dream of becoming a writer and finding love.
The book itself was beautiful, with pictures and various souvenirs from the 20s set against Frankie's typewritten commentary. The story, though, was a little lacking. It's understandable that there wouldn't be the kind of narrative depth found in a traditional novel, but I was disappointed that Frankie spent several pages hashing out one scene then covered three years of college in a single sentence. Furthermore, I felt like the emphasis on finding love at the end of the book contradicted the nature of Frankie's character, who was so interested in suffrage and being a starving artist. Very pretty book that was great for a single-sitting read, but ultimately didn't resonate as much as I'd have liked.
The book itself was beautiful, with pictures and various souvenirs from the 20s set against Frankie's typewritten commentary. The story, though, was a little lacking. It's understandable that there wouldn't be the kind of narrative depth found in a traditional novel, but I was disappointed that Frankie spent several pages hashing out one scene then covered three years of college in a single sentence. Furthermore, I felt like the emphasis on finding love at the end of the book contradicted the nature of Frankie's character, who was so interested in suffrage and being a starving artist. Very pretty book that was great for a single-sitting read, but ultimately didn't resonate as much as I'd have liked.
March 12, 2012
Oh what a fun treat this book is! It has page after page of brilliant photographs of just the sort of stuff girls will save in their scrapbooks. It's a sort of scrapbook/diary of a girl that begins in her high school days, takes her thru college and then off to her first magazine job. Of course, her romances are all there, complete with juicy details, no, nothing, vulgar. Eventually she ends up banging around 1920's Paris, has a tiny apartment above THE Shakespeare and Company, has yet another romance, till she returns to America to care for her sick mom and fall in love,again, with a fella from her past who grew into a hunky marriagable fellow. It takes less time to read ( about 45 minutes) than it does to drool over the wonderful lovely early 20th century ephemera. Sigh, I'm so glad I braved the rain this afternoon to go to the library. There this was, waiting for me on the New Fiction shelf.
February 5, 2012
This book almost had enough vintage memorabilia to make my vintage-loving heart explode!
The story was less than ideal, as there were no new nuances, not to mention a lot of name-dropping. (Frankie met Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sylvia Beach, AND James Joyce? I'm incredulous. And a little jealous. Except for the James Joyce part, as I consider him to be creepy.) But honestly, I didn't really mind too much; it was still interesting to read, and let's face it, I was under the enchanted spell of the antiquated paraphernalia. But the story did end in a way that raised the bristles of my aspiring authoress self/inner feminist... My inner homemaker didn't mind, though.
The story was less than ideal, as there were no new nuances, not to mention a lot of name-dropping. (Frankie met Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sylvia Beach, AND James Joyce? I'm incredulous. And a little jealous. Except for the James Joyce part, as I consider him to be creepy.) But honestly, I didn't really mind too much; it was still interesting to read, and let's face it, I was under the enchanted spell of the antiquated paraphernalia. But the story did end in a way that raised the bristles of my aspiring authoress self/inner feminist... My inner homemaker didn't mind, though.
December 16, 2011
With The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, Caroline Preston has transcribed the imaginative journeys I take every time I set foot in an antique shop. I love exploring these little treasure troves of our past, creating my own stories about the lives of the former owners of gorgeous Flapper
clothes, long thin cigarette holders, Depression glassware and kitschy wall decorations. I imagine the fun they had when they turned in the Worlds Fair or silent movie tickets whose stubs now remain, preserved under glass for posterity. I wonder about the loves and passions symbolized by old, heavy wedding bands and pressed flowers.
Similarly, in an imaginative and creative new literary form, Preston has blended a diverse collection of vintage material to recreate the history of Frankie Pratt, a modern 20s girl with dreams of becoming a writer. Through its beautiful array of advertisements, newspaper clippings, fabric swatches, postcards and other memorabilia, Frankie's scrapbook documents her graduation from high school, years as a Vassar girl, life as a starving writer in Greenwich Village, stint as a Parisian expat and, finally, her journey to success. Along the way, Frankie experiences the thrills of first love and the pain of first heartbreak, experiments with cigarettes and shocking novels (like James Joyce’s Ulysses!), learns about life and herself through both her successes and her failures, and grows up to find that, sometimes, the very thing you need to be complete is something you had all along. Frankie's story alone is slightly interesting but, told through such a interesting blend of material, it becomes altogether charming and memorable. Definitely a
novel for any antique lover, history buff or scrapbooking queen! I am so glad I purchased it, as I know I’ll be opening it again and again to discover something I missed the first time
through.
clothes, long thin cigarette holders, Depression glassware and kitschy wall decorations. I imagine the fun they had when they turned in the Worlds Fair or silent movie tickets whose stubs now remain, preserved under glass for posterity. I wonder about the loves and passions symbolized by old, heavy wedding bands and pressed flowers.
Similarly, in an imaginative and creative new literary form, Preston has blended a diverse collection of vintage material to recreate the history of Frankie Pratt, a modern 20s girl with dreams of becoming a writer. Through its beautiful array of advertisements, newspaper clippings, fabric swatches, postcards and other memorabilia, Frankie's scrapbook documents her graduation from high school, years as a Vassar girl, life as a starving writer in Greenwich Village, stint as a Parisian expat and, finally, her journey to success. Along the way, Frankie experiences the thrills of first love and the pain of first heartbreak, experiments with cigarettes and shocking novels (like James Joyce’s Ulysses!), learns about life and herself through both her successes and her failures, and grows up to find that, sometimes, the very thing you need to be complete is something you had all along. Frankie's story alone is slightly interesting but, told through such a interesting blend of material, it becomes altogether charming and memorable. Definitely a
novel for any antique lover, history buff or scrapbooking queen! I am so glad I purchased it, as I know I’ll be opening it again and again to discover something I missed the first time
through.
December 14, 2011
The Three Reasons Review is a simple way to get your thoughts out there about a book. The reasons are as follows complete with fancy button:
1.) Reasons you chose this book
I lost count as to how many great reviews I read of this title so I knew that I had to read it and soon!
2.) Reasons you liked or disliked this book
I loved this book! It was so fun to look at the ephemera from days gone by. I would love to actually hold a scrapbook from this time period in my hands today. What a treasure it would be. The pictures from the 1920's are awesome. I love the fashion and the hair. I loved how the author set it up in chapters and allowed the scrapbook to really tell the story. I'm a scrapbooker too and this has helped get me back into the mood of recording the stories of my children and my story too!
3.) Reasons you are recommending this book
I read this one in a couple of hours and found it to be a wonderful way to spend the time. I enjoyed looking at the styles of the day and the quirky slang. My favorite part was when Frankie spent a year in France! For those that love the roaring 20's this book is wonderful. For anyone who likes to journal or scrapbook, this is a sweet reminder of how it all started!!
1.) Reasons you chose this book
I lost count as to how many great reviews I read of this title so I knew that I had to read it and soon!
2.) Reasons you liked or disliked this book
I loved this book! It was so fun to look at the ephemera from days gone by. I would love to actually hold a scrapbook from this time period in my hands today. What a treasure it would be. The pictures from the 1920's are awesome. I love the fashion and the hair. I loved how the author set it up in chapters and allowed the scrapbook to really tell the story. I'm a scrapbooker too and this has helped get me back into the mood of recording the stories of my children and my story too!
3.) Reasons you are recommending this book
I read this one in a couple of hours and found it to be a wonderful way to spend the time. I enjoyed looking at the styles of the day and the quirky slang. My favorite part was when Frankie spent a year in France! For those that love the roaring 20's this book is wonderful. For anyone who likes to journal or scrapbook, this is a sweet reminder of how it all started!!
March 3, 2013
This book is utterly brilliant, both in story and in concept. I shelved it as a "graphic novel," though that isn't exactly correct. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is really just that, a scrapbook. The premise is that Frankie receives a scrapbook as a gift, and fills it with stories and souvenirs of her experiences at home, school and beyond.
This is so clever, and so beautifully executed that I'm thrilled I heard about it and was able to experience it for myself. Frankie is a vibrant, witty narrator and the items included as illustration to the story are perfectly chosen and wonderful to look at. Pure joy for me as a reader and as a fan of all things retro.
This is so clever, and so beautifully executed that I'm thrilled I heard about it and was able to experience it for myself. Frankie is a vibrant, witty narrator and the items included as illustration to the story are perfectly chosen and wonderful to look at. Pure joy for me as a reader and as a fan of all things retro.
March 15, 2017
I still love the idea of a story being told through a scrapbook, and I loved the vintage graphics on every page. That was fun. However, I didn't find either Frankie or her story to be terribly engaging. It's just a very standard story of a small town girl going out into the world and, inevitably, coming back again. Cool concept, I just wish the story had been as cool.
November 24, 2017
I was intrigued by this book when it came out in 2011 but didn't get around to buying it. Then years later I wanted to but couldn't remember the author or title. Luckily a Goodreads friend put it on their to read shelf and it passed through my timeline. This time I purchased it right away.
It's a quick "read" since you are mostly looking at pictures and memorabilia. There are blocks of type- written narrative to guide you through, but mostly you'll be turning the book every which way to read tickets, programs, ads, report cards and much more.
The story is understandably simple but still interesting. It follows Frankie during the Jazz age as she graduates high school in Cornish New Hampshire, goes to the prestigious Vassar College on a scholarship, then to Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan and eventually to Paris all to chase her dream of being a writer. Consistent with this theme, there's naturally tidbits from various famous writers of the time.
I love this time period and the places the book takes you. It's cool that the author collects this old memorabilia and came up with this inventive way to display it. Since the author is from the Chicago burbs, I hope she does one from there sometime.
It's a quick "read" since you are mostly looking at pictures and memorabilia. There are blocks of type- written narrative to guide you through, but mostly you'll be turning the book every which way to read tickets, programs, ads, report cards and much more.
The story is understandably simple but still interesting. It follows Frankie during the Jazz age as she graduates high school in Cornish New Hampshire, goes to the prestigious Vassar College on a scholarship, then to Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan and eventually to Paris all to chase her dream of being a writer. Consistent with this theme, there's naturally tidbits from various famous writers of the time.
I love this time period and the places the book takes you. It's cool that the author collects this old memorabilia and came up with this inventive way to display it. Since the author is from the Chicago burbs, I hope she does one from there sometime.
April 5, 2024
4 stars for the story but 5 overall for the delivery. This novel about a young woman in the 1920’s going to Vassar, moving to NYC and Paris, and becoming a writer is told entirely in full-color scrapbook form. A quick, immersive read, very well executed. I love a novel told in a different style and this one definitely does it.
August 6, 2019
En av sommarens största överraskningar. Befarade nostalgi i överkant, fick bara-så-rätt bohemisk Bildungsroman. Åtminstone fokuserade jag på de bitarna.
December 28, 2020
I loved this novel in pictures set in the 1920's, which is one of my favorite periods. It was a joy to read at the end of this difficult year!
March 6, 2024
Seriously a fun, quick, and quirky read. I’ve never encountered a book like this before. This has patiently been waiting in my To Reads for such a long time. Take the plunge and read this. You won’t regret it.
September 10, 2013
I found out about this book at the vv32 blog during a 1920's virtual event. I was captivated by the idea of a story told entirely through a girl/woman's scrapbook. When my new copy arrived, I drooled over the lovely glossy pages that featured authentic graphic memorabilia from the early '20's period. I loved the variety of things that were stuck into Frankie's scrapbook that told her story as much as the little type-written notes tucked in there. Just in case your wondering...yes, a scrapbook is a viable medium for telling a life story.
In this case, it tells the story of young Frankie Pratt from her teen years to the moment her days of adventuring bring her to the place and the person she most desires. Frankie comes from a poor home, but between opportunities and talent she leads a very adventuresome life chasing her dreams, learning life's lessons, living a few heartbreaks and then finally snubs her nose at feminism to prove that she does crave a happily ever after with the right man.
This creative bit of storytelling gave me a pleasant surprise when I discovered that Frankie's voice, her character and that of the others she encounters come shining through even when most pages boast a few sentences at the most. Frankie's travels take her to many wonderful places and through unique experiences where she rubs elbows with people of all sorts. The feel of the early 1920s period was authentic and interesting as the backdrop without overpowering the plot. It is very much a coming of age story and a journey style story. I loved each romantic encounter that left her a little wiser and more experienced. I smugly acknowledge that 'I knew that's how it would end' with a big smile because I wanted this for her.
I recommend this one for those who enjoy historical women's fiction, historical romances or just want to try a unique method to tell a story in book form.
In this case, it tells the story of young Frankie Pratt from her teen years to the moment her days of adventuring bring her to the place and the person she most desires. Frankie comes from a poor home, but between opportunities and talent she leads a very adventuresome life chasing her dreams, learning life's lessons, living a few heartbreaks and then finally snubs her nose at feminism to prove that she does crave a happily ever after with the right man.
This creative bit of storytelling gave me a pleasant surprise when I discovered that Frankie's voice, her character and that of the others she encounters come shining through even when most pages boast a few sentences at the most. Frankie's travels take her to many wonderful places and through unique experiences where she rubs elbows with people of all sorts. The feel of the early 1920s period was authentic and interesting as the backdrop without overpowering the plot. It is very much a coming of age story and a journey style story. I loved each romantic encounter that left her a little wiser and more experienced. I smugly acknowledge that 'I knew that's how it would end' with a big smile because I wanted this for her.
I recommend this one for those who enjoy historical women's fiction, historical romances or just want to try a unique method to tell a story in book form.
October 22, 2011
This book is a little unusual amidst the world of adult novels--the only reasonable comp I can think of would be the Griffin & Sabine books by Nick Bantock.
It's a gentle book, an old-fashioned book, both in the best senses of the words. Frankie leaves home in Cornish, NH, in the 1920s and makes her way first to Vassar, then to NYC and Paris, before she returns home to Cornish. The text is minimal; instead we get copious amounts of vintage memorabilia and ephemera to illustrate Frankie's journey.
Along the way Frankie encounters romantic love (doomed and otherwise), privilege, antisemitism, and modernism for the first time in her life, and she's also witness to many important events of the 1920s, such as the publication of Ulysses & The Sun Also Rises, Charles Lindbergh's trans-atlantic flight, and the bohemian expat life of Paris's Left Bank. (Frankie lives in an apartment above the iconic bookstore, Shakespeare & Co, and I was interested to read that its propietor, Sylvia Beach, was the real-life godmother of the author's mother.)
This is an utterly charming adult novel that will have a wide crossover appeal for teen girls.
It's a gentle book, an old-fashioned book, both in the best senses of the words. Frankie leaves home in Cornish, NH, in the 1920s and makes her way first to Vassar, then to NYC and Paris, before she returns home to Cornish. The text is minimal; instead we get copious amounts of vintage memorabilia and ephemera to illustrate Frankie's journey.
Along the way Frankie encounters romantic love (doomed and otherwise), privilege, antisemitism, and modernism for the first time in her life, and she's also witness to many important events of the 1920s, such as the publication of Ulysses & The Sun Also Rises, Charles Lindbergh's trans-atlantic flight, and the bohemian expat life of Paris's Left Bank. (Frankie lives in an apartment above the iconic bookstore, Shakespeare & Co, and I was interested to read that its propietor, Sylvia Beach, was the real-life godmother of the author's mother.)
This is an utterly charming adult novel that will have a wide crossover appeal for teen girls.
March 26, 2014
As a child, my 'reward' for improved reading was books that no longer had pictures. I have never quite recovered. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt embodies everything I look for in a book. The story line was captivating and in there were pictures on each and every page, illustrating times gone by. They brought back nostalgic memories of products, experiences, fragrances, tastes, fashion, fabric and fantasy. It folded in forgotten games from childhood, memories of historical moments, and music, plays and movies from eras gone by. For a much to brief time I was transported to a different place and time.
July 25, 2020
I love that this author used her archive of vintage ephemera to put this entire novel together (it is basically a novel told in the form of a scrapbook). Frankie is a young woman on the verge of becoming a flapper in the 1920s. It is amazing how much of Frankie’s story she is able to tell simply through images and brief journal entries from Frankie. If you enjoy exploring new ways to tell the stories contained in novels, this one is certainly worth checking out.
April 6, 2016
Wow, I thought this book was AMAZING! I LOVED how the story was completely made up to go along with the vintage memorabilia. As a history nerd I loved looking at all of the old pictures and advertisements from the 1920s. I thought Frankie was such a fun character. I loved reading about her experience from when she graduated from high school all the way through all these ups and downs and finally she found her happy ending. Now I want to read more books by Caroline Preston!
October 30, 2018
This is literally a scrapbook, embellished with a few lines of text per page to create a narrative thread. Do you know how much I love scrapbooks? You can probably guess. Do you know how hard it is to find one in real life that is curated with interesting things, and not just stuffed with greeting cards, snapshots or newspaper/magazine clippings?
This is packed end to end with interesting historical memorabilia on glossy pages, exactly what I was craving when I searched for books like this and exactly how I hoped it would turn out when I found this title online. I was surprised to see how much text there was, actually -- through her annotations, you can easily follow her life from graduation to Vassar, New York, Paris, and home again -- and it's worth reading. She has more excitement and adventure packed into her life between age 18 and 20-something than most people have in their whole lives, and I love the idea of this fictional character keeping it all recorded in this scrapbook that is passed down through the next generations until the family line ends and/or an unscrupulous heir sells it on eBay.
The only thing that kept me from enjoying it fully was that at times I feel like the author was working a little overtime to prove to us how forward-thinking the twenties were and/or how people back then were Just Like Today, with the routine inability to keep their clothes on, among other things. I prefer people who romanticize the past and represent the type of person I am and would have been. Also, some of the people in photographs have glasses drawn on them with permanent marker, which the text never mentions the character doing for fun so I think we're supposed to pretend they actually represent people with glasses? It was so badly done and distracting!
However, besides that nitpick, I have never seen a book do such a beautiful job with paper ephemera, and she's competing with Nick Bantock for that praise. I didn't even think I was that interested in the 1920s when I started, checking it out as a consolation prize because the library didn't have the War Bride one, and now I'm like "THIS IS MY FAVORITE ERA."
This is packed end to end with interesting historical memorabilia on glossy pages, exactly what I was craving when I searched for books like this and exactly how I hoped it would turn out when I found this title online. I was surprised to see how much text there was, actually -- through her annotations, you can easily follow her life from graduation to Vassar, New York, Paris, and home again -- and it's worth reading. She has more excitement and adventure packed into her life between age 18 and 20-something than most people have in their whole lives, and I love the idea of this fictional character keeping it all recorded in this scrapbook that is passed down through the next generations until the family line ends and/or an unscrupulous heir sells it on eBay.
The only thing that kept me from enjoying it fully was that at times I feel like the author was working a little overtime to prove to us how forward-thinking the twenties were and/or how people back then were Just Like Today, with the routine inability to keep their clothes on, among other things. I prefer people who romanticize the past and represent the type of person I am and would have been. Also, some of the people in photographs have glasses drawn on them with permanent marker, which the text never mentions the character doing for fun so I think we're supposed to pretend they actually represent people with glasses? It was so badly done and distracting!
However, besides that nitpick, I have never seen a book do such a beautiful job with paper ephemera, and she's competing with Nick Bantock for that praise. I didn't even think I was that interested in the 1920s when I started, checking it out as a consolation prize because the library didn't have the War Bride one, and now I'm like "THIS IS MY FAVORITE ERA."
January 5, 2022
I found this book on the Graphic Novels shelf at the high school library. I don't know if I would classify it as a graphic novel... it's kind of its own genre. It's full of memorabilia from the 1920's: advertisements, pictures, newspaper clippings, photos, maps... a huge variety. The "stuff" is arranged to accompany the story which is written like captions in a scrapbook. It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I'd probably give it a 4.5, but the uniqueness of the book lets me round up to 5. The story is engaging, but the "stuff" makes this book a treasure, unlike anything I've ever read. I'm going to send a copy to my friend Jeff who collects 1920's advertisements. I thought of him so often while I read. If you want something new and interesting, give this book a try.
February 5, 2024
I read this in a day. This is the second "scrapbook" book of Preston's that I've read. It's been too long since I've read the other one to decide which one I liked better. From what I can remember, I liked Frankie's story much better, however, I believe I liked the ephemera in the War Bride's Scrapbook better. I kept sharing interesting tidbits about the 1920's with Dan. One of which was a total solar eclipse in New England in May of 1928...interesting since we will be in the path of the solar eclipse this April. I think these kinds of historical tidbits are what I find so fascinating about these books. Enjoyable.
October 23, 2017
This was such a lark!!!
I am a 'vintage' fan, even to the point of having owned a vintage clothing store for a while. This is a really fun era, with the liberating changes for women and the whole wild air about it!
I have read books written in earlier periods, and we have all seen old movies, and current films as well... the author captured the tone of the times - as presented in literature at least! (ah, the romance!)
Her work with the ephemera is so much fun - caught myself wanting to go ahead with the story line but having to stop and study the pages.
I will be going back and slowly re-reading it to catch all the details.
I am a 'vintage' fan, even to the point of having owned a vintage clothing store for a while. This is a really fun era, with the liberating changes for women and the whole wild air about it!
I have read books written in earlier periods, and we have all seen old movies, and current films as well... the author captured the tone of the times - as presented in literature at least! (ah, the romance!)
Her work with the ephemera is so much fun - caught myself wanting to go ahead with the story line but having to stop and study the pages.
I will be going back and slowly re-reading it to catch all the details.
February 9, 2019
I got this book on amazon for four dollars, excited to just flip through and enjoy the vintage feel of the collage art, but I found myself reading every word. I loved this so much; it was a great story, but also felt very real.
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