Critical Praise
“Readers will find themselves captivated.”
—People
“Delightful. You will laugh out loud.”
—Slate
“Johnson’s magnificently poignant, funny, and wholly original debut goes beyond page-turner status. Readers will race to the next sentence. And the next. Her charming, flawed, quietly courageous characters, each wonderfully different, demand a second reading while we impatiently await the author’s second work.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A lot of fun to be had along the way. Sit back…and enjoy the show.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Julia Claiborne Johnson ably conjures a quirky cast and a privileged California world. BE FRANK WITH ME is about being an outsider and the ways in which differences help others see the world in a new way. Like Frank, this offbeat story has a big heart.”
—BookPage
“Johnson’s spare, wry, Salingeresque style evokes those great oddball novels of the past and provides a charming take on the parent-of-challenged-child theme.”
—Daily Mail (London)
“BE FRANK WITH ME is that rare, hits-me-just-right book I am always hoping to find when browsing: Witty, but never cutesy. Deeply felt, but never sentimental. Peopled with deeply flawed, fully realized characters I cared about. It pulled me in so strongly that I found myself reading in that whole body way that is a rare and luminous pleasure after childhood, so immersed that the phone and the dogs and the kids had to work to pull me out. I loved every minute I spent in Julia Claiborne Johnson’s glass house with her cast of dedicated stone-throwers. This one is special --- don’t miss it.”
—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times-bestselling author of THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYONE
“What a charmer this book is! From the very first page, I fell hard for Frank, an adorable oddball with an amazing brain, a wardrobe to die for, and a lonely fragility that pierced my heart again and again. When I finished, I wished him and his makeshift, off-beat family well--and immediately began missing him.”
—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times-bestselling author of LOVE WALKED IN and THE PRECIOUS ONE
“Frank Banning may be the most endearing scene-stealer you’ll ever meet in the pages of a book.... Johnson proves it’s possible to write a comic novel that, at times, is heartbreaking.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Simply delightful.... A warm and friendly book, with characters you want to get to know.”
—Sunday Times (London)
“Hilarious, poignant and full of unexpected gems, BE FRANK WITH ME illuminates the strange ways literature can parallel life, and introduces readers to one of the most charming, lovable and maddening children in fiction.”
—Huffington Post
“Witty dialogue, irresistible characters, and a touch of mystery make this sweet debut about a quirky Hollywood family an enjoyable page-turner.”
—Booklist
“The curious incident of where’d you go, Salinger.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Julia Claiborne Johnson has struck gold in creating Frank Banning --- a one-of-a-kind exasperating, witty and endearing nine-year-old genius who functions as the beating heart of this marvelous book.”
—Julie Schumacher, author of DEAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS
“There’s so much to love about this novel: the hilarious one-liners, the unforgettable characters, the unexpected moments of tenderness and all the funny, sad, poignant twists and turns this story takes. I lost myself in these pages and you will too.”
—John Searles, nationally-bestselling author of HELP FOR THE HAUNTED
“Julia Claiborne Johnson has written an effervescent gem of a novel, expertly balancing on a literary tightrope between lighthearted and heartbreaking. BE FRANK WITH ME is peopled by characters at once utterly unique, and entirely authentic. I may re-read this book just to spend more time with Frank.”
—Laura Nicole Diamond, author of SHELTER US
“Beautifully written, brimming with insight, mystery, and benevolent wit, Julia Johnson had me gripped from the first chapter to the final page of BE FRANK WITH ME.”
—Julia Sweeney, author, actress, comedienne
“BE FRANK WITH ME is complex, nuanced, detailed and profound. In other words, funny, in the best, most resonant way. Read it with both eyes because it will delight both the thinky and the feely parts of your brain.”
—Dave Foley, comedian and, technically, an actor
