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The Frankie Factor
At twelve years old, Frankie Spril is driving his family nuts with his many fears: baseball bats, animals with hair, meat mixing with vegetables in stew, water deeper than six inches.
After Frankie is blamed for a tragic accident at Schuster’s Lake because he's too terrified to swim, The Caretaker of the Universe, Miss Eileen, orders her overworked and underappreciated administrative assistant, Karl, to send a pair of his student guardian angels to help Frankie man up and learn how to swim. Unfortunately, the only two angels available are not particularly good pupils. So, in addition to conquering his fears, an already stressed-out Frankie must suffer falling in and out of love with the sweet angel who hasn’t a clue how to help him, as well as surviving the menacing angel’s attempts to drown him.
It could be a great year if Frankie can just keep his head above water.
Book club questions for The Frankie Factor by Bruce P. Brown
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Is Frankie really a wimp? Why or why not?
Why do you think that Frankie quickly bonds with Doris, despite her lousy track record of "helping?" Does this instant connection help or hurt Frankie in the long run, and in
Why do you think that Sammy dislikes Frankie? Over the course of the story, how does their relationship change?
In many ways, Sammy is far more gifted than Frankie, yet he seems unhappy and generally unable to navigate the world. Why do you think this is? In what ways does he change over the course of the story, and what do you think the greatest motivators for these changes are?
Why does Doris insist that Sammy get a second chance at entering The 18th Floor? Do you think her reasoning is sound, or would you make a different argument?
What is Frankie’s real special power and what does he teach us by the end of the book? Conversely, what is Foz's special power, and what can we learn from him and his part in the story?
Why is music an important part of this story and how did it affect the way you interpreted the book as you read?
Why does the bully (Erlin) come to respect Frankie? Do you think that the same factors affected the way you viewed his character by the end of the book?
At the end, Frankie seems to be back exactly where he started: sitting in bed with Doris by his side. Has he made any real progress? How so? Did you expect Frankie to have made bigger changes in his life by then? Is it possible for meaningful change to come in small steps?
Is this a story about faith? And if so, faith in what? In whom?
The Frankie Factor Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the The Frankie Factor discussion questions
This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Dartfrog Books.