This book review was written by Sarah Tang of Poolesville High School.
Frankly in Love, a young adult romance novel written by David Yoon, follows Korean-American high school senior Frank Li and his fellow Korean-American childhood friend Joy Song in suburban Southern California. Both main characters are lost in their identities, not knowing whether to identify as Korean or American, a dilemma many first-generation immigrants face today. The novel itself is laced with East Asian culture, given that Yoon himself is Korean-American, and based on his own experiences back in high school.
“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.” ― David Yoon, Frankly in Love
Frank Li is caught in limbo, feeling stuck between traditional Korean expectations and his American upbringing. The most prevalent traditional expectation throughout the story is to date Korean, stemming from the result of internalized racism within his own home. In the beginning, Frank had fallen for a white girl, Brit, while his childhood friend, Joy, was dating a Chinese boy. Both teens were paranoid of being caught with their significant others. As a result, they pretended to date each other in front of their parents. But their little facade never sat well, with jealousy and suspicion leading to their partners questioning their relationship, and eventually, themselves as well.
“Because love is more terrifying than 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.” ― David Yoon, Frankly in Love
The novel doesn’t just revolve around Frank’s romantic life, however. It delves into deeper societal conflicts, such as the outright racism that is all too common among Asian parents, the internalized superiority complex from being of a higher financial class and the pressure to perform better than family friends in terms of college and SAT scores. As an East Asian-American myself, I found this book easily relatable, and I had never read a young adult romance novel that incorporated such relatable cultural elements. Although the cultural aspects may not appeal to all, these aspects are fairly simple to follow and do not hinder the main plot.
“People can code switch to confuse others, express dominance or submission, or disguise themselves.” ― David Yoon, Frankly in Love
As for criticisms, I found the side characters and the initial relationships rather bland. Their initial relationships have a movie cliche to them; they get together for the sake of plot and break up for the sake of plot. There is no reason given for Frank’s attraction to Brit, except that she is pretty. The characters take on a Korean drama-like communication style as well: lack of communication forces an emotional rollercoaster and frustration in the reader.
“As a member of the majority, she belongs everywhere. As the product of a long, mixed-up heritage, she belongs nowhere.” ― David Yoon, Frankly in Love
Overall, Frankly in Love is still a novel that I found worth my time. The scarcity of young adult romance novels intertwined with relatable Asian-American culture connects me to this novel. Despite the criticisms, the novel is still easy enough to follow for non-Asian-Americans, and still enjoyable in general. Frankly in Love doesn’t just touch on the romance genre, after all. Fellow Asian-Americans: give this book a read! There’s just something enjoyable about reading a novel you can relate to. Non-Asian-Americans: give this book a read as well! The cultural aspects bring a new twist to a classic YA romance novel. Although, the novel itself isn’t a straightforward, cliche romance novel. Frankly in Love packs several, unforeseeable twists throughout the story, while relating it all back to cultural stigmas and the romance aspect.
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