Frankly in Love

Frankly In Love #1

by David Yoon

Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong?

Frank Li has two names. There's Frank Li, his American name. Then there's Sung-Min Li, his Korean name. No one uses his Korean name, not even his parents. Frank barely speaks any Korean. He was born and raised in Southern California.

Even so, his parents still expect him to end up with a nice Korean girl--which is a problem, since Frank is finally dating the girl of his dreams: Brit Means. Brit, who is funny and nerdy just like him. Brit, who makes him laugh like no one else. Brit . . . who is white.

As Frank falls in love for the very first time, he's forced to confront the fact that while his parents sacrificed everything to raise him in the land of opportunity, their traditional expectations don't leave a lot of room for him to be a regular American teen. Desperate to be with Brit without his parents finding out, Frank turns to family friend Joy Song, who is in a similar bind. Together, they come up with a plan to help each other and keep their parents off their backs. Frank thinks he's found the solution to all his problems, but when life throws him a curveball, he's left wondering whether he ever really knew anything about love—or himself—at all.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary

432 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2019

Reviews

[Kai Spellmeier]

Frankly, Frank Li is a bit of a dick.

We all know this book is going to be a bestseller. The cover is great, the story is promising, the hype is real. But if I had to describe this book in one word? Weird. So so weird.

I'm obviously not Korean so I can't speak for the realistic portrayal of growing up as a second-generation Korean teenager in the US. It felt real enough though. Frank and his Korean-American friends all struggle with the huge gap between the expectations of their parents and the American reality they live in. Frank personally doesn't understand his parents at all. He hates their narrow-mindedness and their racist attitudes towards other races. He hates that they would never accept a girlfriend that is anything but Korean, and he hates that they disowned his older sister because she dared to date a Black guy. What was wonderfully done though, is that Frank's understanding of his parents, their reasons and their past, begins to grow. He grows closer to them as they open up about their own thoughts and feelings. I even almost shed a tear at the end of the book.
Plotwise, David Yoon didn't do anything wrong. The romance was foreseeable but cute, and just when I started to wonder why this book was so long, the story took a surprising turn and got even better.

So...what's the problem? Well, Frank is. I don't like him. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt when at the beginning of the book he and his best friend talk about what their perfect girlfriend would be like and all they have to say is "funny and kind." I mean, nice try, but we all know teenagers (and especially teenage boys) a horny and judgemental and a conversation like this would at least mention a boob or two but still, the author wanted to set an example. He just didn't follow through with it. Because turns out Frank Li is a horny teenager who can't hide his sexism. His best friend Q has a twin sister called Evon. Frank describes her as "Q's smoking hot twin sister Evon". Not just one. Not twice. No, Evon is "Q's smoking hot twin sister" throughout the entire novel and I wanted to throw the book across the room every single time I had to read that. What I don't understand about this book is how the side characters feel so real and likeable while Frank is such a weird and unrelatable guy. He has so many quirky and weird mannerisms that I couldn't get over and I think it has mostly to do with the author trying to write a teenager that is both super nerdy but super cool and funny and smart at the same time. David Yoon tried to channel the typical awkward nerd boy that we know from John Green and any other male YA contemporary writer. And he failed. Mostly because Frank Li says stupid things like "You scared the poop out of my butthole." There's also the moment where instead of shaking each other's hands, Frank and a new acquaintance "vigorously masturbate the gap" between them. WHY. Then the are the painful incidents of people laughing: "Hahahahaahehehehahahaha", "Puhahahahahaha" and "Geehahahahakekekekekek". Again: WHY. It gets even better though because Frank is so cool and nerdy that he says "fartphones" instead of smartphones. Do with that what you will.

Another aspect that bothered me - and although a person's sexuality shouldn't be turned into a plot twist but hey, writers seem to like that kind of thing so here's a "spoiler alert - was the totally failed attempt to give Frank's best friend a backstory. He just waited for over 400 pages to follow through with it and even then didn't give it a lot of attention. It honestly felt like an afterthought to get at least some sexual diversity into a YA novel that features not a single queer character apart from the closeted gay kid stereotype.

I'm sure this novel will prompt a cute little film adaption and I'm honestly looking forward to seeing it. Still, it could easily become one of those "the film is better than the book" cases. Let's wait and see.

Find more of my books on Instagram

[chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book:
• Was SO relatable (Frank is Korean American and I related to a LOT of his experiences)
• Has the fake dating trope
• Has amazing characters
• Explores complex family relationships
• Explores race
• Has an adorable romance
• Has humour
• Is simply everything

I highly recommend checking this out if you're into any/all of these things! This was a super anticipated release for me and it did not disappoint. This comes out 12th September!

TW: cancer

Thank you to Penguin Random House Australia for providing me with an ARC!

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)]

DNF @ 15%

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh no! I didn’t intend to blurt out the story but I couldn’t hold my words! Now I have spoiler free review! You may skip it, view it after reading book or burn before reading! It’s all up to you!!!

Another book turned me into Foucault pendulum swinging between three and four, too many readers may be called me “cruel bitch” but I think 3.45 stars won’t be rounded up to 4 !

Surprisingly at the beginning I was so ready to give five stars because from the first pages, dry humor, sarcastic story-telling, word building, young American Korean teenager’s real challenges and different approach to the family, friends, school life captured my attention and I truly say: I think I’m gonna be in love with this book.

The facts: I was expecting a swoony, sweet rom-com but reading a YA adult fiction which deals with heavy issues like diaspora, racism, adapting and identity crisis enlighten my day because the author’s approach from the narration of Frank was so genuine, realistic, a little bit harsh but truly honest.

At the beginning I loved Frank, too, even some of his dialogues with his bestie Q a little bit cheesy and nonsense ( he is too much dork for my taste but that’s acceptable!) but you may understand his motives and you can empathize him easily. But at some parts he made me so pissed off and I wanted to start to a slap contest to punish him: he needs to gather his wits and maybe a several blasts on his face help him to think clearly (big prize is a trip to Porto, hotels and airfares not included but you’re gonna travel me and my husband, what can be more enjoyable than that!)

The story’s starting reminded me of “There’s something about Sweetie”, which is about two Indian teenagers’ fake dating and their families’ intervention to designate their date places (mostly the traditional Indian places for helping them knowing more about their culture) But this story differentiates itself with its ending and shocking but not really surprising, absolutely disappointing twist.

Frank’s over moderate, traditional family already cut off his sister from family because she married with a black guy. Frank obediently shuts his mouth and mostly does what they tell him but NOW he is in love with a white girl (Big mistake dude!) and his best friend Q is also black (yeah his family not only cut him off from their lives, but also they can cut his head off if they know his life choices, of course I’m boiling right now and I want to start a punch contest for those racist parents whose heads buried in the sand!) So he starts fake-dating with a Korean girl and he starts to have feelings for her. ( See, it seems like a rom-com story but it’s definitely not and my spider senses already warned me the edgy and angsty parts of the book were about to come!)

Three things made me having a blood rush about this book:
Frank’s cheating on Britt! From the beginning I didn’t understand why he fell in love with her, either. And I found him mostly decisive because of his unreasonable, inexcusable decisions but I didn’t want to think him as a regular horny guy! O brother where art thou?

Plot twist comes with personal sexual choices! This is unacceptable and harsh for me! I also invested on this character and I ache for him and the author’s decision about this move really disappointed me. This diversity book questions some many rough issues but when it comes to LTBQ rights, equalities, it definitely fails! The author failed so bad to develop a better storyline for best friend Q.( I didn’t want to give spoiler but I couldn’t help myself because from the beginning I really loved this character but so many parts he seemed like he got patched into the entire story which bothered me so much. And the ending of his story-line is also frustrating!!!)

And of course not getting a big and bold HEA gave me so much stomach aches.(I got it! I lately read too many fantasy books made me order new contact lenses! But after 400 pages later you ask yourself, who needs a heart when a heart can be broken? Yes, this ending definitely broke my heart!!!! Several times I punched a teddy bear to cool down (finally I found it was not a teddy bear, I accidentally punched my husband’s growing belly! Anyway, no harm done! Fats always protect him!)

It’s promising book with its different approach and not so sweet, soft but realistic, truly honest, straightforward kind of story-telling worked fine with me. But these three factors I mentioned bothered me more than I expected. I’m still looking forward to read more books of the author. ( I already read his wife’s amazing books and I wanted to see more power couples of literature.) But unfortunately this book is not my cup of wine! So let’s say: “The next!”

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is written by nicola yoons husband and there are no greater couple goals than spouses who write together. i love that for them.

however, i will say that i prefer nicolas stories to her husbands. and thats not because anything is blatantly wrong with this, its just personal storytelling preferences.

what missed the mark for me is the promise of fake dating (one of my fave tropes), but the fake dating takes place for only a couple of chapters. i get that its the natural progression of the plot, but still. i would have like a bit more of it. also, i wasnt sure i was a fan of frank. he was a bit too much for me at times and i found myself skimming over a lot of his introspective sections.

buuuut, what i absolutely adored about this is the representation. i loved learning more about korean culture and more fulling understanding what life might be like for a second generation american. its very eye-opening and handles the topic of race respectfully. so that gets my full appreciation.

overall, i think this is a great start for yoon! i have no idea how this will become a duology, because everything is pretty must concluded at the end, but i guess we will see!

↠ 3 stars

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay! Not a new favorite but I enjoyed the time I spent reading it.

TW: racism, shootings, cheating, cancer, death of a loved one

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's possible that I am fundamentally a hater.

It's true that I am CAPABLE of loving things. Sometimes I enjoy stuff. My average rating for this year might turn out to be a touch over 3, which would at least kind of imply that I'm more inclined to like books than hate them.

But maybe my natural inclination is to detest.

Regardless, I did not like this book.

It has three totally separate plotlines (as in, one after the other like acts of a play), and not even one of them worked for me. While that may seem like a point toward me being a hater, I must inform you that not one but TWO of them include some form of instalove, so this entire book manages to be instalove-infused, like it's a themed party or a flavored frosting.

This unfortunate three-act system also contributes to the fact that this book rivals the Bible for sheer length and repetition. The lack of tissue paper pages is the only saving grace. (Does that count as a pun?)

And in the final link in the if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie-style series of connected reasons I did not like this, the voice is so goddamn exhausting.

In conclusion:
three unlikable plotlines leads to a really long book which leads to burnout from how annoying the voice is over so much time.

The end.

Bottom line: Not for me! But what is.

------------
tbr review

i'm a sucker for a title with a pun. who isn't? monsters, probably.

------------

taking lily's idea and reading only books by asian authors this month!

book 1: the incendiaries
book 2: last night at the telegraph club
book 3: dear girls
book 4: sigh, gone
book 5: frankly in love

[Layla · Rating 1 out of 5]

~ 0.5 stars ~

This book was actually ✨horrendous✨. I feel duped. I feel cheated. I did not get what I was promised. And quite frankly, I am frankly in anger. I am frankly in disgust. I am frankly in disappoinment. I am anything but frankly in love.

This book, on the surface seems amazing. Fake dating trope? Yes please. Own voices Korean-American book? Amazing. Discussions on interracial and intercultural relationships? Sign me up!

But it fell flat on absolutely everything. It didn't deliver at all. I was simultaneously fuming from anger and cringing from second hand embarrassment through the entirety of this.

*** This is a rant, so beware of unmarked spoilers ***



When I started this book, I was confused. Frank Li, who is Korean American and in his senior year of high school, is torn between his identities. His parents, are racist and if he were to ever date or be with someone who isn't Korean, they would disown him like they did for his older sister Hannah, who married a Black man.

When Frank falls in love with Brittney (I think that's her name?) who is White, he obviously faces complications. In order to minimize them, him and his friend, Joy, who is also in a forbidden relationship with her Chinese boyfriend, decide to fake date. Their parents want them together, and because they are fulfilling that wish, they have been given more freedom.

Now see, here is the problem. Typically with the fake dating trope, the fake daters end up together. But this book is meant to discuss interracial relationships? Which I was so excited for. It is not often that this is discussed, even though there is a problem and stigma around being with someone outside of your own culture, ethnicity, race, etc. that is prevalent in our society. Especially since it was talking about it from the perspective of a non-white immigrant family. That adds some extra depth to it.

I thought Brittany was going to have an important role in this book. That Frank would stand up to his parents and have that difficult discussion. That after a lot of chaos, love would prevail. But her and Frank broke up less than halfway through the book. And then after that, she just faded to the back and was forgotten. His parents never found out and he went on with life. He cheated on her with Joy and they got together officially. The slow burn was non-existent in both relationships. Now don't get me wrong, Joy and Frank had much better chemistry, but why was that plotline abandoned so easily? That was what the synopsis promised, yet for the majority of the book, it disregarded that aspect. It put minimal effort into fully presenting that important discussion.

And even then, the fake daters don't actually end up together. They part on mutual terms in the end?? I did not sign up for this bs. I want a HEA. Not a kinda happy maybe not ever after. This book tried to take on so many things at the same time, and failed miserably at it all. It was one big mess.

Now as far as the characters go, I hated them all. So much. Frank was selfish and irritating as hell. He kept on saying the most out of pocket stuff. Brit was annoying and it kept on praising her for doing the bare minimum as an ally. Joy, while my favorite in this book, was underdeveloped and I didn't really care for her. Q was just kind of there. He's Frank's best friend, but also in love with him, BECAUSE OF COURSE EVERYONE HAS TO BE IN LOVE WITH FRANK.

And don't even get me started on the writing. I did not like it. It was mediocre and on top of everything, it felt so forced. It was so out of touch with how younger people talk and behave. It was painful. I was cringing inside out. And to make matters worse, I listened to the audiobook.


More out of pocket stuff in this book:

• Frank sucking on Brit's hair.
• "but Brit's not like other kids"
• Q squeezing Frank's toes
• We finish each other's sandwiches joke.
• Brit's dad calling Frank "All-American"
• A coffee shop names Mocha Dick as a play on Moby Dick.
• "THIS IS FOR JOY"
• "I stole her, she stole me, we stole each other." as a response to being confronted about cheating.
• Formal Shakespearen-esque dialogue being constantly used to the point that it is no longer funny or ironic.
• Frank doing an "air shake" instead of actually shaking hands with, his name twin. Goes on to describe it as him vigorously masturbating the gap between them.
• Joy growling at the sky.
• idk, everything else I guess. Front to back, there was nothing that didn't pain me.


Final thoughts: So overall, this book was bad. The idea was there, but the execution was not great. The plot sucked. The characters sucked. I will not say that the writing sucked, because I don't want to be rude, but it certainly wasn't great. So I do not recommend. PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS DISASTER OF A BOOK.


Buddy read with lovely human! Thank you for suffering with me. <3

[Susan's Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, which was very well narrated.



As a first generation Canadian of immigrant parents, I totally identified with Frank's situation. Frank's Korean parents would not approve of his Caucasian girlfriend, and they always smiled too broadly at his best friend, Q, who was African-American. Frank's parents had already disowned his sister, Hannah, for marrying a non-Korean.

Many immigrant parents still lived by the cultural mandates and moral values of their previous homelands. I thought we female "first generation kids" had it bad, but Frank faced many of the exact same expectations from his parents that my siblings and I did:

-Don't marry out of your religion or your parents' nationality.
-In fact: marry the first person you want to date. Unsupervised dating was, for many of us, totally forbidden. (A few of my Italian friends had "arranged marriages" even before they graduated high school. )
-Frequent family gatherings and feasting (not so bad, but limiting re social circle.)

-Social isolation for some families - because outside influences produced conflict in the home, and were thus limited or discouraged.
-Secret "second or parallel lives" because of the usual refrain - "My parents won't understand."
-Conversations for the really hard core immigrant families that often sound like this:
"What do you mean you want to move out: you're still single!"
"But Ma and/or Pa, I'm 30, self-supporting, and I want to lead my own life."
"What a disgrace/scandal! What would the relatives/neighbours say!?! No way, go to your room!"
"But Maaaaaaa.....!"
-Ironically, the second generation grandkids could do no wrong and were given staggering liberties, but YOU had to toe the line! So not fair!



I really enjoyed this journey down memory lane... It cracked me up every time we shared similar experiences. I was more rebellious than Frank, though. Frank paid lip service to his parents' demands, planning to escape to college and start living his own life. In the meantime, he led a "secret life" - like most of us did, just to keep the peace. Highly recommended.

[demi. ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

❥ 3 / 5 stars

Overall of this book is okay. It’s really entertaining and easy for you to enjoy, laugh and cry (maybe just a little because it’s not that sad) while reading it but man, my one and only biggest problem with this book is that I. DON’T. LIKE. FRANK. LI. I don’t like this guy even a bit. I don’t like him since he thought of another person when he was with someone else and that person who he thought of already had a boyfriend. See? Is this okay? Even if I can predict how the story from now on is going to be and who he will end up with because we all know the fake dating trope : two of them who fake-date eventually like each other, I still don’t appreciate this idea because this isn’t good for anyone and it’s only gonna make someone hurt at the end. (Am I right?) Moreover, his bad jokes are bad as they’re called and I freaking hate them. Some are funny, yeah I agree but some are ............... (You can fight me if you disagree with me at this point and I’ll definitely fight you back.)

Reading all of this, you might think I somehow have a prejudice against him or else and I’ll confirm you that yes, you’re right. I do. I effing do. I hate him so I hate everything that he does. End of the review.

[Jananie (thisstoryaintover)]

.

[Kevin (Irish Reader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this book! I started this back in May and only now finished it. Unfortunately, this book was disappointing for me as I expected to love it a lot more than I did. This book has the “fake dating” trope, which I love, but I found that it didn’t last long enough for me. I didn’t really like the romance either and I also didn’t like really any of the characters. Some of the things the main character would say were really cheesy and it just made me roll my eyes a lot. I feel like if the romance had been developed better, by showing more cute moments/interactions, or was a slow burn instead, I might have felt differently.

I will say though, that the discussions of race and family relationships, are the two points I did enjoy about the book. It’s just unfortunate that I didn’t like any of the characters or the romance.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads giveaway win!

Reading Rush: Read a debut author

Y'ALL!

T.H.I.S. B.O.O.K.

I loved it!

But first can we just take a minute to discuss the fact that David Yoon & Nicola Yoon are one of my new favorite couples.

WHY AM I STILL SO SINGLE???

Now on to the review.....

Frank Li has two names. Frank Li, his American name. Then there's Sung-Min Li, his Korean name. Frank barely speaks Korean. He was born and raised in Southern California.

Even so, his parents still expect him to end up with a nice Korean girl. Which is a problem since Frank is dating the girl of his dreams Brit Means who is white!
Desperate to be with the girl he loves Frank turns to family friend Joy Song, who is in a similar bind. Together they hatch a plan to make their parents think they are dating each other so they can secretly date who they want to.

And I think we can all guess what happens next....

Frankly In Love is so precious and sweet and hard hitting. David Yoon not only gave us a cute contemporary with my 2nd favorite trope Fake Dating(Enemies to Lovers is #1) but he also deconstructed racism in Korean-American culture and he explores what its like to be the child of immigrants.

As an African American I wasn't shocked at all by the racism expressed by Frank's parents towards African Americans. That is a known thing to most African Americans I know, so much so that I don't shop or eat at Korean owned establishments and neither do most people I know. So I appreciated the way David Yoon wrote about this. I don't think I've read a book not written by an African American author that talks about the tension between the black community and the Korean community. I loved how this book didn't shy away from Frank's parents terrible views towards non-Koreans and it really broken down how difficult it is for the American born children of immigrants to find a place where they belong. Frank and his other Korean American friends refer to themselves as Limbos.

Bonus points for the delicious food descriptions. This book made me so hungry.

I loved this book. I think its gonna be one of my favorite books of the year. I can't wait for this book to come out so you can all enjoy it too!

Recommended to EVERYONE!!!

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher. Since I received an ARC, my quotes from the book are tentative.

I give this book 4.5 stars which rounds up to 5.

This book was so good! It’s a romance but it goes so much deeper than just that. At the core, it’s a story about first love, racism, identity, and family.

I absolutely loved that this book did not shy away from talking about racism, especially the racism of Koreans towards African Americans and other Asian communities. I haven’t really seen that in a book before.

I liked that this book explored the struggles of being Korean-American and having immigrant parents. Frank is often conflicted over his identity. At one point he states, “I call myself Korean-American, always leading first with Korean or Asian, then the silent hyphen, then ending with American. Never just American” (pg. 133).



I also loved the end of the book. It was a bit sad but still realistic.

My one critique is that the romances seemed a bit instalove-y, especially Frank’s romance with Brit. Frank fell in love with Brit so fast. It kind of came out of nowhere.

Lastly, as a Filipino American I’m always looking for representation and this book has a tiny bit of Filipino rep. One of Frank’s friends, Paul, is Filipino. His character doesn’t do much, but the book does incorporate Isang Bagsak. Isang Bagsak is a Filipino unity clap, whcich I never even heard of prior to reading this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this #OwnVoices exploration of love and identity.

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars.

Frankly in Love is a fascinating look at love, friendship, cultural identity, parent-child relationships, and prejudice. I had been waiting for this book to come out for a while, and David Yoon certainly didn't disappoint me!

Frank Li is smart and funny, a first-generation American who tries hard to be a good son and a good friend. His parents want him to study hard and especially meet a nice Korean girl, so he doesn’t get disowned like his older sister.

Of course, life doesn’t happen the way we plan, and when Frank falls for his classmate, Brit, he wishes he could just be with her and not have to deal with his parents’ prejudice. Instead, he and Joy, the daughter of his parents’ friends, who is dating a Chinese student, concoct a scheme to help them both. They pretend to date in order to have the freedom to spend time with their real dates. But of course, they don't clue either their boyfriend or girlfriend into the scheme, or why it's even necessary.

When his life takes an unexpected turn, Frank must decide what’s most important in life—doing what’s right or doing what makes him happy—and if he can reconcile the two. He also must come to terms with his parents’ view of the world, and how it shapes his own identity. This is really thought-provoking, as it examines how everyone has some level of prejudice, and how it often comes from fear of losing one’s own cultural identity.

Yoon is a terrific writer. This book is funny and emotional, and even difficult to read at times, because you just wish Frank could say what he needs to to those who need to hear it, instead of causing problems by avoiding difficult subjects. Like many YA books, the characters are far more witty and erudite than real teenagers—but these are the smart students, so maybe this is the way these kids talk nowadays? (He asks as he tells those rotten kids to get off his lawn.)

David Yoon and his wife, Nicola Yoon, the amazing author of The Sun Is Also a Star and Everything, Everything , are quite the YA power couple. You must read both of their books!!

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.

You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.

[Irina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read like 200 pages but I can't bring myself to finish this book. I don't know if it's the writing style or the story in general but I just don't like it. I think that this kind of books are not for me anymore.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penguin is promoting Frankly in Love very heavily. It appears they are banking on David Yoon becoming the next John Green. Maybe he will, we'll see. If you are a big John Green fan, and like his nerdy humor, precocious pretentiousness, fascination with girls as otherworldly creatures, you should give this book a go. A cute romance Frankly in Love is definitely not. Frank's love life is the weakest part of this novel, IMO. But more on that later.

Frankly in Love is more of a coming-of-age story, of a teen boy growing up and coming to terms with his family and his own identity. David Yoon adds his Korean-American experience to this pretty typical scenario. He writes about Frank's challenges with not being able to identify fully with either Korean or American culture.

If you've read some think pieces about the newest Netflix romcom Always Be My Maybe, you probably know that that film is lauded for its breaking of Asian American stereotypes. Frankly in Love doesn’t take that route. Yoon's story shows Asian community with overbearing, demanding, hard-working parents who speak broken English and only want to circulate in their own Korean diaspora, with all their kids high-achieving and set for Ivy League futures. These kids are also obedient, well at least in front of their parents. Which brings me to the romance.

David Yoon wanted to address the racism in Korean community. And not just racism that Korean Americans experienced themselves, but racism they inflict on people of other ethnicities and backgrounds. This is clearly a very important and painful topic that Yoon wanted to get on pages of his debut. The romance story centers on Frank's parents' disapproval of his kids' dating anyone but Koreans. Frank's older sister is disowned for dating a black man. When Frank falls for a white girl, he is so scared to bring it up with his parents, that he hatches a plan with one of his Korean girl friends (who is also dating a non-Korean boy), to pretend to date her in front of their parents while seeing his white real girlfriend in secret. None of it is cute, to be honest. First of all, to me, after reading books by Maurene Goo or Helen Hoang, this seems like a problem of the past, and this need to hide dating someone of a different ethnicity, entirely overwrought for our time. (I was apparently wrong about that and corrected in the comments). Secondly, David Yoon doesn't do either of the girls in Frank’s life any justice. There are cute dates, but there is no real knowing of the girls he falls for. Signature John Green there, if you ask me. Frank’s relationships with Brit and Joy are sudden and lacking convincing backstories, making him seem like the kind of guy who will fall for anyone if only opportunity arises. The fake-dating trope is an unnecessary distraction in this novel.

I liked the exploration of the Korean community much more, especially when Frank talks about his family and friends with no unjust judgment. His journey to accept the duality of his identity and his parents’ flaws is compelling. Although I found the major conflicts resolved very quickly and easily.

Read this novel to learn about Korean American experience in John Green-like coming of age package. Lovers of romcom might find the advertised fake-dating scenario underwhelming.

Morris commitee will probably like it, as well as actual real teens. Maybe.

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen Australia for the review copy!

“Humanity's greatest strength - and also the reason for its ultimate downfall - is its ability to normalize even the bizarre.”

trigger warnings: racism, shooting, panic attack, cheating, family member being shot, parent with cancer, death of a parent (from cancer).

representation: Korean American rep (own voices), African American rep, panic attacks, gay rep.

I really enjoyed this one, although not as much as I thought I would!

T H I N G S I L I K E D :
✨ it's HILARIOUS. like, actually hilarious
✨ the audiobook narrator is iNCREDIBLE
✨ the cameo of David's actual family OMG
✨ It was so emotional towards the end, which I kind of wasn't expecting due to the tone of the book at the start, but it was really well done
✨ Very realistic ending that some people might hate, but I appreciated

T H I N G S I D I D N ' T L I K E:
✨ There was this weird point in the book where it felt like it was over, but there was still like 3 hours of the audiobook left and I was kinda confused
✨ I don't know why, but it just left me feeling kind of 'meh'??? Like, I didn't have that feeling when I read a fantastic book like 'omg this is SO FREAKING GOOD', so I kinda felt a little underwhelmed even though I have no idea why I didn't connect with it
✨ the cheating is... yikes

I do highly recommend it though. It has a lot of elements that a lot of people will really appreciate, but it unfortunately just wasn't an absolute favourite of mine!

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

You’re gonna wanna read this one!!

[Lindsi (Do You Dog-ear?) · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 39%

"I try to eat my lower lip. Then I remember the first Rule of Being a Person: no auto-cannibalism."

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I was really excited about starting Frankly in Love by David Yoon, but it really missed the mark for me. Additionally, this is a DNF, which I usually save for my DNF&Y post at the end of the month, but I had too many thoughts that I wanted to share right now. I know the book is being released today, so I though it would be a good opportunity for discussion. Frankly in Love has been promoted and hyped like crazy, but I'm just not feeling the love for Frank Li.

Let's start with the language... do teenagers really talk like this nowadays?

"'Jesus christ almighty hang gliding up in heaven,' I say to Q."

"Dear lord Flying Spaghetti Monster in Pastafarian heaven. I think Brit Means in flirting with me."

"'Jesus,' I say. 'You scared the poop out of my butthole.'"

"What in God's hipster beard is Joy Song doing here?"

I think this book tried too hard to be funny. None of these statements made me laugh, but they were distracting. They felt thrown in at random and forced into conversations or thoughts.

Next, let's talk about love. Frank and Brit's relationship escalated way too quickly. They have calculus together, so they're acquainted, but then an assignment has them working together after school. This entire encounter was weird --from her parents and their matching everything, to how Brit encroached on Frank's personal space without warning. After that afternoon of studying together, the start sucking face at school. A few days later, they're on the beach and Brit is saying she loves him! He doesn't know if he loves her, but he says is back since he doesn't have a better idea. Whaaat??

"Love demands you do stupid things like post goofy selfies, but if that's what love takes, then I can be stupid all day... Wait. Is Brit saying she loves me?"

"'I love you. I love saying I love you. It's like I learned a new word today.'"

"'I love you,' she murmurs, like she's falling asleep. 'It feels so good just to be able to say it finally. I love you.'"

All of this happens in the same chapter, but you get the idea. Instalove, too much too fast -- whatever you want to call it. They barely know each other! They've been on one date and kissed a handful of times. That's not love! Affection? Yes.

Also, Brit is a bully. She flirted with Frank and involved him in some minor theft (and whatever else you want to call what she was doing), and she essentially forced herself into his bubble whenever they were together. Frank could have said no, but he honestly seemed overwhelmed by the attention and desires of his new girlfriend. "'Come on, one selfie,' she says, laughing. 'Let's brag about us. Let's make everyone feel like shit compared with us.'" Was that really necessary? Why do they need to make anyone else feel bad? Why couldn't they just post a selfie because they were happy with each other?

Frank is a douche canoe. Why couldn't he have been honest about his feelings from the start? If he isn't sure about what he's feeling, he should say that. He should not say whatever he thinks someone else wants to here. I also don't think he pushed back enough when his parents made racist comments.

The racist comments. The author mentions the racism at the start of the book, but I still cringed every time Frank's parents said something insensitive or simply ridiculous. They hardcore stereotyped people by the color of their skin, and they were unashamed of their words and feelings. Honestly, it was hard to read. It was even harder to watch Frank and the other Limbos let the comments slide because it was easier than confrontation. They assumed their parents were stuck in their "old ways," which is bullshit. I'm not even going to bother quoting all the awful shit that was said throughout this book.

"We both get serious for a moment. In this particular moment, right here. Sucking cocoa from a girl's hair is weird. Who does that sort of thing? And who lets them? But Brit is letting me. She wants me to. I am extremely proud to be the only person who has ever sucked Brit Means's hair."

No. Just... no. Kids, don't try this at home. I don't think I need to explain myself here. I believe the words and actions speak for themselves.

I liked Q, but his friendship with Frank slipped once Frank started "dating" Brit. He bailed on the things he used to do with is friends just to spend time with her, and he was constantly on his phone talking to her while physically with his friends. Q was understanding and Frank was apologetic, but ugh.

I officially gave up on this one at 39%, but did skim the rest of the book for the highlights. It doesn't seem like Frank Li starts to make better choices. In fact, I believe his decisions get worse as the story progresses. Honestly, I could keep talking about the things that bothered me about this book. Like, "She smelled exhausted." How does that smell, Frank? What does exhausted smell like?? However, I'm going to leave you with a passage that I really enjoyed from this book. A lot of people seem to be raving about Frankly in Love, so I would suggest getting a second opinion before making any final decisions.

"Let me tell you something. I live to make people laugh. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers, doesn't matter. I just have to. If you for some reason don't know how to make someone laugh, then learn. Study that shit like it's the SAT. If you are so unfortunate as to have no one in your life who can make you laugh, drop everything and find one. Cross the desert if you must. Because laughter isn't just about the funny. Laughter is the music of the deep cosmos connecting all human beings that says all the things mere words cannot."

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin' | Amazon | Pinterest

[Farhina ↯↯ The Wanderer Of Inked Adventures · Rating 1 out of 5]

hello guys! guess what? its time to bring on the trumpets again:

  because well hello! says hello to my new disappointment of 2019!!  🎺🎺🎺 🎺

i wanted to love this so so much you cant imagine my happiness when i saw the synopsis and than got the arc. Why do my anticipated books and me not have a happy ending??? :(

#this review contains spoilers because i cant tell u all the wrongs without spoiling 

I have no idea where to even begin? i shall start with the blurb i guess?

SO, we have Frank Li who is  a high school senior. He is Korean American, his parent migrated from Korea back in the 90's . And they have one rule apparently he can only date Korean girls. 

thats it.. thats the whole deal!

So well, as this is first and foremost about romance, i shall start with that. Because boy this was a huge let down. For a book that's supposed to be all about the romance this was such a flop lol. Frank li was such a weird protagonist. He fell in love outta no where. The girl(s) he falls for aren't even mentioned in that sense(like being attracted to) before. But as soon as he mentions it, baam🌬 they fall for each other.

So Brit, is introduced as an interest outta nowhere in class and than a day later she asks him out. And baam🌬 they are dating.

David Yoon, doesn't even give her a fair chance on the page, we never get to know much about her, to delve deeper into her character.You can obviously see from page one that this won't last. Because omg the writing, the disinterest with the character, the I could care less about this character attitude, can tell oh this isn't going anywhere. 

Than comes joy, so Frank li has know her whole life right? she is a family friend. And they have this cultural Korean gathering at each other houses, every weekend and the kids hang out together, but as the story starts and move deeper we find out he has never seen her room like how is that even possible. You hang at each others houses. And than we are baam🌬 given the fact that he had a crush on her.

As they start to hang out more, because of weird coincidences and the fake dating for family fact. Frank li starts falling for her? Instead of his actual girlfriend and trying to give her the time and effort? Like huh? like constantly while dating one women, thinking oh i need to share this thought/picture/ whatever with another women,  because i think she would enjoy this.

                                And than well her cheats on Brit?!?!?!?

(Whose last name is mean? WHO IS NAMEd BRIT MEANS?)

LIKE WHAT EVEN IS UP WITH THIS ROMANCE. like why did u keep haggling that poor girl (brit) around, it WASN'T HER FAULT.

We never get the chance to actually kinda better know Brit or even joy?

Like why add the white girl interest when you won't even give her a chance from page one?

Only to create a plot line for your "oh my Korean parents are racist and I must only date Korean girls according to them, so here my piece of rebellion for the story, so as i fall for the korean girl it isn't very oh i am following the rules thing?"

Like the whole time Frank lee and Brit date? He isn't even that invested after the first couple of day I mean what the actual hell.

Also WTH is up with this weird paragraph about loosing virginity? I mean huh? Why IS IT EVEN THERE? WHAT ARE EVEN MALE WRITERs? Someone explain it to mememememememememememe!

tell me i am not the only one who wants to leave the planet after reading this paragraph *pukes*

Let move onto the other  aspect of this books:

The culture, racism and ethnicity.  

So as Frank li's parents, are Korean who moved to America, they are very un-accepting of other races around them. And blatantly are racist out loud to everyone. Which Frank find very questioning. But never tells them off out loud. They have their own community of Korean friends and they only deal and have relationships with them. They also don't speak English, just a very broken version of it.

They have even shunned their own daughter, because she dated and than married a black man.

This book in disguise of a rom-com wanted to deal with this fact very deeply. So much so that it over powers the whole plot. The only thing that drives it. The whole romance is also based on it?

The book points again and again that Frank is against all the racial discrimination his parent do, but not even once he RISES UP TO THE OCCASION TO CALL IT OUT. And in turn hides his first white girlfriend, treats her horribly, lies to her all the time and than cheats on her. HUH!

The whole racism discussion in this book is so bizarre, because their is no point to it other than just stating oh my Korean parents are racist. This book wont solve or educate the issue, but ah just know oh racism in this community happens.

There is this whole thing about why there are Korean Americans but not European Americans (why are they just called Americans cuz they are white) thing/opinion/ point out whatever, which I did not get at alllll!

A whole scene where he goes to lunch with Brits parents to a Korean restaurant? I have no idea what was the point of that whole fiasco than to just say oh yes I am Korean American but I won't know too much about Korean cuisine because no one can idk? I am just like eh at this point.

this book had a lot of what the heck is going on and what was the point of this going on for it:

like frank's father gets shot but we knew know why? who did it? why did they do it? Like a person gets shot and we never find out why !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also in the end there is this weird scene where franks best friend comes out as gay to him by kissing him and well just that no further discussion happens about that fact ???!!??!?!?!?

Finally when the two Korean kids start dating?!?!? their parents end up fighting now frank cant even date that particular Korean like what even does this book wants?

TOO MUCH DRAMA.

and than all you it does IS, THAT IT goes away nicely huh/

I had a really hard time reading this book on top of all these problem the book was excruciatingly slow if u see my tweets from reading rush day 1; i am constantly saying how badly i want to dnf this! The writing was weird, Frank lee and his inner monologue was annoying af because whats the point buddy when you are never gonna grow a spine, cheat on people, and just point out wrongs. You are boring and you inner monologue is too "i am trying really hard to be emo and relateable " shit.

To wrap it up this book was a whole damn mess: the romance, the weird plot twist, the oh-i-dont-know-the-point-of-this-racism made such a messy mixture that i cant even point out one thing that i like. NOT EVEN ONE!

thankyou to penguin platform for my advanced copy!!!!!!!

| My Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads |

_________________________________________________________________
Book one down for #thereadingrush.

i have conflicting thoughts about it though🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️😢😒👀

[sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

a look inside my head when trying to rate this book:

+ 3 stars for being genuinely enjoyable
- 1 star for Brit Means
+ 1 star for the exploration of racism
- 1 star for the cheating
+ 1 star for the humour
+ 1 star for the friendship
- 2 stars for the relationships
+1/2 star for their realistic nature
+1 star for the coming of age discussions
-1/2 star for theterminal illness as a plot device
+ 1/2 star for the chapter headings (I'm a sucker I know)

= ★★★☆☆.5 stars

I guess you could say I'm conflicted.

Frankly in Love seems to be quite a polarising book, but I seem to be right in the middle of the chasm between the myriad of 5 star and 1 star reviews. I can appreciate the things that this book didn't necessarily do well- but at the same time I had fun reading it, which should count for something.

It may be slightly ironic that my least favourite element of Frankly in love was the love story(/ies?). Firstly, Frankenbrit. Their chemistry was off the charts, and by off the charts I mean it didn't even register because there was none. Their relationship was basically established because Frank thought Brit was cute (which, maybe realistic for teenagers but not enjoyable to read). Brit herself felt really underdeveloped to me and was a missed opportunity for what could have been some important conversations. I'm not even going to get into the cheating element because I think enough people have gone into it that I don't have much to add apart from cheating = not okay.

Next, Frankenjoy. I was promised a cute, fake dating story but while we got the latter- I didn't really feel the cuteness. Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, but it wasn't as prominent in the story as the synopsis made it sound like. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but I just couldn't get completely invested in their relationship.

I personally really enjoyed the writing style for the most part which was honestly a bit surprising. I had heard it compared to John Green's, which I don't love. It did feel slightly John Green-y at times, but in a good way. I loved the conversations between Q and Frank which felt completely authentic, if a little philosophical at times.

"Humanity's greatest strength- and also the reason for its ultimate downfall- is its ability to normalise even the bizarre."

I also appreciated the conversations about racism outside of the context we usually see in YA. It felt refreshing and nuanced.

“White people can describe themselves with just American. Only when pressed do they go into their ethnic heritage. Doesn't seem fair that I have to forever explain my origin story with that silent hyphen, whereas white people don't. It's complicated. But simple. Simplicated.”

Overall, despite my conflicted feelings towards this book I will definitely be checking out what David Yoon does in the future.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Actual footage of me attempting to check this out from the YA room of the downtown library . . . . .



Frank Li is your regular meganerd who, when not studying in an attempt to score 1500 or better on the SATs in order to get into “The Harvard,” can usually be found with his buddy Q . . . .

Like most nerds, Q and I spend our time watching obscure movies, playing video games, deconstructing the various absurdities of reality, and so on. We hardly ever talk about girls, for lack of material. Neither of us has dated anyone.

Occasionally, however, they do go for a visit to what they have dubbed “Lake Girlfriend” (a/k/a a fountain in the middle of the Westchester Mall) where they chuck a coin and wish for their perfect mate. Q’s lips have always been sealed when it comes to his secret crush, but Frank isn’t particularly choosy . . . .

“Basically I guess she has to be kind, is most important.” Q raises his eyebrows. “So no meanies. Got it.” “And she should make me laugh,” I say. “Any other vital criteria?” says Q. I think. Anything else – hobbies, musical tastes, fashion sense – doesn’t seem to matter that much. So I just shake my head no. Q gives the fountain a shrug. “That’s super romantic, like in the most basic sense.” “Basically,” I say.

No one is more surprised than our boy Frank when it appears Brit Means may be taking a shine to him. There’s only one thing that could get in the way of his chance at love – his parents. You see, Mr. and Mrs. Li aren’t exactly what you would call open to interracial dating. In fact, they are pretty blatantly racist to anyone not Korean. Frank has been able to balance his two worlds pretty well up to this point – and so has the daughter of their parents’ friend group, Joy Song. When the two find themselves in the same predicament regarding the opposite sex the solution is simple . . . .

“Me and Joy have come to this agreement, whereupon the arising of certain occasions for socializing of a romantic nature between, say, myself and a certain member of the female population who might cause tension within a certain traditionally minded population of our shared ethnicity, uh.”

“We’re fake-dating,” says Joy.

I won’t say more in an attempt to not spoil everything. I will just say things get a bit complicated. And also, real life happens because doesn’t it always? And Frank grows up and eventually everyone learns to . . . .

“Go do you.”

“What the hell else is there, right?”

Take my 3 Stars with a grain of salt. Per the .gif above, I was obviously not the target demographic for this one. Sadly, I didn’t really like Frank enough to give him more than that and his behavior regarding the girls made the momma in me want to beat his ass. I also thought this was WAAAAAY too long and could have easily had 100 pages cut and still have managed to get the point across. Buuuuuuuut, all that being said, I would gladly read a book about Q and probably give that one all the starz because I just loved him. (Looks like there may be a chance too since this is marked “#1” – I just hope David Yoon finds a co-writer or an adviser if that’s the case because “Our Voices” works for everyone and Q’s voice is certainly not David Yoon’s.)

[♛ may · Rating 3 out of 5]

i've seen so many mixed reviews for this book lately and it kinda had me feeling unenthusiastic for it but HEY LOOK THERE'S GOOD NEWS, i actually really enjoyed reading this.

low expectations actually work, wow

so this book wasn't revolutionary. but i think it set out what it meant to do and it had some really insightful, inspiring, moving moments.

i really liked the complex parent-children relationships we got to see, especially from the korean families. i liked the talk on race and fitting in and culture and acceptance and feeling like an in between cultures kid (that hit deep). i really liked the friendship shown in this book and ok the ending made me seriously tear up :(

while enjoyable to read in the moment, this book was FAR from perfect. yes, the fake dating trope can forgive most literature offenses but i kind of 🤢 when outward, open cheating is involved

i mean, that could have easily been avoided.

also the relationship between brit and frank came out of NO WHERE, i barely had time to catch frank's name and he was off making heart eyes at brit, boy slow down.

so, was this book revolutionary and made me question my entire existence? no, not really. but it did make me smile and laugh and maybe wipe a stray tear and you know, sometimes thats all you want from a book.

3.5 stars

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed Frank's voice in this one, I found him immediately relatable and I love how the novel tackled racism in one's own family. The fake dating trope was lots of fun, but it does turn quite serious towards the end of the book when it comes to family.

I didn't really like Frank as a person because of how he treated his friends, family and the girls that he dates. He's quite self-centered. I also didn't like how Q was treated in the overall story arc.

Full review posted on Happy Indulgence.

Trigger warnings: cancer, estrangement, racism

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Realy not my cup of tea , I just had a bunch of problems with this book, wich is so sad because my expectations where realy high, gave it 2 ⭐⭐

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

My first arc-read-before-the-book-is-published! I'm so excited! Thank you so much Penguin NZ for gifting me this & for being happy for me to share my opinion of the book.

I used to say about my parents, "I just can't talk to Mum & Dad!" But American born Frank really couldn't talk to his parents - their English was bad and his Korean was worse. A lifetime of misunderstanding come to a head in Frank's final semester at high school. Frank is clear on two things - he doesn't want to live by his parents racist beliefs. But he also doesn't want to hurt them. These two goals look to be on a collision course.

I absolutely loved this book and it was a 5★ read for around the first 90%.Yoon's words just flowed on the page and I found it very hard to put the book down.

I'm Canadian born. We moved to New Zealand when I was seven and I did spend the first half of my life feeling I didn't really belong in either country, so I identified with some of Frank's confusion.I just feel the last part of the book tried to pack too many events in, and while this may work in the future film, it is just too much on the page.

Still highly recommended!

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

excited to see that there's going to be a follow up book with the best friend since I feel like that bomb dropped at the end was just thrown in! I did love the commentary of not being enough of either cultures, I liked the efforts on helping his parents see their racism, but I really felt like the initial romance was unnecessary.
- mild spoiler -

I don't like cheating, in any form, and in this book it felt so easy to just have *not* had that first romance! I LOVED the second romance (although I kind of hate how it was at the very end) so much but I just felt like the first one could've been left out and then it never would have had to be cheating. It could've always been just a 'crush' and trying to be more, still meaning he'd need a cover story, but it never had to be official. idk, maybe that's just me.

[Nicole N. (A Myriad of Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hugethank you to PenguinTeen for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review! I received this book as part of a promotion.

Y’all, how little did I know what I was getting myself into when I read this book. I knew it was going to be good, and I expected a cute, fluffy romance but it was so much more than that. In the best way possible.

All quotes are taken from the ARC and may change in the finished copy.

Content warning: death of a loved one, racism

“We all want to love who we want to love.”

Plot
As I said before, when I started this book, i didn’t know how much I would like it. The plot is deep and intricate as the main character, Frank, struggles with his feelings for a white girl and knowing his parents only want him to date Korean. I think this book does a job balancing light humor and dark emotions well, and the writing is truly spot on, really pulling you into Frank’s world and how he feels as a Korean-American. I admit, though, I wasn’t quite sure I would find myself in this book, despite the circumstances, but I did and it’s a wonderful feeling. I’m biracial, and a lot of what Frank goes through, his thoughts, too, really felt familiar to me. I loved coming across parts that were familiar bits from my childhood or even now.

I’m glad the story doesn’t just end when Frank gets together with Brit. We see both him and Joy struggle with dating non-Koreans. Then we see the story envelope not only these teenagers but also their parents and, even though they’re Korean, face struggles of their own that have nothing to do with race but class. It’s also painful, too, to read how Frank’s speak about those who aren’t Korean–they stereotype people, and in turn, we see how these particular stereotypes affect Frank’s relationship with his friends and his family. I thought it was interesting that this book brought up the question on whether we ought to love our parents because we have to, not because we want to. Trying to find the right words to express my emotions about this book is difficult. I keenly felt the identity crisis, and loved following Frank’s painful journey.

“…[L]ove is more terrifying anything. Love is a mighty blue hand coming straight for you out of the sky. All you can do is surrender yourself and pray you don’t fall to your death.”

Characters
I have to be honest, there isn’t a character (outside of the parents, lol) that didn’t like. Each had their own struggles, and we see some of it reflected through Frank’s eyes. Despite what happened with Brit, I liked her and her family, too. Frank’s group of friends are the kind you wouldn’t mind having as your own. They created a bubble for themselves to live in, to live outside their parents’ expectations for them, and it was…nice, despite the fact that it’s just that–a bubble, fragile and easily popped. Yoon has a way of writing that makes you feel, but in a casual way, like you didn’t know you cared for Frank and his friends until suddenly… you do! (I’m not sure if that even makes sense, but there you go.) Also, the ending with Q and Frank really gutted me (in the best way).

Writing Style
This could probably go up there with characters. It was easy to fall into this world, Frank’s world of his racist parents, his school and the senior year, trying to get into a good college, while everything else around Frank seems to be going super well one minute and then turned completely upside down the next. You go into this, not knowing what to expect, and then finding so much more, discovering parts of yourself (and your family) you weren’t sure about. All a wonderful yet scary experience.

There were a few scenes I thought was done purposefully, and most of them were to help the reader understand, in a sense, what Frank goes through. For the most part, Frank knows a bit of Korean, so what he knows is mostly written in Konglish (Korean words written in English). Yet there were larger scenes written completely in Korean, and because Frank doesn’t speak or understand a lot of Korean, I loved how the author chose to write the story like this. So much so that I called my own mom to translate the scene for me. She’s not a perfect interpreter by any means, but I was able to get a general understanding. I think it’s at this point where Frank finally begins to understand his parents despite everything. Overall, I really loved how it was done.

******

I'm super interested to read this, not only because it features Korean-American main characters, but also because I am half-Korean, and my (Korean) mother said not to date/marry a Korean man. What do you know! I married a half-Korean, and his (Korean) mother said not to date/marry a Korean woman so... HERE WE ARE.

Blog || Instagram || Twitter

[halfirishgrin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book SO BAD!!! The book trailer was adorable, I was promised cute fake dating. I got absolutely nothing that I wanted.

There are a lot of things that frustrated me in Frankly In Love but the thing that made me one-star is the queer representation. One of Frank's friends tells him throughout the book that he's in love with someone but he won't say who, because they are already in love with someone else. Towards the very end of the book, when Frank is about to leave for college, this friend kisses Frank.

What. The. Fuck.

As the only queer representation in the book, this is abhorrent. To have the trope of a queer character pining after their friend, who falls in love with girls and dates and tells them all their woes?? And then unprompted kisses him? And it's just cool and they never really talk about it? No thank you.

Not only that, but Frank's friend basically has no other role in this book other than to be someone who Frank can bounce conversation off of. Why are they even friends? I really couldn't tell you. When this friend doesn't get into the same university as Frank--even though he scores higher on his SATs than Frank--they literally are like, "oh sorry," and then Frank and his girlfriend are off to celebrate because who cares about anybody other than Frank, I guess!

I also found that Frank's love interests really underdeveloped. I won't get into Brit, but Joy. I mean, who is Joy? I certainly don't know! Towards the end of the novel, she tells Frank that he's her best friend and I honestly had to put the book down. They had been dating for like...two months? Maybe three? Before this, Joy was dating some other guy, so apparently Joy has no friends other than the guys she dates? Cool.

Brit...I have a lot of issues here but I'm just going to focus on the time when Frank's dad gets shot, and he goes to the hospital, but doesn't tell Brit that night because it'll make things complicated. Then, the next day he tells her his dad got shot, he was in the hospital, things were crazy and he didn't really have time/energy/whatever to let her know. And...she gets offended. Because in a crisis--where his dad GOT SHOT--he forgot to text and call her. And he has to apologise to her. These characters are 17/18 years old, though I don't think there's any age where this lack of compassion should be seen as normal.

The book focused so heavily on the fact that Frank's parents are racist, and specifically anti-black, without actually really engaging with it. I was frustrated that their anti-blackness was basically used to further the plotline of Frank wanting to date a white girl, not about Frank's friend, Q, being ill-treated, or really even his sister's marriage with a black man. Why do we have to go so deep into anti-blackness in order to read a plot about a relationship with a white person? Yes, there are similarities because they're both interracial relationships, but anti-blackness operates in Asian families in a whole different vein to other kinds of racism.

I also found the writing really jarring. It felt like Yoon was trying to really hard to be kind of breezy and carefree in order to capture how teens speak. So it just came off as Yoon trying really hard.

All in all, this book definitely wasn't for me. I hope others enjoy it, but the way queer rep was handled left a really bad taste in my mouth so I certainly can't recommend it.