Frankie & Bug, well-crafted mglit that will divide readers or libraries

Middle school books sometimes exist in the middle of the Venn Diagram. That’s the spot where a myriad of kids could enjoy the book for any number of reasons. Overlaid on that diagram is the very black and white metric of ‘kids want to read it’ and ‘kids don’t want to read it’. To make things even more complex there’s a duo chromatic lens that asks the very simple question of ‘is the book good?’, with a yes/no slider that could help middle school readers find that book. Of course, this silly way of quantifying children’s literature doesn’t exist. However, when I read a book that’s aimed at middle school readers my imagination creates this matrix and tries to think like a kid. Frankie & Bug is mglit that hammers some of these categories home, while creating a whole new “yes, but…” category that will inspire some readers while frustrating others.

Frankie & Bug is the story about Bug, a young girl who lives near Los Angeles. It’s the late-80’s, the hair is big, Oingo Boingo is on the radio (it’s southern California-if radio were a true and just medium then Oingo Boingo would be played on the radio every day, everywhere, even today) and there are other cultural data points that will play into the story. Frankie is visiting the area from the middle part of the country and has thrown a monkey wrench into Bug’s plans.

Frankie is the nephew to Bug’s neighbor and the two have been assigned into an arranged friendship, but the two are like oil and water. Bug loves to swim and play outside, while Frankie is shy and a bit more inward thinking. The only thing they seem to have in common is an interest in a criminal who has been doing bad things in the area. Each of them has been collecting clues and trying to establish a pattern of the crimes in hopes of helping the police. Bug has noticed some suspicious things happening at one of her neighbor’s house. They’re odd, keep a schedule that’s not normal, and the two suspect that this might be the Midnight Marauder.

As the two stake out what could be the crime scene, they’re becoming friends and realizing that they have much more in common than first thought. The first half of the book is a lively, coming-of-age story with a mystery twist. Halfway through the book, it shifts tone, and while the quality of the story and its writing remains the same, the plot takes a bittersweet, more realistic vibe.

You see in addition to the kids and their probably made-up list of suspects who could be the Marauder; there are some skinheads beating up people, folks learning about AIDS, a time when gay people were outliers, a homophobic aunt, and an attack on one of their friends. It’s these more serious topics that take front stage in the second half of Frankie & Bug.

It gets more complicated when Frankie is questioning who he really is. He’s not comfortable in his skin and sometimes wonders if he was born the wrong gender. God doesn’t make mistakes, Bug tells him. I, especially found this to be ironic in its timing because last night a friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in years told me that their child came out of the closet and is now trans.

This is something I bring up because it happens in the real world and it starts when kids are the ages of those in Frankie & Bug. However, this brings us back to the mystical diagram I tried to explain at the start. Frankie & Bug is a very well-written book that’s on par for those readers aged nine and up. The chapter length is perfect for that age in that they’re not too short, nor too long. Frankie & Bug is a book that some people will say that kids need to read. It’s also a book that some schools won’t allow them to read because it’ll never make it into their library. If kids happen to accidentally stumble across the book without knowing anything about it they’ll like the gentle mystery approach to its introduction, and feel the frustration and real-life emotions that the second half has to offer.  

Author Gayle Forman has certainly cast a wide net with Frankie & Bug. It’s a great book that will have clear, defined camps of those who like it and those who don’t. For us, the book was very good but felt like a bait and switch. If your young reader is aware that the book is a bittersweet look at life in the time of Stranger Things, but focused on people instead of the Upsidedown, then this is their jam. It will also be a very popular book among those upper elementary or middle school readers who are interested in LGBTQ books for younger audiences. For most audiences, it’ll end up as a well-crafted book with a message about accepting people for whom they are that kids won’t want to read.

Frankie & Bug is by Gayle Forman and available on Simon & Schuster.

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