I don't really know how to describe this book. It's a coming-of-age story about first love, racism and acceptance. Frankly, I enjoyed it, a lot, but it wasn't perfect. It was so interesting descovering Frank's world. I have never thought about being a child of two cultures. I have many italian friends that have foreign origin and now I want to know more about their families and their lives. This book made me think a lot and I suppose I will not forget this story for a long time.

Another book where I have mixed feelings. The themes of culture and family were true; Frank's struggle to find his identity as a second-generation immigrant were both particular to him and general enough for all teens to relate to. And I do know that the language and interactions between teens are realistic. At the same time, I get tired of good books that I know my more conservative YA readers won't enjoy because of language and sex (however tastefully handled.) And so many plot developments were very predictable. Not a first choice for the libraries I work with.

This is possibly one of the best debuts I have ever read. I truly fell in love with the story and characters. So many emotions were expressed reading this. I went from laughing to crying all at the same time. I can’t express how important this book is, and I can’t wait for you all to read it!

Frank Li was born and raised in Southern California. He’s a son of two hardworking Korean immigrants. His parents want the best for him including who he should end up with. They want him to date (and eventually marry) a Korean girl. The problem is, Frank’s dating a white girl named Brit and he is afraid to tell his parents about her especially after what happened with his sister who dates a black man. So he comes out with a “brilliant” plan to pretend he’s dating Joy Song, one of his Korean girl friends who is also dating a non-Korean guy, while secretly going out with their real partners. It sounds like a perfect plan, right? Well, it’s not.

I honestly have mixed feelings about Frank. I didn’t like him for the most part so I was really thankful that he has at least redeemed himself towards the end. Frank’s character is very relatable not only for Korean Americans but for all teenagers. I remember being in his situation before. I also grew up not telling my parents a lot of things especially when it comes to my lovelife. I didn’t question their decisions because it’s disrespectful so I just kept my thoughts to myself. They have their own ways of protecting and showing how they love us which was really infuriating that time but I’m way passed it because I now get it. My relationship with them right now is so much more better than before. I love my parents so much and I appreciate everything they have done (and are still doing) for us.

My most favorite character would be Frank’s bestfriend, Q. I wished there was more about him in this book because he’s really interesting and such a great friend. Same goes with Brit, Joy, and Hanna (Frank’s sister). They felt one-dimensional. Also, did David, Nicola, and their daughter made a cameo in this book? Because it’s so adorable.

I am personally not a fan of fake-dating trope especially when there’s micro-cheating involved. I also thought that Frank and Brit’s romance escalated too quickly. I have to admit that eventhough the writing is really good, I kept putting it down. It took quite awhile for me to get used to the writing. I’m not sure how teenagers talk nowadays but the dialogues in this book are quite strange for me. Some of them are really funny though.

There are some Korean language (texts) in this book and I thought it was clever. I had no idea what they’re talking or arguing about but it somehow put the readers in Frank’s shoes. One scene in this book made me teary-eyed because it reminded me so much of my relationship with my parents. It’s just heart-warming and full of love. I liked that this book is unapologetic. Because newsflash, Asian people can be (terribly) racist too. Not only to white or black but to fellow Asians as well.

Frankly in Love is a coming-of-age story about identity, acceptance, family traditions, and more.

*Huge thanks to PRHInternational/PRHGlobal and NetGalley for my free copy together with a stunning pin.
This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

I love seeing Asian American representation in ten books! However, the writing voice was lacking, like listening to an adult pretending to be a teen.

I loved the way the author dealt with a serious topic (cultural identity) with humor! Yoon's characters were also very well-developed and had authentic teen voices. They joked about the typical things, but the humor was a little elevates, as was appropriate for high school seniors. Their concerns were age-appropriate (scoring well on the SAT, living up to their parents' expectations, finding a way to spend time with their significant others). Yoon does a great job of bringing the many faces of discrimination into the novel--from subtle to outright, from "outsiders" and within one's own culture. He expertly "shows, not tells" what it feels like to be caught between two cultures, sometimes belonging to one, sometimes to the other, and sometimes not to either.

Some things seemed a little overdone--Wu was the stereotypical dumb jock (albeit a kind one), and I thought Frank's parents' English language skills were a little too rudimentary, considering the fact that they had lived in the states for at least 18 years and Mr. Li had worked in a job where he had constant contact with his English speaking customers. Overall, however, I loved the character development, which added to the authenticity and depth of the story.

I think this novel has so much to appeal to its teen audience and will be a big hit!

Frankly in Love isn’t the fake-dating romance you might be expecting. It is, however, an outstanding YA debut: a loving look at identity, family, and growing up.

Don’t let the book trailer and the tagline (“Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could go wrong?”) fool you. Frankly in Love is a story about a teenager and his parents. Full stop. It’s an introspective story of identity and heritage and race, completely centered on Frank’s relationship with his heritage.

Is there romance? Sure. It’s there. Is there a fake-dating storyline? Yes… for maybe 15% of the book.

But those are the side plots. The romance is the set-up for the real story of Frank’s family, not the other way around.

Let’s put aside my issues with the marketing and look at the book we actually have.

It’s wonderful. Frankly in Love is a heartfelt close-up of one teen’s relationship with his parents. As Frank struggles to come to terms with the parents he has (who are not the parents he might have chosen for himself), we watch him struggle to reckon with heritage in a larger sense.

David Yoon has a wide tolerance for complexity on this subject. If you’ve read a lot of my YA reviews, you’ll know that’s something I get very very excited about. Nuance! Comfort with sticky contradictions! Openness to messy complexity! That’s my jam, and something I think YA can never have too much of. Matters of love and identity are, in the words of Frank and his sister, simplicated.

Frank is a first-generation Korean-American, raised in California. The book is very specific about the details of his upbringing, which allows us to deeply understand the divide between his parents and himself. Frank’s relationship with Korean culture (a language he cannot speak, food he eats but can’t identify, cultural values he understands instinctually) is intimately, sometimes painfully, drawn.

Frankly in Love flatly rejects a dichotomy of good parents/bad parents, or even good parenting choices/bad parenting choices. As Frank is forced to confront the reality that his parents are people–flawed, loving, human, mortal people–his black-and-white outlook is disrupted.

I was reminded of Kelly Yang’s Front Desk (which I loved!), another story of the child of immigrants that touches on anti-blackness in the Asian-American community. Front Desk, which is middle grade, contains surprising nuance on the issue, and eventually ties things up pretty neatly with a call for class solidarity. Frankly in Love is a little messier than that. It’s hopeful about individual people’s capacity for change and growth, but pragmatic about the resiliency of deeply-etched cultural prejudices.

On a lighter note, Frankly in Love should get a special award for naming fictional brands. I’m not sure why David Yoon chooses not to name actual products and companies in the book–I recently finished Mary H. K. Choi’s Permanent Record, which has no problem name-dropping real-world bodega snacks–but the fake names are often hilarious. The names are so cleverly chosen that I always knew exactly what Yoon was referencing.

Oddly enough, the fake-dating romantic plot of the first half of the book is actually a weak spot.

I think you could completely eliminate the character of Brit Means, the white girl Frank first falls for. The way the book is written, Frank’s passing interest in her incites the plot by necessitating the fake-dating. This very long book could probably have been streamlined significantly by beginning with Frank’s idea to pretend to date Joy so that his parents will be happy and hers won’t know about her relationship. (It wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out that the fake-dating plot was kept in specifically for marketability, but that’s speculation for another day. Or, yesterday, I guess.)

In the end, the romances are sometimes sweet and often funny, but ultimately both girls are just props in the drama of Frank’s family. The book only brushes the surface of their character. Their dialogue is witty and fun, but I finished the book feeling like I didn’t really know Brit or Joy.

t’s disappointing how disinterested the book is in Brit in particular. The book reads as though she’s wearing a bright yellow shirt that says “PLOT DEVICE” in all caps.

Given her position in the story, this lack of depth kind of breaks the book. We have to believe that Frank is so in love with Brit that he concocts this ridiculous lie, but then the reader has to stay with him as he completely loses interest and treats her like crap until finally (minor spoiler) cheating on her and breaking it off. As soon as she’s no longer needed by the plot, she disappears from view, and we never get to know her beyond “she’s hot and generically nerdy.”

I definitely have to note that I’m a white female reader, so I will be in danger of being overly-sensitive to a character like Brit not getting enough attention. It’s fair to take all that with a grain of salt. But I think this really does matter for the book. Frank should have come off as a well-meaning guy who made some crappy choices when in a difficult position. Instead, his relationship with Brit makes him come off as sociopathic; his capacity to manipulate her and his lack of interest in her inner life don’t square with everything else we know about his character.

The book is only marginally more interested in Joy, who I can’t really describe beyond “beautiful and well-mannered and smart.” I never got a sense of her as a person, because (again) the story isn’t about her, or even Frank’s relationship with her. She’s in the book to be a complication in the real story, Frank’s relationship with his parents. Even Q, Frank’s best friend, is thinly drawn and rarely necessary. I understand why these characters aren’t given much attention–I keep emphasizing that they’re not what the book is about–but as this is YA, I do wish Frank inhabited a more richly-drawn world of teenagers.

I know this is going to be a very popular book with teens but I could not get into it. My first issue with the book is it is set in Orange County, California yet every landmark/city/mall is made up, as someone from Orange County this just made it feel poorly researched. If you are going to make up places just make up places, say it's in southern California not Orange County. I really like the fake-dating to real relationships but only when they are both single, when both of the characters are in other relationships and are fake dating for their parents sake it just leads to lying to and cheating on the person that they supposedly like enough to go against their parents rules. I know that David Yoon is trying to make a point about how only white people in America are allowed to be called American and everyone else is hyphenated but having the white girl love interest refuse to call herself white and instead insists on European-American "because Brit is wise and aware' just comes off as ridiculous. There is a lot in this book that just does not make sense. Frankly in Love is advertised as a rom-com but falls flat in every aspect.

Loved this book! Loved Frank and the Apeys and the Limbos. Really truly loved his relationship with his father, as quiet and mysterious as it was. Also thought the tension between the classes within the Gatherng families was interesting, unexpected, heartbreaking.