Book Review // Frankly In Love

Rating: 3/5

Review:

I have never read a YA book that screams YA as loud as FRANKLY IN LOVE. Wooooow. As I was reading, I felt completely absorbed into the body of Frank. Thoughts and quirkiness included. It had major geek moments and major 16-yo boy moments. I laughed out several times! Even though that isn’t my style, it was SO Frank! I have to give it to the author for killing this genre. 

There were a few parts that felt a bit forced for me towards the end and I wish Frank’s sister was more integral part of the story, but over all, this felt like a very genuine representation of a Korean-American household. It contained a lot of cultural references and growing pains, but it also portrayed an ordinary family who had struggles just like the next. 

Reflecting back on the entirety of the story, there were moments where it did drag and I found myself skimming. Overall, Frankly in Love felt like a well throughout out story with plenty of themes to discuss.

Synopsis:

"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." (Amazon.com)