Frannie and Tru

February 22, 2016
Debut author Hattrup delves into several hot-button issues with the story of Frannie, a 15-year-old white former Catholic school student who fears her upcoming enrollment in a predominantly black magnet school in Baltimore. With her father working odd jobs and her mother pulling double shifts, Frannie is lonely, having pushed away her Catholic school friends and finding nothing in common with her older brothers. When her 17-year-old gay cousin, Tru, visits for the summer, Frannie is determined to spend time with him, despite his caustic demeanor. Through Tru, Frannie meets cousins Sparrow and Devon Jones, as well as Devon’s band, making friends across racial and economic boundaries. Just when Frannie thinks she has matured and is ready for her new school, she learns that her understanding of race is skewed, and her belief that her homophobic aunt and uncle are the reason for Tru’s visit is upended. Though the minutia of Frannie’s daily life encumbers the novel’s otherwise brisk pacing, Hattrup’s confrontation with white privilege and Frannie’s misguided assumptions surrounding social class and sexual orientation avoid easy platitudes, creating insights ripe for further exploration. Ages 14–up. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency.

March 1, 2016
Fifteen-year-old Frannie idolizes her older cousin, Tru, but their summer together reveals some uncomfortable truths In her debut novel, Hattrup explores issues of race, class, and sexuality mostly from a distance, through the lens of white, presumably heterosexual Frannie. Frannie's 17-year-old cousin, Tru, is gay, and Frannie believes he has been sent to stay with her family in Baltimore for the summer as a result of coming out to his parents. Frannie hopes that Tru will be a bright spot in an otherwise miserable summer; she longs for Tru to see her as confident and sophisticated. Because her father is out of work, Frannie has to leave Catholic school to attend a predominantly black public magnet school--but the entire story takes place the summer before Frannie changes schools. During the summer, Frannie befriends some black kids, thanks to Tru, but aside from a couple of awkward scenes, race is mostly dealt with through Frannie's anxious thoughts. Hattrup captures Frannie's insecurities and shyness well, but these traits aren't enough to make her a compelling character. Similarly, Frannie's relationship with Tru makes for a very thin plot and very little tension. Most of the drama occurs in the last third of the book, and much of that comes across as too-little-too-late or contrived. With nothing significant at stake for its main character, the novel lacks the depth to deliver on its back-cover promise to confront issues of race, class, and sexuality. (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Frannie, 15, is excited that her older cousin Truman is coming to stay with her family for the summer. She hasn't seen him in a while, but she imagines all the things they'll do, things she'll say, and how amazing her once boring summer will be. Unfortunately, nothing works out quite the way she hoped; Tru doesn't seem to care about her or her older twin brothers. Frannie persists, and Tru starts to include her in some of his outings, and eventually she learns his secret. She is happy to get out and do something since she'll be starting at a more diverse public magnet school in the fall and worries that she won't fit in. The protagonist is self-absorbed, and as the summer progresses, her perceptions of her family and friends change. Frannie is the only fully fleshed-out character, but as she grows more aware of the world around her, the other characters become more well-rounded. Mentions of underage drinking, smoking, and marijuana use are peppered throughout and are organic to the tale. The story's pace slowly picks up about one-third of the way through the book and remains steady. VERDICT An additional purchase for coming-of-age YA collections.-Natalie Struecker, Atlantic Public Library, IA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 They say opposites attract, and that's certainly the case with needy, awkward 15-year-old Frannie. She is fascinated by her sophisticated, self-contained (and gay) 17-year-old cousin Tru, who has come to spend the summer with Frannie's family. As Frannie gets to know him better, she realizes he is more complicated than she had first thought. In the meantime, she meets three boys who have a band and become infatuated with one of them, Devon, who is black, which raises considerations of race that are a leitmotif of the novel. But it is Frannie's relationship with Tru that is the real force driving this character-rich work of literary fiction. Frannie may be a bit too awkward and self-doubting for some readers' tastes, but Tru is endlessly intriguing, and his evolving relationship with Frannie is wholly believable and emotionally engaging. In the end, this is a quiet novel about a quiet girl. And that's just as it should be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)