Frankly in Love
An Instant New York Times Bestseller • A William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist • An Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Honor Book
“Extraordinary . . . 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. . . Yoon explores themes of racism, forgiveness and acceptance without getting earnest or preachy or letting anyone off the hook.” —New York Times
Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong?
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.
In this moving debut novel David Yoon takes on the question of who am I? with a result that is humorous, heartfelt, and ultimately unforgettable.
“Extraordinary . . . 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. . . Yoon explores themes of racism, forgiveness and acceptance without getting earnest or preachy or letting anyone off the hook.” —New York Times
Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong?
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.
In this moving debut novel David Yoon takes on the question of who am I? with a result that is humorous, heartfelt, and ultimately unforgettable.
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Community Reviews
âWhen Mom-n-Dad says American, they mean white. I never call myself just Korean. I call myself Korean-American, always leading first with Korean or Asian, then the silent hyphen, then ending with American. Never just American.â p205
âWHAT HAS FOUR LETTERSâ p236
âBrit is fluent in the language of Openness, and I realized now that I am not.â p289
âHey, Internet, what are white people?â p303
âHow much of my dad do I know? He never tells me about his childhood or his adulthood for that matter. I know some basic facts: his date and place of birth, what kinds of foods he likes, his favorite English poet, and so on. But now I realize itâs not much. Then again, how much is there really to know about a person? p455-456
âQ?â I say. âYou here?â Q emerges from behind the car. âWhere you hiding?â says Joy. âYou know cops shoot kids like me when theyâre along on streets like this,â says Q. p527
âWhen he pulls away, I see his eyes brimming with tears. âPlease donât tell anyone,â he says. A waive surges the sea level in my chest; two new tears sting my eyes with their salt. Suddenly realizing that Q, my top chap, has been living with a secret fear --secret even to me -- for who knows how long makes me want to rage out against the entire stupid world. But Q doesnât need rage right now. He needs the opposite.â p578
Coming of age and understanding your ethnicity and what you call yourself. These are the backdrops of Frank Liâs story. He falls in love with Brit who defines her ethnicity as a European-American. They can not openly date, as far as Frank Liâs parents are concerned because she is not of their culture. Q, his âold chapâ is half Korean and half Black. He identifies himself as Black. His parents tolerate him because of this but do not fully accept Q. Hanna is Frankâs older sister who got disowned because she not only fell in love with a Black man but she married him.
Joy Song is a family friend whoâs family came from Korea at the same time as Frankâs parents. Together, along with other fellows Korean families, they formed a âtribeâ also known as âthe Gatheringâ where they all have dinner, once a month together. Joy is dating an Asian but he is Chinese. That will not be tolerated either. Together, Joy and Frank come up with the idea of âfake datingâ so that they can see their respective lovers.
Their boyfriends and girlfriends are not clued into this plan and things will obviously not go the way Joy and Frank had hoped. To put a wrench in the armor, they wind up falling for each other but then their parentsâ fight. It seems that while they are both Korean, social standing comes into play and the city mouse and country mouse metaphor come into play.
Another layer to the story is Frank realizing he knows so little of his parents. Sure they are his mom and dad but who are they, really? What were their lives like as two regular people? Surely knowing more about them as individuals mean more than just knowing who Frankâs fatherâs favorite poet is. Why is he so prejudice? Will they disown him, like they did Hanna if they get to know the real Frank Li? Fun fact: Hanna in Korean means #1 as she is firstborn. I was curious to know if thatâs her real name or nickname.
âWHAT HAS FOUR LETTERSâ p236
âBrit is fluent in the language of Openness, and I realized now that I am not.â p289
âHey, Internet, what are white people?â p303
âHow much of my dad do I know? He never tells me about his childhood or his adulthood for that matter. I know some basic facts: his date and place of birth, what kinds of foods he likes, his favorite English poet, and so on. But now I realize itâs not much. Then again, how much is there really to know about a person? p455-456
âQ?â I say. âYou here?â Q emerges from behind the car. âWhere you hiding?â says Joy. âYou know cops shoot kids like me when theyâre along on streets like this,â says Q. p527
âWhen he pulls away, I see his eyes brimming with tears. âPlease donât tell anyone,â he says. A waive surges the sea level in my chest; two new tears sting my eyes with their salt. Suddenly realizing that Q, my top chap, has been living with a secret fear --secret even to me -- for who knows how long makes me want to rage out against the entire stupid world. But Q doesnât need rage right now. He needs the opposite.â p578
Coming of age and understanding your ethnicity and what you call yourself. These are the backdrops of Frank Liâs story. He falls in love with Brit who defines her ethnicity as a European-American. They can not openly date, as far as Frank Liâs parents are concerned because she is not of their culture. Q, his âold chapâ is half Korean and half Black. He identifies himself as Black. His parents tolerate him because of this but do not fully accept Q. Hanna is Frankâs older sister who got disowned because she not only fell in love with a Black man but she married him.
Joy Song is a family friend whoâs family came from Korea at the same time as Frankâs parents. Together, along with other fellows Korean families, they formed a âtribeâ also known as âthe Gatheringâ where they all have dinner, once a month together. Joy is dating an Asian but he is Chinese. That will not be tolerated either. Together, Joy and Frank come up with the idea of âfake datingâ so that they can see their respective lovers.
Their boyfriends and girlfriends are not clued into this plan and things will obviously not go the way Joy and Frank had hoped. To put a wrench in the armor, they wind up falling for each other but then their parentsâ fight. It seems that while they are both Korean, social standing comes into play and the city mouse and country mouse metaphor come into play.
Another layer to the story is Frank realizing he knows so little of his parents. Sure they are his mom and dad but who are they, really? What were their lives like as two regular people? Surely knowing more about them as individuals mean more than just knowing who Frankâs fatherâs favorite poet is. Why is he so prejudice? Will they disown him, like they did Hanna if they get to know the real Frank Li? Fun fact: Hanna in Korean means #1 as she is firstborn. I was curious to know if thatâs her real name or nickname.
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