Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Title: Frankly in Love
Author: David Yoon
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date: September 10, 2019
Pages: 432
Source/format: ARC//BookishFirst and Publisher

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo–his term for Korean-American kids who find themselves caught between their parents’ traditional expectations and their own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance–“Date Korean”–which proves complicated when Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful–and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and so they make a pact: they’ll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. Frank thinks it’s the perfect plan, but in the end, Frank and Joy’s fake-dating maneuver leaves him wondering if he ever really understood love–or himself–at all.

M Y  T H O U G H T S

Frankly in Love is a cute contemporary novel about first loves, living up to parents' expectations, understanding how to support someone with a terminal illness, tackling the topic of racism, and how to pave your own path to happiness. Imagine all this while being a senior in high school, trying to just do well on your SATs, and getting into a good college. Well, this is what Frank Li has to endure.

Frank lives in Southern California and has to uphold many parents' expectations. David Yoon opens up the novel explaining the significance of Frank’s American name and Frank's Korean name. Frank's American full first name (Frank Li) consists of seven letters and his Korean first full name (Sung Min Li) consists of nine letters. Seven to symbolize the lucky number in America and nine to symbolize the lucky number in South Korea. By having Yoon start the novel in this manner, the reader gets a sense of how there is a divide yet a symbiotic relationship between his American and Korean upbringing. It’s supposed to be a bridge between two cultures.

Frank’s parents have the typical expectations of Asian parents when it comes to academics. They want their child to get a high test score on the PSATs and SATs, maintain a high GPA and get into Harvard. That is what Frank’s sister, Hanna, did. However, Frank would love to pursue a music career at Berklee School of Music instead of studying law or medicine at an Ivy League.

Frank's parents only want him to date a Korean girl so when he falls for Brit Means, a white girl in his Calculus class, he devises a plan with Korean-American Joy Song. His parents know Joy through family friends and think Frank and Joy are dating. Yet, they don't know that Frank and Joy are fake-dating so Frank and Joy can date other people that are not Korean. Frank can see Brit and Joy can see Wu without having their parents breathing down on their necks. Of course this scenario sounds good to be true because something always happens. Unexpected actions and feelings occur and the plan unravels.

Yoon’s voice for Frank is simple and relatable for many. What I love about Frank is Frank’s candor. Yoon delves into topics such as interracial relationships, family issues, grades, etc. and tells it how it is. He doesn’t sugar coat anything. I haven’t read a novel with a male point of view that I instantly connected with in ages. Through Frank readers see how Frank and his friends from the Gathering have to appease their Korean parents.

There is one scene where Frank almost loses a family member but they survive. It shows how vulnerable someone can be. Your life can change in an instant. Frank's parents have their own secrets that they do not tell Frank until 3/4 quarters of the book. Because they don't want Frank to bomb his SATs and because they want to save face, his parents do not tell him that a family member has cancer. The situations Yoon include in Frankly in Love are things that happen to many teens. This is real life. The emotions are real. And how one handles difficult situations like cheating, finds out someone has cancer, or lives up to parents' expectations can be stressful. How does one deal with all these obstacles?

The friendship between Frank and Q is genuine. They are practically brothers. I would love to read a book in Q's point of view like a companion novel of some sort. He has a story to tell us and I know a lot of us will want to find out more about Q and how he navigates the world in his shoes.

Frankly in Love is a coming-of-age book about finding yourself and finding love. As Ella mentions, "we all just want to love who we want to love." Not only are characters finding love in a romantic sense but characters also strengthen their family love through bonding and understanding.