Young Adult Fiction: Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Hooray for discovering new YA authors! And David Yoon is the husband of the already well-known Nicola Yoon, author of The Sun Is Also a Star and Everything, Everything. Today I get to discuss his debut, Frankly in Love, which follows a Korean-American boy as he navigates issues of culture and identity throughout his senior year of high school.

The Situation: It is senior year and Frank Li is gearing up for the SATs, and subsequent college applications, with the rest of the Apeys: students that are in all advanced placement, or AP, classes. He must balance study time, school work, hanging out with his best friend Q, and helping out at his parents' grocery store. As the second child of Korean immigrants, he must also balance his life as a more or less typical American teenager, and his life as the dutiful Korean son wanting to honor his hard-working parents. The thing is, Frank does not necessarily agree with his parents' view on everything, specifically how they see other cultures. He is quick to admit that his parents are racist, simple as that. They have not spoken to their own daughter, Frank's older sister, ever since she began dating a black man, and are quick to talk in stereotypes about other races. Frank knows this behavior is not okay, but is not sure how he would go about attempting to correct them.

The Problem: When Frank falls hard for Brit Means, a beautiful, brilliant, funny, and also white girl from school, he knows his parents must never know. But when Joy Song, a childhood friend in a similar position, finds out, the two of them come up with a brilliant plan that is certain to work. If Frank and Joy pretend to date each other, while Frank is actually with his white girlfriend and Joy is with her Chinese boyfriend, then their Korean parents will be happy, and they can spend time with the people they really want to be with. Seems like the perfect plan, right up until it isn't, and everything begins to unravel. It is weird enough keeping his girlfriend a secret from his parents, but keeping this secret a secret from his girlfriend just feels wrong. And the harder Frank attempts to convince himself that it is working, the more obvious it becomes that it is not, and not necessarily because of his parents. Frank's senior year will be filled with more complications beyond this one, and it becomes clear that these issues do not simply vanish after high school.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction novel that focuses on the experience of Frank Li, a Korean-American high school student in his senior year. Set in southern California, Frank engages in the usual teenage experiences: hanging out with friends, attending school, being forced by his parents to attend social functions he normally would not go to on his own, even dating someone his parents would not approve of. With Frank as the narrator, the reader gets the first-hand account of just how deep his parents' prejudices go. He had to witness the removal of his sister from his life after she began dating a black man. She is never mentioned, his parents never call her, and she never calls them. Frank still talks to her, mostly through texts, and both lament how terrible it is to have to choose between their parents, and being able to live their lives. Now Frank wants to date a white girl, and a close friend wishes to date a Chinese boy. But beyond these dating restrictions are the pressures to do well on the SATs, and subsequently get into a good college, and then there is the issue of keeping up appearances for other Korean families beyond his own. The experience of growing up as a child of immigrant parents is a unique one that is difficult to navigate, but Frank is doing his best.

My Verdict: This book brings up the big issues right away. Instead of shying away from them, or talking around them, Frank addresses them head-on, and calls them out for what they are, even though it is his parents he is talking about. I appreciate the honesty and the bravery, and know that many will benefit from it. But when it comes to the story that Frank is attempting to tell, it was a little all over the place for me, like it was trying to do too much, or tackle too much, all at once. Also, in the beginning it was hard to remember that Frank and Q are supposed to be seniors in high school. For whatever reason, they seemed more like middle schoolers to me, but then they would get behind the wheel of a car, or would start talking about the SATs and college applications. Eventually this started to smooth out, but it took awhile. Perhaps Yoon was making a point about where these two started at the beginning of the novel versus where they would up? Overall, it is a great book, and a debut that deserves recognition for bringing up issues we need to keep talking about if we are to ever solve them.

Favorite Moment: It is actually really difficult for me to pick a moment that does not contain a spoiler, but I suppose I will go with whenever Q's dad attempts to sound cool by spouting slang and buzz words that he clearly does not know how to use, and he knows it. 

Favorite Character: I adore Q's sister Evon, even though she only shows up for brief moments and rarely says anything. She is simply effortless and does not care to be bothered, and I can appreciate that.

Recommended Reading: I recommend The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, a book that also explores the experiences of children of immigrant parents trying to make their way in the U.S.