Frankie Murphy's Kiss List [Hardcover]

Donna Guthrie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

Sick of Frankie Murphy's bragging, Travis dares the self-proclaimed girl expert to kiss every girl in their sixth-grade class, even Travis's best friend, Annie Davis.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Frankie Murphy, who has moved from Philadelphia, thinks everyone in Harpersville, Ind., is lame. He is so sure of his superiority on every subject--including kissing girls--that he makes a bet with Guthrie's protagonist, Travis Marshall, that he can kiss every girl in the sixth grade before they graduate to junior high. Frankie's prize if he wins? Travis's beloved Oakland A's jacket. Guthrie ( The Witch Who Lives Down the Hall ) has written a surprisingly engaging story given the somewhat forced premise. Its message--that you can't treat girls as if they weren't real people with real feelings--is a satisfying one; Guthrie's portrayal of Travis's awkward realization during the painful course of the bet that he likes his best friend Annie in a special way that might be more than "just friends" is delicately handled, while a bit predictable. Guthrie's prose and dialogue are entertaining and credible ("Practically every girl in the whole school had a crush on him because he looked like Jason Priestly," Travis thinks of Frankie), as are the various contexts in which the plot line moves (roller-skating, girls' basketball practice, Ferris wheel rides). The only oddity in this story is that the prevailing "girls vs. guys" mentality remains unquestioned--even at the end of the book. Ages 9-13.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Travis Marshall has had enough of Frankie Murphy's bragging about Philadelphia, where he used to live, and about the girls he's kissed. Most of the other sixth graders think Frankie's the coolest thing that's ever come to Harpersville, but Travis wants to call his bluff. He bets his beloved Oakland A's jacket that Frankie can't kiss all the girls in class before the end of school, in five weeks. Starting with ``weird'' Penelope Finchester (who makes and distributes buttons to save endangered species), Frankie rises to the challenge, and soon there's only one girl he hasn't kissed--Travis's best friend, Annie Davis. But by then, Travis has realized that losing his jacket is not the worst thing about the bet: what's really wrong is tricking and taking advantage of the girls. Still, they have the last word: on promotion day, Penelope hands out buttons to the entire class. ``I'VE BEEN A SIXTH GRADE JERK,'' read the boys', while the girls' proclaim, ``FRANKIE MURPHY IS THE WORLD'S WORST KISSER!'' Believable, endearing characters, snappy dialogue, and a good story make this latest from Guthrie (The Witch Who Lives down the Hall, 1985) an authentic, funny slice of pre-junior-high life. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 134 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Juv); 1St Edition edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671756249
• ISBN-13: 978-0671756246
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,940,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good tool for the six factors of literature..., March 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Frankie Murphy's Kiss List (Paperback)

I have used this book on several occasions to teach my classroom and library students the six factors of literature and how to identify them (character, plot, point of view, setting, tone(mood), and theme). The characters are worth the examination and demonstrate the dynamic nature of humans as well. The plot moves along smoothly and creates an interesting climax in which all main characters demonstrate their dynamic nature and their ability to understand, accept, forgive, and grow. The humor in the story creates a light, child-like atmosphere around the story without trivializing the emotional conflicts of either gender. I highly recommend it as a classroom addition to any higher elementary/lower middle school teacher (grades 5-7) as well as a superb addition to any school collection serving these pre-teen-aged students. It does make a wonderful tool with which to study all of those literature factors above while providing a light-hearted view of male-female relationships for pre-teens.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How the bet begain, February 8, 2000

By 

Cameron Lindley (Burlington, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frankie Murphy's Kiss List (Hardcover)

It all started with a normal day. When this boy Franky Murphy came to town. He kept on talking about that where he lived was better than Harpersville. So one day this boy Travis decided to made a bet. Then Travis bet on that Franky had to kiss all the girls in the class. So they made a list with all the girls names. Then the fun started to begin.Well, you will just have to read this book for yourself to find out what happens. This book was a funny book to read and anyone could read it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frankiy Murphy Is The Worlds Worst Kisser, February 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frankie Murphy's Kiss List (Hardcover)

One day in school Frankiy is so caught up in his bragging that Travis is fed up with it. He comes up with a plan, while Frankiy is saying I bet I've kissed over 200 girls back in Phily. So Travis says I bet that you can not kiss all the girls in our class by the end of the year. At the End Franky Kiss's all but Annie, Travis bestfriend. He know that Annie would not kiss Frankiy or let Frankiy kiss her. At the end of the year party. Penilope Finchester makes the buttons, the one for the boys says I'VE BEEN A SIXTH GRADE JERK and the girls says FRANKIY MURPHY IS THE WORLDS WORST KISSER. Frankiy said he want not put one on, but the other boys do. I think that Travis was cool, Frankiy was a JERK, Annie is cool, Molly is goot a obssetion on pink and yellow. Allsion is Molly's copycat. Pinilope is different. That is my review. This is a good book to read I liked it a lot.