Frankly in Love

by David Yoon

Frank loves Joy.
Joy loves Frank.
At least, that's what they tell their parents . . .

Frank's parents emigrated from Korea, and have pretty much one big rule for Frank - he must only date Korean girls.

So, when Frank falls for Brit, who is smart, beautiful and white, he needs a plan.

His friend Joy Song is in the same boat and so they make a pact: they'll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom.

Frank and Joy agree that fake-dating is the perfect plan.

But, they soon discover that the only thing more complicated than pretending to be in love, is actually falling in love.

Soon to become a Paramount film with with Unjoo Moon confirmed to direct!

'Big-hearted, honest, hilarious, and achingly romantic. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, and I closed this book wiser. Get ready to fall in love with Frank, world!' Adam Silvera, New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at The End

'A beautifully layered novel about first love, tribalism and that brief, magical period when kids have one foot in high school, one foot out the door' New York Times

'A love story, a treatise on racism, a peek into adolescence, and a welcome to Korean-American culture, all at once.' Jodi Picoult

'Think John Green by way of To All the Boys I've Loved Before" Entertainment Weekly

'Touching on issues of race, identity, and first love, Frankly in Love is the charming, funny, romantic young adult crossover novel that both adults and teens will enjoy in equal measure.' PopSugar

• ISBN10: 0241373433
• ISBN13: 9780241373439
• Publish Date: 12 September 2019 (first published 10 September 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Marissa Lupe Author]

Frankly in Love by @davidoftheyoon another highly recommend from me! The story felt so authentic, with ebbs and flows of real life. It was easy to imagine myself in this world. The characters were so well fleshed out, I felt like I really knew them. It was refreshing to read a male lead character with such beautiful and wide range of genuine emotions. Perfect snuggle in a blanket read in a day or two book❣️
P.S. seriously digging this cover.

[maggiefan]

Cheating was not great...

[jen20]

An okay book which I found the writing style to be lacking. I know it’s not meant to be a plot driven book but the lack of character development made the book very boring. I think that if a book isn’t going to be focused heavily on a plot, then the characters should be developed enough to propel the book forward. I simply couldn’t connect with nor cared for the characters at all.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

There were things I liked and things I didn't like in this book, but I did appreciate the discussion and shared thoughts about identity. I also liked the friendship between Q and Frank, as well as the relationship Frank shared with his sister. I wish she had been given more space in the story. Overall, I enjoyed this book, though it went from laughter to tears for me.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

[Brianna]

2.5

[Kelly]

In accordance with his parents, Frank Li is destined for greatness. Frank will be accepted into the college. Frank will date a lovely Korean girl from an honoured family. Frank will be wealthy and successful. Frank will also marry Korean girl and have Korean children and thus the Korean circle of life continues. Frank knows very little about the lives of his parents before they immigrated to America, his mother and father are peaceful, humble people who have worked tirelessly to provide for their children, Frank and older sister Hanna.

Self confessed nerd Frank barely speaks Korean, born in America and wavering between identifying as Korean and American but never quite fitting in. Each week Korean families congregate for The gathering, each family hosting a Korean banquet and allocating time to socialise and catch up with other Korean Americans who have created a new life for their families, small business owners basking in their own success. While the adults gather, their American born offspring talk about colleges, video games and dating. All except Hanna. Hanna who was once the perfect Korean daughter until she started dating Miles, an African American young man she met at college.

So when Frank starts dating Brit, he knows he can never tell his parents. Brit is white and doesn't fit into Frank's Korean world and after seeing his sister Hanna ostracised for her relationship with Miles, Frank knows Brit wouldn't be welcome within his family.

Frank isn't the most likeable of characters but he's incredibly genuine and authentic. He's keenly aware that his parents hold a deep prejudice towards other Asian identities, African Americans and those of Mexican decent. They stereotype, use terms like ching chong when describing those with a Chinese background, make assumptions about African Americans and Mexican identities as being single mothers or felons and fought endlessly with Hanna who continued to challenge their racism until she was ostracised for not dating a Korean man. Frank on the other hand is too scared to make waves. He calls them out on their racism but halfheartedly. It's easier for him to ignore their prejudice than to challenge them. So when he starts dating Brit, he doesn't give his parents the opportunity to surprise him but instead hides her like a dirty secret and she deserved so much more.

Considering the current social media call out culture and microaggressions, I think it's an important aspect of discussion that Frank didn't push back against his parents. Racism exists and it can be deeply ingrained into families of any background or culture. What happens when you're the teen of racist parents? If you listen to most adults on social media such as Twitter, they expect you to rage against the injustice of the world but what they don't often realise that you can only push back so much against parents or authoritarian figures. Twitter doesn't care if you suddenly find yourself out on your ass with no where to go. I found Frank's situation completely reasonable and although I wish he'd given his parents the benefit of the doubt regarding Brit, I can understand why it was easier for him to simply ignore their casual racism and stereotyping. Ignoring racism for your own self preservation is not the same as condoning the actions of those who are being racist.

I love a fake romance narrative and Joy Song was such a lovely character. She was brutally honest, hilariously funny and in much the same situation as Frank, only wealthier. Joy is Korean American and dating Wu, a tall, dark and handsome Chinese American athlete and has kept their relationship hidden from her parents for the past two years. As a workaround, Joy and Frank pretend to begin dating to keep their parents happy and as an alibi to date Wu and Brit respectively. Pretending to date Joy is easy. She's a hard working, intelligent young woman from a good Korean family and fake dating Joy allows Frank a freedom he's never known before.

The secondary characters were fabulous, especially Frank's banter with best friend Q. Q is African American, a nerd, highly intelligent and speaks as though he's an extra on Downtown Abbey. Unfortunately as Frank explores his new relationship, Q is the one who ultimately suffers. He needed more from Frank and allowed his friend to take advantage of his kindness.

The ending is bittersweet and reiterates the importance of family. Frank learns that the easier path isn't always the happiest and perhaps anything worth having is worth the fight. Frankly In Love is an incredibly important read, besides being engaging and entertaining, it highlights how we're all capable of racism, microaggressions and stereotyping regardless of our backgrounds, culture or the colour of our skin. Brilliant debut!

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

This book had me in stitches. It was a comic look at love through the eyes of a first-general Korean American boy who learns that even our parents have stories and truths to tell.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.