“Don’t judge me, bitch. This is a high-stress situation.” - Frankie, p. 9.
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| Shivaun Plozza's debut YA novel Frankie. |
Shivaun
Plozza’s debut YA novel Frankie
(Penguin, April 2016) will slice you like an electric knife through kebab meat.
The title character’s sassiness, cynicism, mistrust and anger hooked me immediately,
and I seesawed between wanting to hug her and boot her up the backside
throughout the book. The writing is smooth and immediate, and pinballed me around
the full range of the emotional spectrum.
Frankie
Vega’s 17 and lives with her aunt Vinnie in a flat above Vinnie’s kebab shop. Xavier
contacts Frankie claiming to be her half-brother, and she’s suspended from
school after breaking a boy’s nose. When Xavier disappears, Frankie reluctantly
accepts help from his partner in crime (not a euphemism) Nate to help find him.
