Be Frank with Me

Be Frank with Me

Julia Claiborne Johnson

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): Reclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years, but now she’s writing her first book in decades and to ensure timely completion her publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. Mimi reluctantly complies—with a few stipulations: No Ivy Leaguers or English majors. Must drive, cook, tidy. Computer whiz. Good with kids. Quiet, discreet, sane.

When Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work right away—as a full-time companion to Frank, the writer’s eccentric nine-year-old, a boy with the wit of Noël Coward, the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star, and very little in common with his fellow fourth graders.

As she gets to know Frank, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who his father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation—and whether Mimi will ever finish that book.

Full of heart and countless only-in-Hollywood moments, Be Frank With Me is a captivating and heartwarming story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world.

Review: Oh, I loved this book so much because I loved nine-year old Frank.  A very very smart child with a penchant for dressing like Fred Astaire, his adult-sized intellect combined with his little-boy emotions made him so sympathetic and lovable.  The rest of the story was good, too, although Alice the kind-hearted nanny kind of disappears into the cast of larger quirky personalities.

Rating: 5 stars